The other day, I invited my friend, Rafa, to join me on the trails. Rafa, btw, is hardcore. A road-runner, who enjoys logging the miles, so I knew it would take some convincing. Rafa gave me a “you think I’m mad?’ kind of look and then politely declined. “Thanks, mate, but no thanks. I prefer to stick to the beaten track. It’s safer, it’s faster. Besides, I don’t want to ruin my brand new trainers,” and off he went, disappearing down the road. Begging the question: which is better? Trail running or road running?
Is trail running better than road running? Trail running is better than road running because it’s easier on the joints, less repetition, work more muscles, burn more calories, enhance your concentration, and soothes your psyche by getting you out into the fresh air, away from sweaty gyms and polluted streets.
Trail Running Compared To Road Running
Getting off the beaten track will take your running to a whole new level and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you experience changes in your body. A trail-run, compared to a road run, is a much more effective and complete full body workout. Trails are constantly changing. When running on a rugged mountain trail your:
- speed will improve because of the explosive power and varied tempo of your runs on the trail.
- footing will improve as you train your various stabilizer muscles.
- balance will get better because that is what will keep you from falling a lot of the time.
- scenery will be constantly changing bringing you visual stimulation.
- trail surface will provide you with challenging sensory feedback for your feet and legs.
- incline will be constantly changing and that will require different muscle groups getting recruited in order to get through your trail run.
- pace is something that will constantly vary based on what the trail dictates. You will learn to vary your pace up and down around a median that will allow you to be efficient with your energy output.
- temperature variances are something that I have learned to deal with out on the trail. Moving from shade to warm full sun to river crossings and sometimes snow all within a single trail run is not uncommon.
- and even your company can change dramatically from moment to moment as you meet new people on the trail.
Overall, trail running is better for you than road running. Your joints, muscle development, lungs, and spiritual wellbeing will all be in a better place off-road.
What Are The Benefits Of Trail Running?
Heading off-road is much more than just about admiring the beautiful scenery. It comes with a list of benefits to not only your body but also your mind. Here are 8 reasons why trail running is better and more effective than road running:
1. Less impact
Trails are usually less severe to run on than tarmac, so trail running reduces your risk of injury. The majority of trail surfaces will absorb some of the energy of each step you take, meaning your muscles work harder while the impact on your joints is reduced.
Road running, on the other hand, has a lot higher impact and stress on your joints and a lot slower recovery time. The jarring on your knees while running on tarmac is a lot harder on your body than the feeling of a soft trail. The softer surface – grass and sand – could prevent overuse injuries, making for faster recovery time.
2. Less repetition, less boredom
Trail running, compared to a road run, offers much more variety with its ever-changing terrain, meaning there’s no time for boredom because you have to be totally focused at all times. You might have to be on your hands and knees climbing up hills at times, working muscles you never thought would be required when going for a run.
Unlike road running, you don’t get to go into a Zen rhythm of laying down fast mile after fast mile. Instead, your rhythm is based on fast reactions and maintaining a consistent effort, requiring maximum concentration.
3. Engage your brain
Trail running requires more concentration than running through the streets and, while it’s nice to let your mind wander sometimes during your workouts, you’ll experience faster fitness gains if you’re fully engaged in your activity.
That reminds me of a concern that Rafa expressed as a reason for not switching to trails. He was worried that if he zoned out the way he does on the roads with Iron Maiden screaming in his ears he is likely to trip over a stone or tree root and possibly face-plant badly. He did not look reassured when I told him that zoning out like that was an error that he’d likely only ever make once…
4. Work your core
Trail running provides a greater challenge to your core area than road or treadmill running, helping to improve your posture for day-to-day activities and making you look taller and slimmer.
5. Weight loss
Compared to hitting the pavement, trail running burns 10 percent more calories, while improving balance and agility. Navigating varied terrain requires more energy and recruits more muscles than covering flat surfaces, so you’ll burn more calories, shed fat faster, and fend off plateaus.
While treadmill or road running will strengthen many major muscles around your body, trail running will also maximize the use of minor and stabilizing muscles, making it a more effective and complete workout. No need to work out in a gym; you get it all on the trails.
The nature of trail running will force you to run slower, thereby putting you in the fat burning aerobic heart rate zone for most of your workout.
6. All weather workout
Regular trail running using different routes will challenge your body in new ways and keep your fitness improving quickly. Not only will different trails provide new challenges, but also the same trails in different weather conditions will require different levels of effort and this will keep your fitness progressing fast.
My experience with road shoes is that they cope badly with the oil and water slush that gathers on the road surface following light showers of rain. Conversely, I find that my trail shoes feel extra grippy on the soft trail following a light rain shower.
7. License to walk
Trail running – and ultra running in particular – can include a spectacular amount of very much justified walking. See a hill? Walk up the hill. It’s usually smarter and more efficient to walk up a steep hill than to try to run it anyway. Road hills in urban settings, however, have a maximum inclination that does not provide you with the same legitimate excuse to walk up the hills.
What I find on brutally steep hills with technical trails is that the difference in my speed between running and power hiking is a mere three or four seconds per mile. By starting to run at a faster pace over the crest of the hill and down the other side I can generally make up for the seconds I lost by not running up the hill. The net of the two is a trade-off of a handful of seconds for a drastically reduced energy output. That is an energy saving you will appreciate later in your trail-run.
8. Nature
Forget having to stop at traffic lights or dodge other pedestrians along the way. On the trails, the only thing you have to worry about is making sure you’re getting the most out of the soothing and healing effects of nature.
Time in nature has been proven to improve your mental health, alongside your physical health. It reduces tension, anger and even anxiety and studies show it can even make you more creative.
There are two primary reasons for this. The first is that you are likely going to be surrounded by plants rather than asphalt. Unlike asphalt, plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and produce oxygen. And we all know that more oxygen is beneficial for cognitive brain function.
The second reason is somewhat more subtle. When you run trails you are more likely to be to have the color green around and under you. Almost certainly there will be more green than when you are pounding the asphalt through a city.
Green is a balancing color, as a result of being in the middle of the visible spectrum. It is known as the color of balance and harmony, which is good for you in times of stress. Even surgical scrubs switched from white (the color of cleanliness) to green. This was done both to reduce the glare induced eye strain in operating theaters as well as to calm the potentially stressful conditions during surgery.