Trail Blazer

On Trail Running

It’s nearly February, which means I have roughly one month before my second half-marathon. This time around in my training, I’ve been hitting the trails harder than the treadmill, and here’s why.

The element of surprise.

Fayetteville, Ark. has roughly 38 miles of trails in the city, and the city plans to add another 60 miles to it. This, no doubt, attracts personalities and agendas of all sorts. Yesterday, I came across a lady who was standing just off the trail, in between the wild brush and the stream, holding a mop in one hand and a kitchen butcher knife in the other. As I approached, she made some jabbing motions into the leaves on the ground, then stood up and looked around in a mildly disinterested manner. Although I desperately wanted to know her story, I opted to keep moving, since she had the knife and not me. Other days, surprises come in the form of running into people from my hometown who I haven’t seen in years or bump into a cycling buddy for an impromptu ride.

The sunshine, the glorious sunshine

I have a tendency to hole up inside, spending my weekends on film noir marathons or hours in favorite cafes spent reading. Probably not coincidentally, I also tend to struggle with darker moods then. Just moving from a dark apartment to the open air, running from one end of town to the other, jamming out to some favorite tunes lifts spirits, brightens demeanor.

Nature

Some of my favorite places in Fayetteville are along the Mudd Creek Trail, where ducks and other water birds flutter from the trees to the stream, where young families form quaint trails of little pink bicycles and the whir of bicycle spokes fades seamlessly into the rustle of tree leaves.

Less pessimistic than the treadmill

I’ve become acutely aware of the treadmill lately, getting mildly discouraged when I struggle to keep up with the speed and calorie goals I’ve pre-set for my run, so much so that now the trail-running feels more freeing. Instead of thinking “OMG everything hurts and I still have two miles to go??” on the treadmill, it seems like every step on the trail is an accomplishment, “I ran all the way to this tree without hyperventilating? Go me!”

Better training

For some reason, seeing people run the trails motivates me, no matter if they're speeding past me or struggling worse than I am, it's inspiring to know that they're actively trying. It's an odd sense of community, but one I treasure.

Strictly speaking in terms of training for races or public/group runs, trail running can help you get accustomed to the impact of the pavement (more so than treadmills, anyway), which is one way of preparing for the big day.

Do you love or loathe trail running? I’d love to hear why…