I
Want to vary your trail
running and start
tackling harder terrain?
Be prepared to put in
some hard work, says
Christina Macdonald
© JORDI SARAGOSSATOUGH
STUFF
f your trail routes usually involve
flat grass and you fancy moving
on to more challenging trails
like hills, woods and overgrown
forests, there’s good and bad news. The good
news is you may well burn more calories if
you find the terrain challenging and you’ll
probably enjoy the variety. The bad news is
you could be more likely to twist an ankle or
a knee, or fall over. The solution is to train
your body first to get fit for uneven terrain
to help you avoid falls and injuries. It’s also
important to park those PB aspirations at
first and be prepared to adjust your speed.
“If you’re used to terrain like fairly flat
grass, where every step is virtually the same,
then you’ll need to adapt to the fact thatevery step [on rougher ground] potentially
places new demands on muscles in a
different combination,” says personal trainer
Jeff Archer from The Tonic Corporate
Wellbeing (the-tonic.com). “Slow down to
avoid putting any high-intensity pressure on
any area of your body. Running more slowly
will give you the chance to adjust your
position when necessary, while maintaining
control of your movements.”KNEE NO-NOS
If you’re prone to knee problems, uneven
surfaces may cause knee pain, as the knee
will have to work harder to stabilise you on
uneven terrain. This means it’s important
to build up your trail runs gradually, see
how your knees respond and strengthen
the muscles around your knees by doing
leg extensions and other leg exercises like
bodyweight squats.
“Strengthening your quads, hamstrings
and calves is important for running on very
uneven trails. Then it’s a great idea to spend
some time specifically developing strong
glutes and core muscles, so try practising the
plank, both in the forward position and on78 MARCH 2017 womensrunninguk.co.uk