The Allure of Trail Running

The Adirondack park is well known for amazing hiking, paddling and climbing opportunities, but the park is also a fantastic place for trail running. Although the sport is not nearly as well known, trail runners come from all over to run the so called “hiking” trails in the Adirondacks. Trail running is a fantastic way to experience way to experience the park, enjoy nature, and get staggering volumes cardiovascular exercise in. 

There are a substantial number of trail races in the Adirondacks every spring, summer and fall. These races range greatly in difficulty, allowing for a wide range in the ability of the participants. For example, Paul Smith's College Visitor Interpretive Center and High Peaks Cyclery work together each year to host 1, 10, 15 and 20 kilometer races in addition to a couple of half marathons and marathons (2014 Adirondack Trail). Since trail running is naturally much more challenging than road running due to varied footing and sometimes drastic elevation changes, the pace is much slower and the races take much longer. A reasonably fast male runner might race a 10k on the road in 33 minutes, while it might take the same runner 45 minutes to well over an hour to cover 10 kilometers, even at race pace. While road races tend to be started en masse, trail races, especially in the protected land of the Adirondacks, are usually started in waves so as to evenly distribute runners along a trail. 

Trail running is fairly easy to get into. Unlike rock climbing, whitewater rafting and fishing, trail running requites little special skills, technical know-how, and gear. After all, running whilst weighed down by tons of gear is very uncomfortable. The most important piece of gear is a good pair of shoes. Trail runners don't use hiking boots like everyone else on the trail. Instead they use running sneakers that have been adapted specifically for trails. These shoes tend to have more grip on the bottom, designed to have traction in all types of terrain. Since the publication of Christopher McDougal's paradigm shifting running book Born to Run in 2009 many trail runners have opted for extremely minimalist shoes, which allow the runner's foot to have a much better feel of ground. In addition to a pair of shoes that can take the terrain, but doesn't leave the runner injured, a seasoned trail runner will bring along small amounts of food and water for the longer runs. Fuel belts, that distribute the weight of the water evenly around the waist are excellent, and usually have pockets for a granola bar or a nutrient-packed, sugary goo mixture.  

The most likely reason for the smaller number of trail running enthusiasts in comparison to other physical outdoor sports in the Adirondacks is that trail running is very hard on the body. It is hard at first to run any significant number of miles without the base fitness, and even more challenging to do so without getting injured. Although bruises, cuts and scrapes are just par for the course, the more serious and unfortunately more common injuries are overuse injuries, which can plague evened seasoned veterans. These issues can include shin splints, IT band syndrome, stress fractures and pulled muscles. The biggest problem with overuse injuries is that athletes must stop running and wait for their injuries to heal. When they start running again they have many fewer miles under their belts, making them vulnerable to other overuse injuries. 

Although most hiking trails are runnable, some trails lend themselves more to trail running. Flatter, shorter trails of only a few miles are better for beginning runners. Lake Placid website recommends the Wickham Marsh Trails due to ease of accessibility and controlled elevation with a beautiful view of the marsh in several places. Easy loops like these are perfect for the inexperienced, but more seasoned trail runners might enjoy running some of the High Peaks trails, with their increased elevation and more technical footing. Trail running, while not for everyone, is fantastic exercise and one of the greatest ways I know to experience nature.