New Levels Coach Matt Long blazes a trail by focusing on how you can tackle off road running:

Speak to any half decent trail runner and they will often stifle a smile while smugly telling road runners venturing onto the trails for the one-off excursion that, “Road fitness does not automatically translate”. So why not? The answer in part lies in understanding the notion of ‘biokinetics’. 

Trail running requires the ability to instantaneously transition across a multitude of surfaces including grass, shale, mud, rock and so on. The internal elastic response with the ground which we generate on impact on all of these surfaces releases what we call biokinetic energy (Thompson, 2021). It involves what coaches call triple extensions around the hip, knee, ankle plus movement of the foot joints. Successful running over the trails requires an understanding of the role of tendons whose primary function is to connect muscles to bones. More specifically the role of a white transparent sheath called the ‘Aponeuroses’ is vital as a collagenous connective tissue which because it is multi-axial, facilitates the kind of multi-directional movements needed over the twisty and winding trails (See Thompson, 2016). It is the inability of these often untrained or overly fatigued muscles and tendons to adapt in biokinetic terms to the sudden changing of surface or gradient within the trail run or race which often causes runners to trip and fall even when one is wearing appropriate footwear.

Conditioning

In light of the above, S and C work is hugely important for trail running and what coaches refer to as the ‘fundamental movement patterns’ of bracing, hinging, squatting and lunging need a degree of mastery. Running is a series of hops and steps as we know and this is exacerbated by the nature of trail running which makes single leg work such as leg squats and calf raises critical. Trail running often requires shorter steps and a faster cadence in comparison with road running so your training should include a plyometric element such as pogo and countermovement jumping, ‘hops and sticks’ plus jumping onto and off a low box. 

Trail running places considerable additional forces on the body in comparison with road running so in order to ensure what coaches refer to as optimal ‘kinetic chain stiffness’, both foot and hurdle drills are advised in your training plan. Balance is key of course and one coaching intervention would be the periodic use of short alactic strides undertaken in bare feet on safe and soft grass, in order to improve proprioception. 

Aerobic and strength endurance

Even short trail races are inevitably aerobic so much of your training needs to be of considerable volume and low intensity so this parallels with road running. This being said whilst many of you may undertake hill repetitions to facilitate strength endurance, because sprinting uphill and jogging downhill tends to have considerable demands on the lactate energy system, its worth diversifying your work to include hilly intervals (long reps with a short but active recovery) and Kenyan hills where the ‘surge’ up a longer hill rather than conventional sprint allows for a ‘float’ (faster than jog) downhill section. As well as learning to run downhill relatively quickly, which is a skill in itself, these two modes of hill work mean your strength endurance is weighted towards the aerobic and a significant proportion of this work needs to be undertaken over the kinds of trails which simulate your race. 

Tactical

As our founder Lewis Moses has articulated on a recent NLC Coaches Corner (Episode 4- Running on Trails vs. Running on Roads (youtube.com), unlike road running, trail running requires running to feel rather than split so use of a Rate of Perceived Exertion scale during training runs and races is paramount as well as being guided by technology to monitor heart rate and so on. The longer trail races require a ‘maximalist’ rather than a minimalist approach to kit use so its worth training with the use of hydration and back packs filled with the kind of kit you will use on race day. All good runners do their proverbial homework before races but this is crucial over the trails and the use for example of a Munster calculator can help predict how long a training route or race may take based on time in accordance with the amount of climbing you will undertake. On this note, even elite trail runners like our own James Tilley who recently represented Team GB will tell you that hiking or power walking is sometimes more energy efficient than trying to run up the steepest of inclines, so its worth factoring what has become known as ‘Jeffing’ (after the legendary Jeff Galloway) into your run-walk training. 

This leaves us with the following questions for self-reflection:

  1. How has my training factored in that trail running is predominantly an aerobic event.
  2. In what ways have I developed sufficient strength endurance for the trails?
  3. When can I build in appropriate s and c plus drill work to my periodised program of training to help me cope with the demands of the trails?
  4. Why is it important I consider the tactical demands of trail running in comparison to running on other surfaces?

Matt Long has served as an England Team Manager or Coach for junior, senior and masters teams and he is a former winner of the British Milers Club Horwill Award for outstanding coach education research.  

References

Thompson, P.J.L. (2016) Current Perspectives of Biokinetics in Middle and Long Distance Running – An Examination of the ‘Elastic Response. IAAF New Studies in Athletics. 31:1/2; 25-40. Available at:
https://worldathletics.org/nsa/article/filter?&authorId=5461fcc71111ff42acac6c37Thompson, P.J.L. (2021) ‘Biokinetic energy – identifying the fourth energy system for all track & field events’. Techniques for Track & Field and Cross Country, USTFCCCA, 14 (4): 8-13.