trail running

“Does anyone do trail runs? I raced in an 8 miler last month and came in 4th!!




4th from last. I would have been 3rd from last but I passed an old man at mile 7. It was a lot different than road racing and it turned me into gasping girl.

Has anyone else had this lesson in humility?”

“Running girl, I ran a half marathon a while back. While finishing up mile 10 I felt tired but okay, shortly there after my morale sunk when a heavy set 50+ year trotted right on past. I was 26 .”

“I think I will do the New Your marathon one of these days.”

“running girl, kudos to you on your success - you finished the race, that's great!!! I just started running last summer (am a slow 15 min. mile, 5 miles tops) and can't even imagine running on trails...I tripped already on blacktop so I'd probably really hurt myself out on a trail. Saw a guy running the Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon...now that's not something you see everday.

Hyperpacker...was that trotter related to Sarabelle???? At age 52, the oldest in my kickboxing and yoga classes, I never feel bad about what others can do...I know that I'm doing the best that my body will allow and feeling great about it..so the heck with the rest of them!”

“I read something one time that has stuck with me through even the toughest races...George Sheehan was talking about the benefit of competing within your age group (he was 70 at the time). He wrote, "Rarely are there more than a handful, and on some occasions, there is only one other runner besides myself. This makes winning a trophy a little embarrassing. When I tell friends that this is a hollow award, though, they say, 'You beat all those people who didn't show up!'" Whenever I am feeling like a slug I think of all of the people who didn't show up and I feel a lot better. My age group (Women 30-34) is still pretty competitive. One thing I am pretty proud of--I ran a faster marathon than Al Gore. I beat him by 2 minutes at the Disney Marathon (in FLORIDA!) So, Dubya and I have something in common”

“Back in my running days, I finished 5th out of 26 in a 5K Fun Run. It was on pavement though. The last time I did any trail running was a few weeks ago at Savage Gulf. I jogged about a half mile up to see if a creek was passable, then jogged back. I don't run anymore cause it's rough on my ankles. Backpacking don't hurt though thank God.”

“I was in X country during highschool until I dislocated my knee. I had surgery then like an idiot started smoking. I quit the coffin nails 2 years ago after 3 years of smokin. I started running right after, my knee is all good now! I ran the Fresno Cross City Race 10K in September and it was all good!”

“RG,

I haven't seen anything about it for several years, but there used to be an annual race through Olympic National Park, South to North. 44 miles, I believe, up the Quinalult Valley to Low Divide, then down and out via the Elwha Valley. Can't see why anyone would do such a thing myself, but I seem to recall it was pretty popular for awhile. I suppose the Park would have info about the event, if it is still being held.”

“I just went running on a city trail here in Fresno, does that count? LOL ;0)”

“I love XC”

“I once ran a five mile loop in the Sawtooths to go back and get my hat and stick.



I finished third from last.
;o)”

“I once ran 8 miles (roundtrip) of the AT between Newfound Gap and Charlie's Bunion...but that wasn't an official race, I was just running out of daylight and had to meet my ride at the trailhead.

I've been running a 1/2 marathon about every 2-3 months with the occassional 10K mixed in to make sure I keep up my training. I'm still trying to gather the courage to run a full marathon :)”

“Trail Running is a blast! I'm currently training for a marathon. Nevertheless, the main reason I run is to stay in backpacking/mountaineering shape.

Once in a while, I'll talk one of my street runner friends into joining me on a trail run. I usually take them on a run that is about ten miles in length. These are people who can run 10 miles on the street easily. The trail is rocky, hilly, and winding so there is alot of lateral movement involved. It's fun(yes I'm a masochist) to watch the slow decline in their form as we near the end of the run. Usually, the next day they complain of being sore. Being in street running shape and trail running shape are two entirely different things and even though I run mostly on streets, the trails are my favorite!”

“I used to go trail running on a regular basis years ago until I started riding mountain bikes. With the bike you can see more terrain and it's less stress on your joints. Granted you can't go in as many areas as you can when your trail running, but I believe it's a better workout and you can maintain a higher heart rate on the bike. I now do the best workout for backpacking and it's called powerpacking. Load a backpack with rocks water bottles or whatever to make weight. I usually load up about 45 pounds and then put on ankle weights and go hiking up and down hills. It's way better than running and when you hit the trail to go real backpacking you'll feel like superman.”

“I was really surprised that the trail run was so much harder than road racing. I had trained for the distance with no problem. But I had not trained for the terrain. It was tough--but I did enjoy it. I was sorry that I had to trip the old man to gain a place ahead of him--I just couldn't risk being last after thinking I was so prepared!”

“I have dodged trail runners on the Vivian Creek Trail in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. 5500 ft. elevation gain in less than 8 miles. Summit: 11,500 ft. I have seen 100 mile event markers in the San Gabriels...Frankly, I don't see how people do it.”

“Native Americans ran marathons along trails while playing a game we now call lacrosse.”