Why You Should Trail Run (and Pretend that You’re Skiing)

Anybody that has had a great trail run – one that ends with mud on your legs, (suspicious) blood on your arms, sweat all over your body and light in your eyes – will tell you: the art of trail running is in the meditation. Ripping through the trees in the quiet of the forest or breaking out into an open meadow into the warmth of the sun, trail running is an excellent summer alternative to skiing. Think about it: you have to think quickly, move with the terrain, navigate features…not only is it fantastic exercise, it’s meditative in the same way that skiing is. Whatever ails you – stress, responsibilities, emotion – leaves your mind as your focus shifts entirely to…well, not falling on your face. 

There are so many great reasons to trail run: the dirt is easier on your joints, the terrain is more exciting (than roads), the fresh air is better for your lungs, AND there are a ton of benefits that will also improve your skiing…

Core Strength: Jumping around roots, leaping over creeks, moving in different directions to accommodate the changing trail ahead of you does that thing that everybody needs (but nobody likes to do): engages your core! This is, without a doubt, the most enjoyable way to work your core muscles. Not doing planks, not doing exercises in a gym with a swiss ball; pretending that you are a head-hunted spy on the run! It’s all very “Bourne Trilogy,” but you end up with a six pack.

Mental Strength & Focus: Once, as I battled up a particularly steep and rocky section of a trail run, a member of the running group passed me and said, “you know what makes you a good runner? Your tenacity.” In the moment, I mistook this word for “red-faced and quite sweaty,” but upon closer inspection, realized that they really meant “dedicated and mentally strong.” Sometimes, there are sections of ski runs that put you out of your comfort zone. Your legs get shaky, and right before they go paralytic, you tap into that inner mantra: “fear is my friend” or “you’re stronger than you think,” and crush down to catch up with your ski buddies (who now think that you’re a hero/you feel like a hero). The same thing happens when running trails, but it’s more: “my lungs are exploding and I want to quit.”  Pushing through that shows you how strong you really are. Knowing your limits, but getting outside of them from time to time, simply through training your ability to focus and carry on, makes you better.

Sides of Calves’ Strength: I do not know what these muscles are called, and doubt that anyone other than trained professionals or anatomy geeks do either, but my friends and I call them our “shred dog” muscles. They are extremely difficult to stretch (we recommend rolling them out over a frozen bottle of vodka) and are also very difficult to strengthen. If your ski boots are packed out, these muscles are forced to overcompensate for balance and agility in your turns (this can be cripplingly painful). Running trails will build these muscles –  especially if you run from time to time (or always) up on the balls of your feet. This style of foot striking gets the entire calf working and will get those shred doggers ready to shred.

Furthermore, trail running can feel a lot like skiing. You’re in the woods with a couple of buds, and you can take the trail in sections. Chasing each other around winding stumps, with cracks of sunlight blasting in through the over hanging leaves and moss, hearing nothing but the breathing and footfall of your friends; coming to a point where you stop, high five and wait for everyone to catch up before you head out again.

For the last couple of seasons in up here in Revelstoke, there has been an adored, albeit infamous, trail that slices from the bottom of South bowl back to the Stoke lift. Called the Ninja Traverse, there is no section of skiing on the entire mountain that trail running can better prepare you for more. The traverse is full of bounces and dips and skied-off sections of dirt, trees and turns and people running into each other. It’s mayhem, it burns; it is so much fun. Up in the Last Frontier heli terrain, there are ski outs, much like the Ninja Traverse (but with more snow, less people and softer bumps). Hit the trails now to prepare you for those ski outs, so that heading back to the heli pick-up is just as much fun as the beautiful powder turns on the way down.

From what I hear (have yet to experience), running can be likened to childbirth. During, it’s terrible, but as soon as it’s over and you see the results, you can’t wait to do it again.