Trail running vs. Roadrunning
How it started. In October 2021 I started looking for running goals for 2022. I wanted a long trail run in the summer – marathon or ultramarathon distance in the mountains – and in October 2022 a distance during the Munich Marathon (a team event). The trail marathon became the Rheinquelle trail, 42.2 km with 3000 vertical meters, in July 2022. Between the trail and the road there were 3 months, more than enough time to train on speed for the road race, the condition should be good. It would not be that different after all, I thought.
The choice was quickly made for the Munich Marathon: if I can run a trail marathon in the summer, then I can also run the marathon distance in Munich. I thought.
Are there so many differences?
I have prepared with a coach, to make both these goals succeed. Read on to find out how it ended up. Or it went as I expected.
Are there so many differences? It is both running?
Surface / terrain
The most noticeable difference is of course the surface. On the road you walk flat and paved, you don't have to think about where you put your feet. No step is the same on the trails, the road is full of obstacles. The paths can be narrow or wider, with loose stones, roots, natural uneven steps, sharp bends and sometimes deep chasms right next to you. You need all your concentration to not make mistakes, because they can end badly. On the road, the greatest danger is probably traffic and perhaps misguided dog turd.
Pace
Because the terrain is so different, the pace is also different. On the road it is usually possible to maintain a stable pace and to reach higher speeds. It is difficult to maintain a steady pace on the trails. If the path goes up, you must reduce your speed, otherwise you will burn out way too quickly. If it then goes down again, you will be a lot faster again, but you will not reach the pace of the road, because you are always alert to a sudden sharp bend, a large decline or other dangers.
Shoes
In most running (specialty) stores you will find an extensive range of running shoes. These are mainly shoes intended for running on the road. These are characterized by more cushioning and less profile. This is exactly what the path asks of a runner. The road does not provide much cushioning and to absorb the impact of walking, the cushioning is built into the shoe. Profile creates more friction, something a runner doesn't want, because more friction makes it slower. There is also a different type of shoe for every type of foot placement: shoes for heel and forefoot walkers, shoes for neutral runners and with a hardening on the inside for overpronators.
Trail shoes are a bit more difficult to find and there is less choice. Most trail running shoes have more profile – because more grip in more difficult terrain – and less cushioning. After all, the damping comes partly from the terrain and it also gives a more stable feeling when you feel the ground more. Also, most trail running shoes are only made in a neutral version (without reinforced block) and with less difference in height between forefoot and heel (drop). This is again an adaptation to the terrain, due to the constantly changing foot placement, a reinforcement has little added value and the high drop (> 9 mm as with many road running shoes) is unpleasant when running downhill.
Impact
This point has already been briefly mentioned in the description for shoes, but there is something more to it. Because the road is always hard and you run at a faster pace, the impact on your joints is much higher. Each step must absorb a higher energy. In addition, at a step frequency of 170 steps per minute, after a 4-hour marathon, almost 41,000 steps have taken place with the same landing and the same impact. This monotony is difficult for your joints.
A trail race is easier on your joints, but has more impact on your muscles. The force with which a foot hits the ground is much softer uphill, but because you continuously put your muscles under tension here, this is much harder for your muscles. Running downhill is an even more extreme example of this, a good trail runner does not land on an outstretched leg, but keeps his joints slightly bent so that his muscles can absorb the impact of the landing. Lighter on the joints, heavier on the muscles.
Material
In addition to the shoes, there are even more differences in material. Where a runner on the road usually has enough of a pair of shoes, possibly a bottle of water if he goes longer, a trail runner, especially during a race, has more material with him. Many competitions even have a list of mandatory equipment for safety. For that reason, most trail runners carry a backpack with them. The mandatory equipment usually consists of a first aid kit with rescue blanket, a minimum amount of water or sports drink and sometimes even food (bars, dextro, etc.). It is often also mandatory to bring a good raincoat and a dry t-shirt, plus your phone with a full battery. Sometimes things like a headlamp, emergency whistle, or mini-crampons are added. Walking poles are not mandatory, but are often recommended for trail runs in Europe. In the US, on the other hand, they are usually not allowed.
This extra material ensures a certain safety. The runners go into the mountains and there can sometimes be more than 10 km distance between 2 aid stations. If something happens between these items, such as an injury, thunderstorm or overheating/ hypothermia, help can take a long time, especially if you don't have reception with your mobile phone. Then you must be able to protect yourself. Protection against the weather and nutrition are the most important measures there.
Aid Stations
My personal highlight during a race 😊. At both events, road and trail, there are aid stations along the way with energy-rich liquids and foods. The information already indicates in advance how much distance there is between these posts and what is available. At a road race usually water and sports drinks, in some places gels, bananas and cola.
The aid stations at a trail run are a true “buffet". In addition to the items described above, you will often also find broth or soup, tea (with sugar), bread, chips, wine gums and chocolate. Because time matters less during a trail run, a little more time is spent at an aid station to get in enough energy.
The aid stations at a trail run are a true “buffet"
Scale
There are larger and smaller events on both disciplines. Still, trail races are generally much smaller than road races. The largest marathon events, New York, Chicago, Paris, London, Tokyo and Boston, have 30,000 to more than 50,000 participants (Source: Marathonreizen.nl).
One of the largest trail races, the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc, has "only" almost 3,000 on the main distance (170 km) and in total, with the other distances less than 8,000 (in 2022, Source: Wikipedia Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc).
Distribution men-women
Numbers are not unanimous, but the gender split in road racing is about 50/50. Some sources even indicate that more women participate than men. Trail running is still a male-dominated sport, with 77% men versus 23% women. (https://www.livestrong.com/article/13730338-running-statistics/) Women are well on their way to overtaking men in speed and endurance: the longer the race, the faster women are percentage-wise and that is still increasing.
Training: Strength, Endurance, Stabilty
Although running is central to both running sports, the training method is slightly different. A road event focuses much more on speed and endurance, while a trail event focuses more on endurance, strength and stability and less on speed. The generalized difference between road runners and trail runners: a road runner asks you after a race how long it took you, a trail runner asks if you enjoyed it. In both cases this is of course not 100% correct, but it gives a bit of the atmosphere.
Because a road race is generally run at a higher pace, this also has a greater role in training. The training intensity distribution (TID, see here for blog about TID) is much more around 80%-20%. With trail runs, and certainly the longer distances, this often shifts to more time in the lower zone, because you are not on the road quickly anyway. The intensive sessions are often more focused on hill training in order to train speed in combination with strength.
That power also plays a bigger role in trail runs, because it takes more power to run up and down the mountain than it takes to run fast. Stability also plays a greater role due to the terrain, it is important to remain vertical under all circumstances and not to fall. More strength and stability in the trunk and (lower) leg muscles supports this.
Kilometer or Time
Trail runners charge more in time, road runners more in kilometers. As a runner on the road you know: this pace belongs to this intensity, I run the marathon with an average of 5.45 per kilometer, that may differ slightly, but is fairly the same. No kilometer is the same on the trails. An ascending kilometer is of course slower than a flat kilometer, a kilometer with many roots also gives a different time per kilometer. That is why, especially during training, much more is trained on time instead of on kilometers. On mountain trails, the altimeters are also taken as a benchmark: uphill I run for example 600 altimeters per hour, over 1000 altimeters I then take an hour and 40 minutes. Down you run about 30% faster, so 1000 depth meters costs around 1:10. This goes reasonably well, regardless of the terrain and the steepness.
Mindset
This is a very personal theme. One likes the predictability of a run on the road, the other finds it monotonous. For some, enjoying the view on a trail run is the main reason to participate, for others seeing a mountain is a mental break. The fact is, every run requires the right mindset, where you can focus optimally on the road ahead and keep the goal in mind, whether that be finishing or conquering yourself. The presence or absence of public along the route can certainly play an important role in this.
And how did I experience it?
Like I said at the beginning, I thought I could run that marathon on the road. I was wrong. I've underestimated it quite a bit!
I had to adjust my trail marathon 5 weeks before due to corona, I walked the shorter distance. My preparation was good. Lots of running time in the legs, 3x a week on the road, but where possible on the trails and preferably in the mountains. Speed training, hill training, but everything focused on off-road. After the trail run (and a small recovery period) I threw myself fully on the road. Almost all kilometers were flat and paved. I found this boring. Very very boring. The same step every time, step by step. I was able to focus well at the beginning by continuing to focus on my goal, namely the marathon, but after 1.5 hours of running I couldn't do that anymore. Then it got tough. I struggled to keep up the pace and regularly lost the flow. At the point of my longest run in early September – I had chosen a beautiful route, slept well, felt fit, the weather was just perfect – I had the breaking point. After 22 kilometers I had fought so long against the distraction and refocus every time, I didn't feel like it anymore. Result: took the train back and thought about giving up for a week.
But after putting so much time into it, I couldn't do that either. What was the worst that could happen? So after a conversation with the coach, I made a small training adjustment (last long runs on fairly flat trails, let go of the pace) and still pursued the goal.
I took the train back and thought about giving up for a week.
In mid-September, after so many miles on the road, the aches and pains started to come more and more, really the impact of the hard surface and the same foot landing over and over. Taking good care of myself, recovering during the taper made me fit enough for hitting the Munich Marathon in early October.
The first 15 km went well, I ran nicely on schedule, tried to focus on having fun and enjoying it, watched the miles slowly fly by. I ran close to the pacers of my target time. Until kilometer 15. Then it started to hurt the attachment of my glute muscle. Quite a lot of pain. But I knew, it only hurts, nothing breaks. So hop on, move on. And yet you unconsciously adjust your stride. And that resulted in more pain. On the other side, in other places. From the half marathon distance it got really bad. I forced myself to run x minutes, then I was allowed to walk x minutes. As the marathon progressed, the running time got shorter and slower, I kept the walking time at a maximum of 2 minutes.
I finally crossed the finish line. After the first 15 km in 1.5 hours, I needed 3.5 hours for the last 27.5 kilometers. Not as I had hoped, but I made it to the finish. I did everything I could. So it's okay.
Finally I crossed the finishline
I hardly enjoyed it, I have established that I am really a trail runner and that my body is trained for it, and that I have trouble with a road race, in terms of impact and mindset. And that's fine.
Would you also like to train for a trail run or a distance on the road? Let me help you, contact me now!
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