If you've not done any kind of trail running before, you might be surprised at the strength and power needed for endurance level trail events - Trail marathon and Ultra Marathon distances, multi-day, etc.
Last year I did a couple of road marathon distances in training before the injuries got out of hand, and noticed the significant difference. On road, you get to your speed and you just keep going at it. In a few hours, that's that. You might get chafing, or your hips, calves, quads etc may tighten up, or your knees and shins get sore from the pavement pounding. but you tend to move smoother, faster and easier on a flat hard surface, rather than a muddy, rocky, hilly one. Comparing a 25km training road run, to a 25km training trail run the differences are clear. Trail batters you far more. Without a doubt.
There are far less opportunities to cruise and many more specific challenges you encounter (which is certainly why I enjoy it far more than road running, not even mentioning the better views you get). Your gait has to change. Your speed has to change. Your stride has to change. All of it constantly. What's interesting is most of the challenges of trail, root, mud, shingle, hill ascent, hill descent, etc all require a level of power and strength from parts of your body you don't generally think about when you think about running.
There is a saying that you should train on the surface you intend to run on. If most of your run is trail, you train trail. (look at the gif here and see what she is running on as an example). If rock, then train on rock, If there is sand and shingle beach then that's what you need to get on (or the next best surface which is mud). Different landscapes test different parts of your body in ways you don't realise and that means a balanced approach to strength building. Most non elite ultra-marathon trail runners use poles on hilly courses. That means you need to build strength in your shoulders and triceps. They are incredibly uneven too. That means you not only need strong ankles but also a really strong core as they will hit your back hard. Most also need you to run with a pack (unless you are a more elite runner) due to the time on trail and the need for food, water and things like med kit, head torch, bad weather gear, spare socks etc (I'll do a kit list in another post).
And then there are hills which are notorious for wrecking trail runners... quads, hamstrings, hips, knees, back and ankles depending on how many, how steep, and how high. The amount of people that were wrecked on my chosen route two years ago was significant. A third dropped out after the extremely brutal hill stretch at 42km. Hikers and runners. We had sprains, knee dislocations. Burnouts. Knee problems. Back problems. Exhaustion. Etc Going up is easy. Coming down is what hurts most. Personally having spent most of my life playing rugby, weight lifting, etc means the power needed to go up a hill is there in abundance. I love the steep hills, but holy cow they can take it out of you coming down. Being heavy (and carrying a pack) can savage your joints and weaker areas. It's the most common areas of people having to retire from a challenge due to injury. It was coming down a hill on a training run last year where i broke my ankle. And this is where strength comes in. I'm building better ankle strength given my problems there. Better stability and core strength. Better back strength. and so on. It takes up a lot of my training time and is something so many people forget to consider thinking it's simply about running really far. The last thing anyone wants is a DNF because their ankle gave out as their ankle gave way through fatigue. Training on rough surfaces sucks. Especially rehabbing an injury. It's a constant shit fest of discomfort that builds into pain, and then leaves you icing your hurting parts for days after.
There is a balance though in focusing on too much power (i.e. the typical weight lifting approach for many of back, biceps, tricep, chest, legs, abs), and less of functional strength. Using one leg balances and squats on Bosu Balls, Step ups / springs for glutes, One leg side raises for hips, lunges to strengthen knees, speed skater lunges side to side, planks, crunches, deadlifts, press ups, etc are not the sorts of exercises you tend to do when you think of running. But I'm finding they are probably the most important ones of all alongside my running.
Over something like 100km, your running form (or walking form) turns to shit later on. It's inevitable That's where the strength comes in. You may use the poles to power through (I certainly did), or the pack starts to feel someone has dropped a few extra bricks in and your back is screaming. Your ankles might be shot, or you knees savaged from repeated steep descents. That's where the strength helps to take over as your form falls apart. And that's where ANY weakness will be shown to you. It's certainly something we neglect at our peril. My Approach deal with the things I think can be a big issue now and then simply let my stubbornness do the rest. The least amount of time spent in abject misery, the better if you ask me. The work continues and will do so up to pretty much race day. It's uncomfortable but it'll be beneficial for sure. Thanks for reading.
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