Beginning Trail Running Tips - The Mental Aspect of Running

Ron Bowman: Hi! I'm Ron Bowman and today we're talking about tips for beginning trail runners and now we're going to talk a little bit of the mental aspect of trail running. The mental aspect of trail running is much like that of road running. I mean the reason that you are out there, is very much the same for fitness, for enjoyment, and just working up a good sweat can be very invigorating. The same applies to trail running.

The aspect about trail running that is so appealing to many people, is that it get you out in the country. The soft turf that you are running on is much more easy on your legs, you don't feel as tired when you finish to good trail run, because your legs haven't taken the same kind of pounding that they do on road running.

Being out in nature, being in the woods can be very relaxing and very mentally stimulating for many people. Just being able to commune with nature alone can be a reason for trail running. Then while trail running versus hiking, really it's the physical fitness aspect of it. Go for a good hike and you can get the same sort of enjoyment, but when you trail run, you get to cover more distance and you get the enjoyment of a good running workout at the same time.

The key to the mental aspect of trail running, much like road running, but even more so for trail running is to relax. Relax and let yourself enjoy the surroundings, relax your shoulders, relax your arms, it's going to make your pace much more comfortable, it's going to make you much less likely to stumble or trip, because you are running at a pace that your body is comfortable with.

So if I can leave you with any point about trail running is to relax and enjoy it. Enjoy it at the level that you are comfortable with, enjoy it with friends or by yourself if you want to, but enjoy the scenery, enjoy the surroundings. And in parting, I would like to just say one thing that, if there is one thing that I want to be able to do or say that I can do well into my years when I am not able to do triathlons or to do road races, then that's to be able to continue to do trail running. I hope you've learned something on this video on trail running. It's been my pleasure to present it to you, and I hope to see you out on the trails.