Trail running allows you to enjoy a totally natural environment while doing a great sport, when you practice this there will always be new experiences, climates, places, surfaces, and an adventure while practicing cardiovascular exercise. Continue reading How to run in the mountains.
When running in the mountains, it must be done in an appropriate way, for this it is necessary to use the correct and necessary accessories, it will also be different if you want to participate in a race where the elements are greater and mandatory, than if you want to do it for fun or it is starting. Below we will describe the four most essential elements needed to practice this activity.
A general and main rule cannot be left aside, which is that the choice of training equipment will depend a lot on the place where you want to run, where they are involved, the weather, the height, among others, associated with this The most basic items you will need are:
The clothes
This will depend on the climate of the place where you are going to run, you also have to analyze if it will be constant or changing, and in the mountains it is very normal for the climate to change.
When you choose clothes you should know what the temperatures are like and also think about whether you are resistant to fairly sudden changes. You must decide if you choose to wear light clothing that is breathable or, on the contrary, heavier clothing for the cold.
Sneakers
They are essential for running in the mountains; you should look for a model that helps you to function without problems on this type of ground. It is important to have footwear suitable for the terrain where you will run.
For the above, it is good that the person knows what their footprint is like, that will help them choose the best footwear.
At this point you can also analyze the type of distance you want to run, if the distance is short it can be a light shoe or a heavier one if it is long.
Food
When running in the mountains, water, as in any exercise, is essential, but food is also essential, since there is a totally physical wear and tear that could cause performance to be affected, food would help to have a quick recovery.
When you run in the mountains, it is most likely that there are not enough people who can help you, so that is why you should always go as prepared as possible.
Backpack
It is important to carry a backpack with the necessary things; there you must include a cell phone, a music player, a jacket (jacket), food, windbreaker, among others.
Remember that we already mentioned that it is very likely that you will go to a place where you do not know the weather and where there may be sudden changes in temperature, extreme cold or rain. That’s why you must take all the precautions with the most basic elements; also include something to illuminate the path in case it gets dark quickly.
Here are some basic tips
Plan the route
Before you go running in the mountains, it is recommended that you study well the route you want to do, its distance, the unevenness, the difficulties, the total time, among others.
If you are going to go running alone, it is very important that you know the terrain and its conditions, as well as the escape sources for shelters.
It is good that you get some GPS, each time its prices are more accessible.
The state of the weather
Check the weather, we already said that sometimes the weather can be unpredictable but it is worth checking the weather, especially if the planned route is far from some shelters or if the escape is difficult. The weather will be impossible to control, but prediction can help you choose better equipment.
You must be consistent with physical training.
It is possible that you have already read quite a few articles about this sport and that you also have friends or relatives who are part of Ultras and who do it with the same skill with which we could run ten kilometers in a park, but this is no reason to that you decide that on your first day you are going to do a route that has 30 kilometers only because your friend does it every eight days. Your routes should start according to your training and physical condition.
Communicate the route
It is good to communicate, either to your partner or someone else, the route you intend to take, even if you do not believe it or think that you will not be able to leave, also tell him what the time of your arrival would be, more or less, that is as a precaution, because in case you do not appear it will be the alert way.
Recommendations
Do not enter the mountain vs. asphalt game
Many generate debates that do not make sense about this, someone is not better than another because he does more races in the mountains or on asphalt, you are not inferior because you like to run in the mountains rarely and you like to do it on the road almost all the time. Asphalt or vice versa.
It is common to hear that when a person starts running in the mountains it is difficult for them to want to do it on the asphalt, but this does not stop there, rather they begin to despise those who run on the asphalt and that should not be the case. Everyone has their own decisions that must be respected; they are two different forms of exercise.
Running up the mountain is hard
Perhaps when you read this title it seemed obvious to you, but it is still something that must be made very clear, because if you have always run on asphalt and now you are going to try it on the mountain, it will be very different, because you will be running uphill and also below, the terrain is very different, it has steeper slopes because it is a totally irregular terrain, so in addition to getting the perfect footwear for this, it is important that you train your footprint so that it adapts to that surface that is going to be stepping on, you may come across rocks, stones, loose soil, grass, some fairly narrow trails, among others.
After your first day of training, and even more so if there was no proper prior preparation, the next day you may feel muscle pain in some parts of your body, due to having made this physical effort that is not usual for you.
You don’t have to be running all the time
When you are going to run in the mountains, you do not have to do it constantly, if you reach an uphill slope that is not very steep, maybe you can jog at a good pace, but in general, in many places you will have to stop and start. To walk, this is not bad at all, it can be seen as a way to rest a little, to recover and then be able to run hard challenging a downhill or flat.
You yourself will realize that keeping a constant pace is not possible, due to the relief of the terrain, if you have a watch with GPS, do not go to see how fast you are running.
Although this sport is called trail running, most routes and races are made for running and walking, unless you are a specialist who can get into a top ten.
First aid
It is good to carry a small first aid kit in case an accident occurs.