10 Amazing Real Life Things That Get Better with Trail Running
by Roy Kok
- Confidence: as a trail runner, you’ve no doubt encountered some interesting moments. Maybe it was a bear on the trail or not far off. Maybe you decided to run a marathon by yourself one fine autumn morning. You bagged a gnarly peak, or bagged a few on the same day. Maybe you braved a particularly smelly pit toilet on a particularly hot summer’s day. …
For any level of fitness
by Roy Kok
[Alternate title: Do a Treadmill Workout: Enjoy Nachos and Wine!]
Treadmill running sucks for so many runners. Yet, some people actually like it. Myself included. I admit my shame.
B-but this is a publication for trail running! You exclaim, throwing your hand-held water bottle at the wall and slapping your compression tights in frustration.
It’s friggin’ cold out there, though, eh, and everyone, including the hardiest of mountain women and men who kick all kinds of ass all winter, need and deserve a break. …
by Roy Kok
In this second of a two-part series on winter trail running, we will focus on strategy and technique to stay upright and happy through a long Canadian winter. It has been a doozy. These polar vortexes are making it hard to run outside. You can do it, though. Winter trail running is really fun if you become a master of the gear, strategies and elements.
1. First, find a treadmill workout you learn to love — or like, or just not hate. Let’s be clear: the treadmill is widely loathed. It was, after all, was invented as…
by Roy Kok
As we adapt and acclimate to winter, take time off, plan our next year and set out our goals and travels, now is a great time to evaluate and re-visit some of the mental strategies and perspectives we have towards trail running and racing.
Trail races are hard. They’re daunting at any distance, depending on your experience, training and especially coming back from injury. If you’re “graduating” into a new distance you’ve never run before, the unknowns are terrifying. There are no easy ultras. Even if you are adamant about just having fun and not pushing yourself, the logistics of race day are anxiety inducing.
Running ultras terrifies me. They regularly defeat and defy me, yet I love the challenge and training. The day before race day is the worst, with the Mental Defeatist Marching Band playing its familiar greatest hits…
Running in weather from freezing rain to -25° Celsius and colder
by Roy Kok
There are so many fantastic reasons to keep running outside during the winter. It’s hard to commit to treadmill runs, especially longer workouts. A treadmill run requires the logistics of, usually, going to the gym and working this into a normal day. Simply not running sucks, and cross-training can be boring, because, well, it’s not running.
It’s also pretty badass to be a full time runner in the Canadian winter.
Part 1 of this guide focuses mainly on gear as it relates to temperature.
The prospect of daily runs outside in the incredibly varying temperature, climate, and…
