How I Train for the Trails When I Live in the City

I love trail running. There’s no better feeling than running through the woods and just being in nature. (I’m aware of how cheesy that sounds, but it’s the truth!). I run a lot of trail races and ultramarathons. But, I live in Brooklyn — not exactly a trail running mecca. Living in Brooklyn hasn’t detoured me from trail running, I have just found ways to work with my situation until I can move to Colorado. (Just kidding, I’m East Coaster for life).

I try to get out to the trails as much as I can, but usually, that’s only once a week, maybe twice if I’m lucky. I do try to take advantage of the trails in Prospect Park, but those aren’t the same as the trails upstate. I think of them more as dirt sidewalks, to be honest.

So Here’s How I Train For The Trails

1. I make an effort to be a stronger runner. I strength train 2–3 times a week and have a core routine I do after every run. It doesn’t have to be complicated, I do a lot of squats, lunges, curls, etc. I focus on single-leg exercises and stability work. When I became consistent with my strength work, I felt stronger going up the inclines. My core work really paid off when I started catching myself as I would trip. It’s a running joke how much I fall on the trail, but now it’s a thing of the past. David Roche has a quick 3-minute routine you can do after every run to get your legs mountain ready. I’ve started to do this and it’s a burner! Here’s the link.
2. I take the stairs all the time. I live on the 5th floor of my building and I take the stairs instead of the elevator. On my running routes, if there are a set of stairs in a park, I hit them up a few times. I alternate between taking two at a time and “bounding” up the stairs and doing one at a time quickly. Same when I go down the stairs. Not only does it help with the uphills, but it helps get your quads ready for the downhill pounding. I think actual stairs are way better than a Stair Master because you can get the downhill workout.
3. I actively seek out hills on my runs. I used to try to keep my runs as flat as possible, but now when I am planning out a route, I throw in a bridge or two or go to a park where I know there are some nice rolling hills. I don’t even want to try to guess how many bridge repeats I’ve done. (I one time did a 20-mile run just going back and forth over the Williamsburg bridge.) I know it’s not the same as a mountain, but it’s better for you than keeping it flat.
4. I work on my speed. Speed workouts are a good way to increase your lactate threshold. When you are running easy, your body can keep up with the lactate production and easily convert it to glycogen to be used as energy. When you start running longer or faster, you hit your lactate threshold: your body can’t keep up with the lactate production, and then your performance declines. So when you train at a pace that gets you close to your lactate threshold, it helps to raise it which will help you maintain a faster pace at a longer distance. I think this is important because your trail pace is usually slower than your road pace, so if I increase my road pace my trail pace quickens.
5. Make friends with the treadmill. Pre-COVID, I would use the treadmill in the gym in my building to practice power hiking. This was such a good tool and really helped me when I was training for Black Canyon. Treadmill climbing is great because it allows you to train on never-ending hills. Since you don’t have to worry about rocks or roots, you can just focus on producing a steady power output. It also allows you to train for course specificity — I was training for a race that had several steep climbs that I couldn’t find anything in my area that would mimic the course. I was able to use the treadmill to simulate the steep inclines that would be there come race day.

So there are all the ways I try to be the best trail runner I can while living in Brooklyn. It’s not impossible to train for trails, you just have to get creative.