Running has been part of my life since I was 12 years old. I’ve always done it. Now, if you therefore assume that I find it exciting or that it comes particularly easy to me (“he must be one of those runner types!”), the answer is surprisingly no.
I had always started my runs where I live. Why would I get into the car and drive somewhere? That would be a waste of time, right!? For that reason, my runs had been on pavement. No big deal. As I was getting older, I realized that my particular running style wasn’t good for my knees, so I made adjustments and switched to mid-foot strike and zero-drop shoes and things were going pretty well.
When COVID-19 hit, a number of my usual exercise options evaporated and I was on the lookout for something new. So I got in the car and drove to local trails that I knew from hiking and tried running them instead.
Ever since then, I’ve made trail running a weekly habit and I really enjoy it. Once I got the hang of it, it turned out that there are several advantages of running off the road and in nature: keep reading