How To Do Loose Rock Trail Running Video

Trail running, even when loose rocks are present, provides welcome relief from the stress that comes from running on concrete. Learn how to do loose rock trail running in this video.

Take Action

Concrete is hard on joints
Strides should be short
Focus on foot placement

About this Author

Tim Borland began running in 1997 to lose weight and stay in shape. In college he joined the triathlon team, and then went on the compete in Iron mans, adventure races, marathons and much more. Tim most recently participated in the AT&T Cure Tour, an event that had him running 63 marathons in 63 days in 63 communities across the United States.

TIM BORLAND: Hi, my name is Tim Borland. Today we are going to talk about loose rock trail running. Now before we go into that, I just want to preface that with--again thinking about surfaces, as you are out running, maybe around town, around your neighborhood. Oftentimes, people gravitate towards the sidewalks because they are safe, they are always there, usually well lit, but just remember concrete is really tough on your body. It is tough on your knees. It is tough on your hips, on your joints. You get very little absorption in the concrete because it is so dense. It is so hard. As you move from concrete, you got a asphalt. Asphalt is not as tough on your body which is why they run a marathon on asphalt. You can run that distance, that is okay. It is better on your body. But if you want to go even better than that, now we are talking about trails. So, trail running is a great way to give your body a rest from the jarring of the roads and the pavement and the concrete, but we can run into tough trail. So we are going to talk about loose gravel, loose rocks on trails. You are going to focus more on the trail. You are going to focus more on foot placement, ankle rolling. When you are on these kinds of trails, you just want to shorten up your strides, you want to kind of bring everything together, think about center of balance. Again, it rather gets slippery on the flat, but then if you start ascending and descending, going up and down hills, now it is even more uneven on the ground. It is even more loose chances to slip and what not. So, try to keep even on the downhill, try to keep your feet close together as you are stepping. Don't let your legs get out really far in front of you, step on your heels, then make sure you get a good solid plan, as you are coming down, and again, your focus is going to be down right in front of you as you are running.

How to Do Loose Rock Trail Running Video

Take Action

About this Author

Member Comments