Handling Muddy Trails
Having been racing on some very muddy trails recently, I
thought that I would share a few tidbits from my experience.
First, let’s level set about something. If I know that the
trails are dry, I will likely run in my road shoes. Road shoes will work just
fine on a just about any dry trail. I have never ran in to a situation where
they did not do the job.
Now, if rain has been falling or will be falling making the
course a wet sloppy mess, switching to trail shoes would be my first
suggestion. Make sure to choose a trail shoe which has a good cleats on the
bottom. While new tail shoes will work best. Even older, worn trail shoes will
work better than road shoes on a muddy trail.
With shoes in hand, are there things that can be done while
running on the trail?
The answer most definitely, yes.
Avoid running in the middle of the trail if the trial shows clear signs of being muddy. As more and more runners tread along on the trail,
they will churn up the ground in to slippery mud. Running along the edges will
tend to give better traction where possible.
Now, nearly every trail that I have run will always have
some uphills and some downhills. Try to avoid leaning back on while descending.
This tends to put my weight behind my foot which increase the risk that I will
go sliding. The better option is to lean in to the downhill while keeping as
much weight as possible over the ball of my foot. Yes, this sounds counter intuitive
and bit reckless. But in my experience, it tends to work.
Once course swings back to the uphill, use the banking on
the sides of the trail help climb it. What I do is pinch my knees slightly inward
so my ankles flare out. This way, I am using each side of the trail to propel
myself upward. This technique is a bit of a variant from my suggestion for
running on the sides of a trail. Sometimes it just is not possible to run on
the sides uphill but bouncing back and forth from side to side will work fairly
well.
This next suggestion pertains to taking a turns on a trail.
I learned this lesson just last year. I went in to a left hand turn and decided
to take the inside track on the trail. I planted my foot which promptly gave way
sending me sliding down and across the trail. No, the better option is to take
the outside line on a trail. Here, I would have been pushing against the banking which tends
to hold up better.
Lastly, my best suggestion is to take advantage of all straight
ahead sections. These are best sections to make good time with low risk.
Having suggested all of the above, remember that nothing is
full proof. I am zipping along on a trail in questionable conditions. I am
looking ahead and making split second decisions based on my experience of what
is the best path to take. Choosing wisely is very important.
So if slowing down makes sense, then do so. Better to finish
the race 2 or 3 seconds slower than twist and ankle or worse break an ankle.
Kickin’ up trail dust,
The Cool Down Runner
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