Near Mountain Speer
Running off the Beaten Track...
that's Trail Running: a great way to experience nature and a superior workout.
The steep and wild flanks of local mountain Uetliberg (Webcam) offer great possibilities to the avid trail runner. You will find it hard to believe that you are still right next to the city.
Individual Guiding
Tailored to your needs. From a short run during lunch break to a 2 hr trail run is everything possible. CHF 60/hr.
Example of a Trail Run
| Start | Utoplatz (Sihlcity Shopping Mall) |
| Finish | Train Station Triemli |
| Track Length | 5.8 miles (9.3 km) |
| Total Ascent | 1840 feet (560 m) |
| Total Descent | 1640 feet (500 m) |
| Elevation Profile (10:1) |
 |
| Character | Mainly single trails on forest soil with steep, technical and exposed sections. For experienced runners. |
Rental Equipment
For technical trails it's highly recommended to use Trail Running Shoes. They have
not only a grippy outsole but also a more flat, less cushioned
midsole and provide therefore great control on difficult terrain.
Waterproof/breathable socks keep your feet dry and warm in wet and cold
conditions.
Award winning Roclite 315 trail shoe from Inov-8 15 CHF |
Waterproof/breathable socks from Seal Skinz 5 CHF |
Trail Running Knowledge
Scott Jurek on pelvis position and running uphill
Personal experience:
Core stability and a neutral pelvis position is a key aspect of an efficient and healthy running style. With a
stable and centered pelvis I feel
that I'm able to use my leg and butt muscles better and that I have more power
to push me forward.
Next to strong core muscles it is also important that they work together in a
coordinated way. You can improve the coordination very good with a balancing
disc like those from
MFT.
Scott Jurek on switching from road to trail running, fear of ankle sprain, strides etc.
Personal experience:
Important is also that you're looking on the trail before you, say 2 to 4 meters
and have repeatedly quick looks further away to see what's coming next.
You can minimize the danger of spraining your ankles with exercises that
strengthen you ankles and increase their
proprioceptive
ability. As a further measure you can tape your ankle.
Running Thoughts
I run for several years now and I'm still learning. Here are a few lines of what I'm currently thinking about:
Is running healthy?
They say running is healthy. For the cardiovascular system that is undoubtedly
true, for the rest of the body it's rather not. Running a marathon for example
is not healthy at all because the overall effect of a marathon is catabolic
(degrading). In a "normal" endurance run the muscles
are also just partially built up (anabolic). Unused muscles degrade (are used for
energy). Many people have a bad running style because they have not enough
muscular strength to do better. Endurance runs - because of the long and monotonous training stimuli
- reduce further more the ability for speed and
coordination.
An additional muscle and coordination training is therefore highly
recommended for two reasons:
1. To compensate the one sided stimuli of running.
2. To make your body strong enough for running with a good technique.
Next to "ordinary" endurance runs I do regular body core training, barefoot running sessions, Running-ABC units, fartleks, balance board exercises and - of course - stretching. Every 2nd day I go on the "Vita Parcours" and do the strength (core and upper body) workouts. The effects are very positive:
- an active running style that is easy on the joints
- more (strength) endurance, less fatigue, faster recovery.
- a better body feeling and more fun!
Human and animal children are in this respect for me a role model. Their natural urge to move ensures that their strength, speed, flexibility and coordination do develop optimally. Children play and do not make endurance runs!
So, dare you to move on to something more childlike and playful again and offer your body and mind more varied (training) stimuli!
Running Technique: The Never Ending Story
I'm currently experimenting with a running technique I found on a video about Tony Krupicka, a sucessfull Ultra Trail Runner. I would describe his technique as follows:
-The upper body is fully vertical.
-The whole buddy is low to the ground (bended knees)
-The stride candence is fairly high (short strides).
New for me is the fully vertical upper body position and to be lower to the
ground as usual. I think this style has 2 major advantages: 1) Through the
upright upper body position the big and strong but muscles and the hamstring
muscles are more engaged. 2) The short strides and the low to the ground
level give you very little impact.
All in all I think it's very efficient running technique because
the tiring dampening work for the muscles is decreased while more muscles are
engaged in accelerating you forward.
