I wrote a post a few weeks ago about the trail running gear I was getting ready with for my first time hitting the trails. A lot of you saved it and followed along and I promised I would report back.
Here is what actually happened.
The Setting — Green Lakes State Park
I could not have picked a better place for my first trail runs if I had tried. Green Lakes State Park sits just outside Syracuse in upstate New York and it is genuinely stunning. The park is built around two glacial lakes — Green Lake and Round Lake — that sit right next to each other and have a color so vivid and clear they almost look artificial. They are not. That is just what a pristine glacial lake looks like.
The park has over 20 miles of well developed trails winding through the hills and forest surrounding the lakes. The trails are maintained, well marked, and varied enough that you could run here for months without repeating the exact same route. And here is the detail that makes it even better — the park is adjacent to the Erie Canal trail corridor, a repurposed canal system where New York State has created a trail network that runs over 350 miles between Buffalo and Albany. I have run the canal trail many times as a road runner. Now I get to access it from the trails.
I am not sure I fully appreciated what was in my backyard until I started trail running. Now I do.
What Surprised Me — Running Uphill Is Different on a Trail
I have run hills on the road for nearly 30 years. I thought I knew what running uphill felt like.
Trail hills are different. On the road you can find a rhythm and push through. On a trail you are also navigating roots, rocks, holes, and uneven terrain at the same time which changes everything. Your brain and your body are both working harder simultaneously.
On the steeper sections I discovered power hiking — a technique where you place your hands on your quads and push down as you climb, essentially using your upper body to give your legs extra support up the hill. I had heard about this but never had occasion to use it on the road. On a trail it makes an immediate and meaningful difference. If you are new to trail running learn this technique before you go — you will use it.
Gaiters — Do You Actually Need Them?
I told you in my gear post that I changed my mind and got gaiters. Here is my honest update after actually running at Green Lakes — the trails there are well maintained and I did not see many other runners wearing gaiters.
For well maintained state park trails like Green Lakes a simpler solution works just fine — pull your crew socks up high. It keeps small debris from slipping down into your shoes without the extra gear. I use my Adidas crew socks pulled up and they do the job perfectly on these trails.
That said gaiters absolutely earn their place on more technical trails with lots of loose rocks, dirt, and debris. Know your trail before you decide. For beginner friendly well maintained trails like Green Lakes — save your money and pull your socks up.
Trail Running Tires You Out Differently
Road running fatigue is familiar to me after all these years. You push hard, your lungs and legs work, and you feel the effort in a predictable way.
Trail running fatigue is different. It is more physical — the uneven terrain, the constant micro-adjustments, the hills that demand more from your whole body than a road hill does. After two trail runs I felt tired in muscles I did not expect to feel and recovered slightly differently than I do after road runs.
It is more demanding. I mean that as a compliment.
The Best Part — Your Brain Gets a Complete Break
Here is the thing about trail running that nobody told me and that I did not expect.
On the road my mind wanders. I think about work, I replay conversations, I make mental lists. My body runs and my brain does whatever it wants.
On the trail you really have to pay attention. Roots, rocks, holes, changes in terrain — the trail demands your full focus every single step. You do not really think about much except not falling down or hitting a hole.
That was nice.
It sounds simple but it was genuinely wonderful. An hour of trail running where my brain had nothing to do except navigate the next ten feet of trail was more mentally refreshing than almost anything else I have experienced in my fitness life. It is moving meditation in the most literal sense.
If you struggle to quiet your mind — and most of us do — trail running might be exactly what you need.
Being in the Woods
I have been a road runner my whole running life. Roads, sidewalks, paths — that has been my world.
Running through the woods at Green Lakes with the lakes visible through the trees, the sound of birds, the smell of forest and spring — it is a completely different sensory experience than road running. Quieter in some ways. Fuller in others.
I enjoyed it more than I expected to. I will be back.
What Is Next
I have a 10 mile road race in May that I am training for with Runna and my Garmin Forerunner 265. After that race I plan to do more trail running through the summer — exploring more of the Green Lakes trail system and eventually venturing further along the canal corridor.
I am a road runner who found the trails later than most. I do not think that matters. I am having fun learning a side of running that is all new to me.
If you are thinking about trying trail running — go. Start somewhere beautiful if you can. Bring your gaiters. Learn to power hike the steep parts. Pay attention to your feet.
And enjoy the quiet your brain gets when the trail demands everything it has.
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