Posts Categorized: Trail Running Tips

Coping with Change: Advice from Elite Trail Runner Sam Lewis

American Trail Running Association executive director Nancy Hobbs interviewed 2019 US Mountain Running Team member Sam Lewis to see how she’s adjusting her training to and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Sam Lewis lives in Moscow, Idaho where she is a teacher and coach. She stormed onto the mountain and trail racing scene in 2019… Read more »

How to Find and Enjoy “Secret Trails”

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you liked this article, read even more of Tayte’s articles on our website.  Do you have a favorite trail that not many people know about? Perhaps it’s hard to… Read more »

Tayte’s Trail Tips: 5 Ways to Improve Your Downhill Running Speed

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Watching experienced trail runners glide downhill is a beautiful sight. They seem to fly effortlessly, soaring over rocks and obstacles seemingly without fear of falling; even over the gnarliest terrain. However,… Read more »

Our Trail Work Survey Results Are In!

Photo above of work on the Cheyenne Mountain Trail by the Colorado Springs Gazette. We recently conducted a survey of trail runners to better understand and measure their attitudes towards and involvement in trail maintenance, trail building and trail advocacy activities. With over 2500 survey respondents, we were excited to see a high level of… Read more »

How Hiking Can Make You a Faster Trail Runner (Bonus Edition)

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As a trail runner, it can be tempting to run every inch of every trail we ever set foot on. Hiking on trails, however, can be a great form of supplemental… Read more »

How to Plan and Execute Your Biggest Off-Road Adventure Runs

This article was written by professional trail runner Ryan Ghelfi and originally published on trailsandtarmac.com. Ryan is also a member of the Trails & Tarmac coaching team with David Laney, Jenn Shelton, Camelia Mayfield, Brett Hornig, Rachel Drake, Cole Watson, Tyler Green and Alex Nichols. It’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the short window… Read more »

How Hiking Can Make You A Faster Trail Runner

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Hiking is one of the best ways for trail runners to cross train. Hiking improves your cardiovascular fitness with minimal impact on your joints, strengthens muscle groups essential for trail running,… Read more »

How to Approach Trail Running as an Explorer

While on a recent trip to Iceland with my adventure sister and BFF Anita Ortiz – a trip with an emphasis on trail running – I contemplated the nexus of our sport in terms of training and exploring and how these two very different approaches to a trail run intertwine and create a healthy synergy…. Read more »

How to “Go” When You’re Going Trail Running

In the spirit of our 2019 theme: Trail Running Responsibly, here is an article about waste…the human kind…and responsible disposal. Tommy McClellan, trail runner and stand-up comic, provided this humorous article based on his personal experience. Does a bear shit in the woods? I’m not entirely sure. I would assume so. One thing I know… Read more »

10 Minute Core and Strength Routine for Trail Runners

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For this week’s trail running training tip, I’d like to share a 10 minute running-specific core and strength routine I developed for the Active at Altitude Spring Trail Running Camp held… Read more »

Be a healthy trail runner; spice up your stretching

Written by Stephen R. Santangelo for the Spring 2019 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Many folks find stretching to be rather boring; especially, when the choice of stretching becomes repetitive. Not only is stretching important to prepare the muscles and joints for the trails, it is imperative to ignite the CNS (Central Nervous System)…. Read more »

Get More From Your Core to Trail Run More Efficiently and Avoid Injury

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Although many core strength routines target abdominal muscles, the abs are only a one of the muscle groups that make up your core. Your core includes your abdominals, hips, torso, lower… Read more »

Ashley Brasovan on The Art of Balance: Life and Trail Running

This article was written by Ashley Brasovan for the spring 2019 edition of our Trail Times newsletter. Ashley is the 2007 Foot Locker Cross Country Champion, a Duke University graduate, and most recently a mountain, ultra & trail (MUT) running convert with two USATF Championship titles to her credit – 2017 Trail Half Marathon and… Read more »

Fix Your Running Form Imbalances to Stay Injury Free

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Imbalances in strength and flexibility between one side of the body and the other are common, but are not often identified and corrected before they lead to more serious injuries. Trail… Read more »

What Trail Runners can Learn from the Steeplechase

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Tayte is a graduate of the University of Portland (Oregon) where he dreamed of trail running any time he saw a track. The steeplechase and trail running have more in common… Read more »

Training and Racing Etiquette Tips for the Trails

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In support of our 2019 theme, “Trail Running Responsibility,” I’m sharing my top tips for training and racing etiquette on trails. Learning — and putting into practice — proper etiquette on… Read more »

How to Get the Most Out of Your Rest Days

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Rest days should be a part of every runner’s training schedule. Rest days are days off of running where you recover from your weekly running mileage and allow your body to… Read more »

Tayte Pollmann’s Tuesday Trail Tip – What’s in your trail running vest?

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When running ultra marathon distances, running packs or hydration vests are almost essential. Packs and vests allow runners to plan out nutrition strategies and stay safe in unpredictable mountain environments. They… Read more »

Tayte Pollmann’s Tuesday Trail Tip – Urban Trail Running

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Cities may not seem like the best places for trail runners to hone their skills, but urban environs can provide some surprisingly effective urban trail running training adventures. This past week,… Read more »

The Runner’s Low: Acknowledge the Role of Injuries in the Running Process

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s trail running journey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I spin wheels on a bicycle that doesn’t go anywhere. Everyday I ride my bike, which is attached to a stationary wind-resistant-trainer resting outside the house. I watch my… Read more »