Book tip: How to optimally prepare for your next trail run event
13.6.2023
Translation: machine translated
Easy running in difficult terrain - the "Trail Running Handbook" by sports scientist Markus Brennauer shows how it's done.
Have you been bitten by the trail running bug and want to know how you can best prepare for your next running adventure in the mountains? As you have probably already experienced yourself, standardised training plans quickly reach their limits. Either you don't make the progress you want or the training is too intense, too extensive or completely unsuitable for your fitness level. The result: frustration or overtraining, often peppered with injuries.
The sports scientist Markus Brennauer takes a different approach in his "Trail Running Handbook". Although he also offers training plans, you can use a personalised strength profile to adapt the plans to your running level.
The five parameters VO2max, mountain running, downhill, anaerobic threshold and basic endurance form the basis for your profile, which shows you where your weaknesses lie, which strengths you can build on and how you can adapt your training accordingly.
You don't need complex and expensive tests to determine your profile: for some, all you need is trainers, a stopwatch and the willingness to go full throttle for seven minutes. For others, you need to realistically assess your downhill ability - sore muscles included.
Individual strength profiles show areas for improvement
Many trail runners - including author Markus Brennauer - have already gained decades of experience in track and road running before taking up trail running. However, good results in 10-kilometre races, half marathons or marathons do not automatically mean that these runners can easily master steep inclines and uneven ground. They often lack the strength in their thighs and ankles and the technique for the terrain. As trail running events are often over the 50-kilometre threshold, specific endurance training is also necessary.
On the other hand, experienced mountain running specialists can increase their performance by completing tempo runs to improve their maximum oxygen uptake capacity (VO2max) on the road or track. Admittedly, this is quite boring compared to a steep trail in the mountains, but it is effective. Regardless of which profile suits you, the book gives you tips on how to run longer, safer and more enjoyably on narrow, rooted paths and rocky mountain trails.
The icing on the cake is the training plan for the Zugspitz-Ultratrail (ZUT), Germany's best-known trail event. Here you will find training suggestions designed for six to eight months, which are based on the assumption that you have already worked specifically on your weaknesses and strengths. The plan is based on periodisation with a basic phase, preparation phase I, II and a specific preparation phase as well as immediate preparation for the competition. There are also options here to adapt the training to your own goals and abilities.
Undogmatic, practical and immediately applicable
Markus Brennauer is refreshingly relaxed in his advice. You don't have to have been one of the top finishers in the "Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc" (UTMB) three times to be considered a trail runner. "Trail running is actually also a bit of a matter of attitude," he writes. "For some people, the trail starts right on their doorstep in Berlin, for others it starts above the tree line."
And I also like his considered attitude towards nature: he advises trail runners to use the cycle paths and hiking trails on their doorstep more often during training, even if they don't offer spectacular views. "What's the point of trying to protect nature if you drive several kilometres into the mountains every day in your own car? The associated CO2 emissions are anything but climate-friendly."
All in all, the book is filled with tips that you can apply immediately. Strength and balance training are just as much a part of it as the necessary equipment, mental strategies and nutrition. The book also solves a puzzle that I myself have faced on running adventures at altitude: the question of why I often get a side stitch on downhill runs.
So far, I've been eating carbohydrates before a long downhill run (I do this in the form of gummy bears or a bar from the Swiss sports nutrition manufacturer Peak Punk) to keep me focussed and prevent me from stumbling on the way down. Obviously my timing wasn't perfect though. The stomach is really shaken up on the downhill. If there is still food or liquid in it, it stings in the flanks. Better: snack on sweets a few minutes before the downhill run. I will definitely take this and other tips to heart during my next trail running training session.
Cover photo: Siri Schubert
Siri Schubert
Senior Editor
Siri.Schubert@digitecgalaxus.chResearch diver, outdoor guide and SUP instructor – I love being in, on and around water. Lakes, rivers and the ocean are my playgrounds. For a change of perspective, I look at the world from above while trail running or flying drones.
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