It’s not the same as running around the block

YOU MAY FIND yourself climbing hills or descending along rivers, all while dancing around obstacles. Lean in a little when going uphill so you use the largest muscles in your body – your glutes. Going downhill, don’t lean back and ride your heels. That’s a good way to overload your thighs and end up sore or injured.

When you run through your neighbourhood, you probably don’t look too far past your feet. On a trail, your inclination may be to stare directly down, but your feet know what to do. Dodging those obstacles is pretty instinctive. You actually want to look about five metres ahead, so you can see approaching challenges with time to react to them.

Running injuries don’t usually come from doing it wrong, but from the stress of repetition, says Dan Lieberman of Harvard’s Skeletal Biology Lab. The natural environment pushes runners towards shorter, varied steps, which helps the body better absorb impacts.

Trail-running shoes balance the light weight and breathability of road-running shoes with the durability and traction of hiking boots.

➼ A rock-protection plate made of hardened rubber or plastic under the sole guards against the multitude of sharp objects you’ll encounter on the trail. ➼ Lugs, the sections of tread on the bottom of your shoes, bite into softer surfaces like gravel, mud and snow for better grip. The trade-off: as lugs get bigger and chunkier, the contact area of the shoe decreases, making them less effective on harder surfaces, like rock faces. Lugs wear quickly on tar, too, so use them only on the trail. ➼ Some shoes feature a waterproof bootie that wraps the foot, typically made of Gore-tex. If you plan on running mostly in dry conditions and hot weather, you’ll appreciate the breathability of a less fortified shoe. But if you’re going to be jogging through rain and over riverbeds, a bootie will save you from soggy feet and blisters.

has a grippy Michelin rubber outsole and charged midsole. R2 200, underarmour.com GEAR

Jogging in your neighborhood doesn’t take much equipment, but in the woods, the right gear can be critical. Or at least keep you more comfortable.

Rail trail

Wide, graded trail that uses rail right-ofway to get out into the wild without getting steeper than a train can handle. BY STEPHANIE HOWE, THE NORTH FACE TRAIL RUNNER AND 2014 14 WINNER OF THE WESTERN STATES 100, THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS TRAIL RACE E IN THE USA.

THE BEST TRAILS ARE THE ONES THAT TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY: narrow single-track rack that twists and winds up and down mountains and valleys. There are a lot of these trails rails that are accessible – when you’re ready for them. Those trails are usually littered with h rocks, roots and scree, which forces you to be really careful about where you step. You won’t be used to that if you haven’t been off-road before. So when you’re just starting, look for something a little wider, because that will tend to be less technical. And when it comes to slopes, there’s something a little counterintuitive to keep in mind: though uphills are harder in terms of stamina, the downhills are what really can destroy your body, because of the heavy impacts, if you’re not used to them. You’ll feel sore the next day. Luckily, there’s a way to make sure the soreness is short-lived: keep hitting the trails.