The Science of Running

Trail vs. Road; Sauna Recovery; Tackling Hills

The difference between running along a forest path and a carclogged road isn’t just the scenery. Over the years, researchers have identified a long list of trail-running benefits, including cleaner air, greater mood improvements and more stress reduction compared to comparable exercise in an urban setting. Now it turns out that one of the basic characteristics of trails – uneven and unpredictable terrain – may also have some benefits by making every footstep different and putting constantly varying stresses on your feet and legs. Sure, it’s a trip hazard – but over time, navigating technical trails may have positive effects on your ankles, according to new research published in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Researchers at the Wingate Institute and several other universities in Israel recruited 26 road runners and 17 trail runners to compare the characteristics of their Achilles tendons, a frequently injured band of tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. There were no obvious differences in a series of balance and jumping tests, but ultrasound measurements of their tendon structure suggested that the t rail runners had stronger and healthier tendon tissue.

It’s not clear whether this difference is a result of softer surfaces, hillier terrain or the constantly varying demands of technical trails. There’s other evidence to support the benefits of variety – for example, researchers in Luxembourg have previously found that runners who switch back and forth between two or more models of shoe for their runs are almost 40 per cent less likely to get injured than those who run in the same shoe every day. Whatever the underlying reason, it’s a good incentive to get off-road – if you really need yet another excuse.