Do I have the fitness, skills and experience to meet my goals?
BINDER-LECKIE’S STORY speaks to the value of selfawareness, and that means having a clear sense of what you can and can’t do. As we head into prime trail-running season, now is an excellent time to ref lect on your personal level of preparation by doing a self-assessment.
Start by looking at your goals. Are you preparing for longer trail races with aid stations or for big, unsupported projects in the backcountry? Clear goals will help you decide what level of fitness you require, but they’ll also help you identify the technical skills that you need to stay safe.
“People get into the sport from different angles,” says Travis Schiller-Brown. Schiller-Brown owns Personal Peak Endurance Coaching in Calgary, Alta., and he’s Binder-Leckie’s coach. A seasoned trail runner who helps runners prepare for long distance trail races, he also has a passion for bushcraft that started when he was a kid. “My big thing was survival books,” he says.
Schiller-Brown says that people will either come into trail from road running or other related forms of fitness, so they don’t necessarily have a background in mountain safety a nd being outdoors. In his opinion, trail running involves learning and practising those outdoor skills.
Three outdoor skills are essential no matter your trail running plans. All runners should have enough knowledge of navigation to know where they are at all times. Elementary first aid is necessary for dealing with inevitable injuries and minor health problems. Finally, knowing how to manage nutrition and hydration is essential for completing outings safely and comfortably.
Beyond that, it’s a question of responding to the unique demands of your environment. In some places, that may involve
handling threats from animals or building an overnight shelter. In others, it might mean managing the effects of extreme heat, cold or precipitation.
Proportionate training and fitness are also major factors in order to maintain the endurance required for longer, remote trail runs, often with steep vertical.
“Going out and doing that [big] distance for the first time in the backcountry where it’s remote – I always advise against that ,” Schiller-Brown advises.
“People will either come from road running or the fitness side of things, and they get into trail running, so they don’t necessarily have a background in mountain safety and being outdoors.” TRAVIS SCHILLER-BROWN