Trail Running Techniques and Tips Series 1
Here we are coming up with choice of you tube videos of trail running tips and techniques from world champions like Scott Jurek who is one of many times champions in every top trail running race events worldwide together with the names of Dakota Jones, Killian Jornet, etc.
When I talked with Alvin Balderama, the race director Pimco Sporting Events, after their inspiring paticipation in one of the most difficult trail running race event in Asia participated by more than 1150 elite runners from 35 countries the MSIG Sai Kung HK series where two of the 4-member team of Pimco-Tanay Philippines Trail Running Team managed to place 7th in the 50k and the 26k categories, I asked him what will make one win in the International event like that and he said, it's the uphill and downhill part of every trail running race that will spell the difference between winning and losing.
He has experienced it and observed how the top runners glide in downhill as if they are levitating and it would be hard to catch with such runner because ordinary runners would normally put a break in the downhill part and this cost a lot of time lost. On uphill stages, many runners run out of gas, all appeared to be equally having a hard time going up especially those with long legs but those with shorter legs appear to have the upperhand. In fact it is in the uphill run that the members of Pimco-Tanay Philippines did well getting ahead of many others. There is even a shot where Manolito Divina our entry in the 50k was even ahead of the entire pack nearing the summit. And I ask what happened since he was still in contention to make it to the top 5? Alvin said that the downhill part killed our chances.
The top runners have better technique and balance than them in the downhill that allowed the top 5 to zoom past them. Speed by speed we are competitive and at par with the best but the technique in the downhill parts made the difference. This observation can be validated by the fact that if one reads the time it took every runner past the checkpoints its at the last 3rd and 4th check points that Manolito Divina faded into 8th place that is the downhill part and back into the 7th at the last check point by that time the others are way ahead of him. Thus we can conclude as all masters in trail running would say, to win in trail running race, one must have the mastery of uphill and downhill run.
Listen to Scott Jurek as he explains how to run uphill and what are the wrong postures of runners running uphill and the right one. It may improve your personal best and who knows it may further improve your trail running enough for you to be more competitive in the upcoming NTDR III Trilogy Championship on May 25, 2014 you have more time to practice since the Clubhouse will be opened earlier than the race. Of course the best teacher in trail running is experience, you must keep running and be familiar with the trails, uphill and downhill. Better if you can join the races and experience trail running with the others. Its fun, healthy, invigorating, and exciting to be trail running.
