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| SOLID GOLD: Aspen’s Golden Leaf Half Marathon traverses mostly singletrack through the town’s namesake trees in the peak of autumn. |
Dances with Dirt. Half-Wit Half Marathon. Dude, Where’s the Trail? The Dammit Run. Conquer the Canuck. Swamp Stomp. Fat Ass 50K. Join the burgeoning trail running movement by entering one of these races and you’ll have to acknowledge that, despite being muddy and slightly masochistic, trail runners have a sense of humor.
More runners are hitting the dirt, and chuckling. According to the Outdoor Industry Foundation, 39.5 million Americans went trail running in 2004, a 26.6 percent increase from 1998. Why? Brian Holzhausen, director of the D.IN.O. (Do Indiana Off-road) race series, attributes the surge in popularity to the sheer pleasure of singletrack terrain. “Road runners are tired of the same old, same old pounding the pavement,” he says.
Plus, trail running can be easier on your body. “I have a nagging hamstring injury that tightens up within a couple miles on the road,” says Holzhausen, “but last season, I was able to run a marathon-length distance on the Knobstone Trail, one of the toughest trail runs in the Midwest.” The American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org) agrees that running on soft surfaces is gentler on your joints.
And unlike other trendy sports, trail running doesn’t require pricy gear or specialized skills. If you own a pair of running shoes and you’re willing to get dirty, you’ve just joined the least-exclusive club in the outdoor sports world.
When you’re ready to become a trailie, consider the 6-mile Leather Man’s Loop trail race in Westchester County, New York, held every spring (www.leathermansloop.org). In the Midwest, D.IN.O. sponsors races for beginners and experts (www.dinoseries.com). Or find a race with a dirty name near you through the All American Trail Running Association (www.trailrunner.com).
Last Updated: Feb 24th, 2006 - 14:18:11
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