12 Great Reasons to take to the trails

12 Reasons to take to the trails

If you are lost then this is where you will find yourself.

Last week in part one I gave you some great reasons NOT to run trails.  This week I’m going to give you the reasons why you should run trails.  I like to race on the roads and I’ve been known to run on the sidewalks but for pure joy of running I prefer the trails.

1. The first great reason to run on trails is that they are softer than the road.  There is no cement, concrete, brick or tarmac on the trail.  Your body is less abused.  The shock for the joints is lessened and you will make your original equipment last by running on the trails.
2. The second reason is that trails are more peaceful.  Trails have no cars, no trucks no bustling noise of city life. They are quieter and remove man-made distractions from the running process.  By being more peaceful trails allow you to relax and to lose you cares and to be absorbed into your run.
3. Number three: Trails are a better all-around workout.  Running on the road is a very specific activity that works on very specific muscles.  The trails, with their uneven surfaces, narrow paths, hills and valleys force you to use more of your body.  Whether it is scrambling up loose stone scree, ducking under a low branch or vaulting a log you are forced to be a more balanced and stronger runner on the trails.
4. Number four: Trails are just more interesting.  There is so much to see and so much to contemplate on the trails. There is nothing comparable to cresting a long climb to peer awestruck over a cliff into the panoramic view of valley below. I have seen floods and great pine trees cracked open by lightning.  There is always a reason to soak up the scenery when you’re out on the trails.
5. The fifth great reason to run trails is to see the animals.  The deer, the birds and the other wild things that inhabit our woods.  I cannot describe the adrenaline rush to surprise a fox at night or to come across a giant barn owl feeding in the trail.  To stand on a log bridge and peer at the bass idling in crystal lakes is a thing that is good for the soul.
6. The sixth great thing about running trails is the protection from the elements.  In my woods it is cool in the summer as I run in the shade of the tall trees.  Those same trees sway against the buffeting of winter storm winds, protecting me.  I am encapsulated and safe in the forest, protected from the elements.
7. The company of plants is the seventh reason I love to run trails.  There are my protecting trees and there are also different green things that flower and fruit through the seasons.  The tang of wild grapes on the winds in the fall, the riot of flowers and sweet blossoms in the spring and the scattering of milkweed silk like little parachute-men on the breeze, are all things I love.
8. The eighth reason to run in the trails is that you can take your dog with you.  They are right at home in the woods and love to gambol about as you ply your way.  They find rabbits to chase and streams to wallow in.  You get to share in the pure joy of their doggy-love of nature.
9. Number 9: Epiphanies.  I have on many occasions come upon some beautiful scene or panorama and all the pieces of the universe’s puzzles have fallen into place.  All is right with the world.  The trials bring you venues that are the stuff of epiphanies.
10. Number 10: Adventures.  When you stand in the clearing staring into the dark mouth of an unknown trail you truly appreciate what it is to venture into the void.  Each time you begin down that path has the potential to lead to a grand adventure.
11. The Eleventh reason to run trails is the spiritual nature of trails.  There is something primal and atavistic and animistic about communing with the clutches of nature.  It resonates with something deep and old in the human brain, something comforting and right.
12. Finally, number twelve, the bottom line is FREEDOM.  Trails engender a great feeling of freedom.  To enter the trail is to cast off the ties and strictures of society of modernity and to become free.

These are the things that we trail runner try to impress on you in our bumbling way.  These are the things that you to shall find as you venture out there – out to your trail.