How many of you are trail runners? I have run some trails (not technical trails) and really enjoy the lack of traffic and the peaceful setting. I just wish I had access to trails closer to home. Kinda defeats the purpose if you have to drive 25 miles to run a 10 mile trail.

When the economy was better, we usually had access to buses to transport our kids to various trails in our area to practice on. We felt that it was a terrific way to vary our practices, as well as run on actual courses that we would be competing on during the season. We like trails because they are generally softer surfaces and it helps cut down on injuries that occur from running on harder surfaces...i.e. all weather tracks, in urban settings where you are on sidewalks or blacktop, or whatever. we have a measured 400 meter "track" measured off by wheel that we use for most of our interval training and everything else that we can use it for. Our injuries over the years have been generally minimal. We also have a person whose business is physical training and fitness to make sure that we are properly stretched and warmed up for whatever workout we are contemplating.

I have access to some pretty nice trails here in Toledo.
With wildwood, sidecut and swan creek metroparks, I could easily not run the same trail within a two week period. Sidecut runs along the maumee river, trails aren't great but the scenery is nice. Wildwood is just an overall amazing place to run, trails are in great condition with different terrains and great scenery and is very relaxing.
The trails here in Toledo are actually what got me back into running after about a 3 year absence.

I do 90+% of my running on trails, mostly at John Bryan State Park/Clifton Gorge/Glen Helen. The three parks are all connected and there are miles and miles of trails. Occasionally I will go to another park such as Taylorsville Metropark, Sugarcreek Metropark, or George Rogers Clark Park.

I love running on the trails during the winter months since it is too cold for most hikers and I usually have the trails to myself.

I also love to run on the trails and do the majority of my running on them with my dog when I can. I'm very fortunate to have both the Rocky River Reservation & Mill Stream Run Reservation (Cleveland Metro-Parks) less then 10 minutes away from my house. I do most of my running after work, so this time of the year I usually have to stick to the bike trails rather then the horse trails or hiking trails. I have a real good light, but I have found that it is just too hard to run the trails in the dark.

ralphus how do you handle the snow when running on the trails?

I enjoy trails much more than anything else at this point. I just feel better running at a park than on cement or a track.

Stationrun, we don't get anywhere near the amount of snow in southwest Ohio that you get in the northeast part of the state. I can handle up to 3 inches of snow pretty well. Anymore and I may opt to run on the roads instead. Thankfully we usually only get 1 to 2 storms of 6+ inches per winter. Some days during the winter I will avoid certain trails because they are prone to have several unavoidable icy patches from melted snow water going down to the river.

I know a decent pair of trail running shoes can also help some in keeping your feet dry and warm. Anyone have good suggestions for trail shoes? I could use a new pair this winter, but prefer light weight shoes. The only trail shoes I have worn in the past are the Adizero XT and New Balance 790. I might try the newer model of the Adizero XT.

CC, those are some sweet kicks!!!

I am very envious of those of you who have access to trails on a daily basis. We have a local trail that is still a work in progress as parts of it go through private property and those owners don't want bikes or runners on their land. We also have a very nice trail in Bolivar OH that is beginning to mature into a very nice trail.

Thanks for all the responses.

I might have to try those ccrunner. I wish Mizuno would do away with the hollow part on their other shoes. I get way too many rocks stuck in my wave elixirs. I once made the mistake of wearing them on some snowy, muddy trails and it was a nightmare running with all the extra weight stuck in the bottom of my shoes. I definitely won't do that again.

^^^That is a nice series. I have run several of the races in the series, but never completed the series. Maybe I will finally do enough races for the series this year. We southwest Ohioans are spoiled with the entry fee for these ORRRC races.

The older I get the more I appreciate being able to run on the trails (me and especially my joints). Our school used to have no options for trail running outside of driving to one of Columbus' metro parks every couple of weeks (which can be a hassle with transportation), but fortunately the village has added a few trail loops along a creek that runs right next to our school. We can now get in a solid four mile trail run. The trails are still kind of rough, but make for a great option on warm up, cool down, recovery runs. I think has been a significant help in keeping us healthy.

Has anyone on here tried orienteering races??? I've gotten into orienteering races a little bit over the past couple of years and they are a blast! I'm starting to enjoy them as much as, or even more than road races.
http://www.mvoclub.org/
http://centralohioorienteers.org/

shooter_mcgavin wrote: Has anyone on here tried orienteering races??? I've gotten into orienteering races a little bit over the past couple of years and they are a blast! I'm starting to enjoy them as much as, or even more than road races.
http://www.mvoclub.org/
http://centralohioorienteers.org/

Thanks for that info shooter, my wife was just talking about wanting to do an orienteering race a couple days ago, now I can give her the info you posted.

Forgot the cincy link- http://www.ocin.org/schedule/schedule.html
They have a great listing on their schedule page.

I can only dream of doing 1:19 for 10 miles, CC!

ccrunner- that's a pretty good time for the course at John Bryan. I think the course is pretty much the same as the last time I did it with the first couple miles involving rough and rocky footing and the last few miles on the mountain biking trails. I would imagine the trails were still pretty muddy, so all those turns on the mountain biking trail wouldn't have been much fun.

Nice job ccrunner, I'm happy to run 8 in that time on a trail (it's hell to be old & slow! )

Almost all of my running is on the trails! Once I found trail running I can't imaging going back to the pavement.

The only time I run on the road is when my daughter and I go out together.

Thanks again for all the responses. The main reason I asked was because I (as a XC parent) am trying to get the MS and HS kids from our local school district to run more over the summer. Our coaches do an outstanding job of setting up summer running sessions that are voluntary. Unfortunately, the kids are very inconsistent about showing up. I thought mixing in some interesting trail runs might go a long way towards motivating the kids to show up more often.