Trail half marathon after running on road

[OwlsDance]

I wanted to run a half marathon in September, but I've missed the boat and it's now sold out. There's another half on the same weekend, but it's a trail one.

I've only ever trained and ran on road, there might have been an odd trail patch in my running, but it's not something I consciously chose. I don't mind if it's pretty flat, but I hate running on gravel for example.

I don't even know what I'm asking. I guess I'm asking for similar experiences - if you always ran on road, and then did a trail, how did you find it? I'm most worried about mud, it's been pretty wet! I'm also not that fast (pb is 2.10), so by the time I got around the path will have been tramped on by many feet!

I just keep thinking that I'll hate it... I'm very annoyed with myself for leaving it too late for the original one I wanted.

There are trail half marathons, and then there are trail half marathons! They're not all the same.

Which one is it you're looking at?

One of the big differences is often the elevation. Some trail HMs have pretty chunky hills in them, which are generally a lot more onerous than anything you get in a road race. Lots of people will walk the uphills, if they're bad! It can mean that the downs can be challenging too though - steep downhills can be hard to manage.

If you don't do any off road running at the moment, it's worth getting out and having a go. It can feel like harder work - if the ground is soft, or uneven, or lumpy-bumpy then it's a whole different way of running. I try to get off road as much as possible in the summer - just to be out in wide open space, or to run through the woods, or to enjoy the great views.

The other thing is that I'd put any time expectations to one side. Because of all the things I just mentioned, you're likely to be a lot slower.

If you let us know which one it is, someone may well be able to give some specific pointers. Or if you tell us the date, there's bound to be another road one somewhere that someone else knows of. September is a busy time in terms of races.

it's hard work going down. especially on the knees.

but as pp says it depends. trail on well maintained footpaths - go for it. on uneven paths you need more training as you need to use your core a lot more to adjust your steps.

The trail runs round here wouldn't suit you if you don't like gravel and other less stable underfoot paths, and prefer flat running.
If road running is your thing, I'd find an alternative date for a road HM.

@ReviewingTheSituation has hit the nail on the head. You get trail races ranging from nice well maintained gravel paths to bouldering up massive rock formations and everything in between.

If you know someone who has done it before that might be helpful to know what it's like.

or depending where you are you could use the opportunity for a bit of a holiday and do one elsewhere in the UK.

I'm in NI, and it's Causeway coast one. It's a third way flat, a third way up, and then a third way down. I don't think the hill is too bad though, but it's annoyingly long.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/79880701

I think I'll just do a 10 mile road race in October, and not do a half this year, although I'm gutted!

That does look like a challenging run for a first trail half. Looks tempting though!

Have you seen this page? A few other NI events on here...
https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/Road-Running

Or there's a half marathon in Dublin on 23/9. Not NI, I know, but not far away.

I know that it doesn’t answer your question but I’d love to do that race! Sadly I’m not half marathon ready. I was happily scampering about doing 8 miles but my hips/knees/achilles are having a moan. I also live in England 😂 I know that area a bit as DH’s best friend lives that way. Have you ever done the race on Rathlin? Would you recommend it? Sorry for the thread hijack!

Hi @OwlsDance
I am a trail runner and I would be tempted to give it a go if I were you. You have the fitness. As stated previously though, as the terrain is different your time will be slower and you'll probably find it more challenging on the legs. (To be honest, trails have always suited me better as I'm not a speed merchant.)
My only concern would be that road shoes won't cut it and you'll need trail shoes. La Sportiva do great trail shoes and they're popular with my club.

Also, the sense of achievement you get from a trail event is amazing - and your race looks stunningly beautiful so you'd get a buzz from the scenery too.
Go for it and let us know how you get on.
What have you got to lose?

Could you get a chance to run in any similar terrain to see if it suits you? I love trails and running by the sea, but I’m not you! For what it’s worth 500 foot doesn’t feel too bad over 13 miles. Our local road half has around that.

Do you live close by? You could give it a trial run and see how you get on.

I’m in a similar boat - I‘ve only ever run road half-marathons, and am doing my first trail one in Feb.

Definitely need trail shoes. You would wreck your road shoes and slip and slide. I do some road running up to half marathon distance but I much prefer trails. I am slower than you. A lot of trail events have walkers completing them took. I do walk most uphills on a trial run.

I hiked part of this route during the summer (from WhitePark By to the Causeway) it is absolutely breathtaking but a lot of different terrain to cross and think it would be a bit challenging to run if you are only used to road running, but worth a go as the scenery is out of this world.

It is relatively flat and would be grand if you you are used to trail running (I couldn't run that day as I had a foot injury) but you'd be running acoss beaches, clambering over rocks and the day I went it was very windy around the most northernly points. You would definitely need a decent pair of trail shoes to help with the grip and accept that you won't be as speedy as on the road. The paths are pretty narrow also for the most part so I guess you would be running single file for a lot of it.

500ft is a fairly normal level of undulating. There's a trail HM I do around a resevoir that's 700ft, and over half of it is flat with about a third of it being up/ down in frequent bursts. It's about 10 min slower than my flat road HM which is still 150ft despite being particularly flat. I think of the trail as being "hilly" because of its location but it's actually a similar level of height change to my local undulating area across similar distances.
It's worth reviewing what height you do on training runs as context as it can be easy to overlook.

Running trail is great for strength and injury prevention in the long run. It's slower and needs a bit of patience to adjust to, but because each step is different, it's better for using the smaller muscles and reducing over-use injury, plus less impact on joints. It's well worth a try.

OP there are Belfast half places on the NI running forum on Facebook and you’ll find more will come up as folk pull out for various reasons.
Causeway coast is a tough one and very very different terrain to your first preference!

FYI I trail run, I hate sand though. That’s what put me off😂
also, look up Trailrun NI on Facebook, they do bi weekly trail runs for all abilities

Thanks everyone for your input. Sorry I'm a bit rubbish with coming back to my own threads!

It looks like the decision was taken out of my hands as I've hurt my IT band. I haven't run for the last two weeks, and when I went for a run today, it didn't hurt but wasn't completely fine either. So I'd be massively slower running even Belfast, due to not training lately, so definitely not going to risk the trail. I might do a 10 mile race in Armagh in October.

@Mochacino thanks, I'll check out the trail group! I didn't know you can transfer a HM place? Or do you just pretend you're another person?.. not that I'm running it myself!

You can transfer it appears, not sure if the window has passed but there has been a brisk trade in transfers as it sold out (twice). Hope the IT band eases soon.

@OwlsDance sorry to hear about the it band. As a long term road runner I converted to trails and found the events so much more enjoyable. I've just completed a 4day stage race on tough trails and it was the hardest but most rewarding thing I've ever done.

Also a common discussion was how much gentler many found it running trail races vs road. It's tough but gentler on your joints because of the terrain, change in pace and hiking/power walking involved.

So definitely give a trail event a go if you get the chance one day!

How are you set for Armagh OP?? I’ve definite FOMO, I’ve heard great things about it!

@Mochacino sorry, it's a very disappointing thread... I got a bit lazy post injury and I've done barely any running ☹️ so I'm not doing the race... need to get my arse back in the gear somehow, but work is just so busy at the moment and I'm sooo tired...

@OwlsDance lazy is better than injured 😀 Even try and get out and about a bit later or earlier if you can. I go out at stupid o clock at the weekends now so I can get a long run in and be back in time before anyone is up and I can still get a full day done. Not easy but you do feel better for it