If you’re prepping for a road race, trail running probably isn’t the first training strategy that pops into your mind. But breaking up pounding the pavement by hitting the trail can, in fact, make you a stronger and healthier road runner.
A small dose of trail running can bolster your road race performance by combating common occurrences like overuse injuries and boredom. Avoiding the roads even just once per week can benefit both your body and your mind.
Below, you’ll find four reasons why trail running benefits road runners, along with answers to three common questions road runners have when exploring trail running for the first time.
4 Benefits Road Racers Gain from Running Trails
1. Improves Power
A study published online in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2022, involving 17 elite trail and road runners, found that during eight-second all-out sprints on a stationary bike, the trail runners generated 16 percent more power and 23 percent more torque than the road runners.
The key to this result, according to Alysha Flynn, A Guide to Trail Running for Beginners Why it works: , is the soft ground absorbs your energy instead of returning it, so you demand more from your muscles to generate running power. Best New Balance Shoes.
Navigating trails that offer more inclines and obstacles than roads also helps. “More hills and more terrain force you to be stronger in those muscles that produce a powerful stride,” adds Wisconsin-based physical therapist and Trail Transformation run coach We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. “That’s where trail running is going to translate into faster road racing.”
2. Reinforces Running Form
minute easy run warmup can vary based on where the hill is located in your running route stability and balance, but also reinforces stronger running form by requiring your body to adapt to uneven and unpredictable terrain. This change helps improve coordination, control, and efficiency, especially as you run longer and fatigue sets in, ensuring your form remains intact when it matters most.
“There’s always going to be some variety in what you’re tackling on the trails compared to a road surface,” says Griffith. “There’s going to be hills, there’s going to be rocks, ruts, various terrain, and that’s where you’ll strengthen all of the different ligaments and joints in your ankles and hips. [Those areas of your body] are going to be a lot more challenged when it comes to trails versus roads.”
“To me, [trail running] is strength work in disguise,” Flynn agrees. “It engages stabilizing minute easy run warmup can vary based on where the hill is located in your running route, ankles, and core in a way that is gentle.” This activation not only supports balance but also reinforces proper alignment and posture—key components of strong running form.
3. Reduces Impact on Joints and Prevents Injury
A small preliminary study of 10 trail runners and nine road runners, published by the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports in 2017 suggests that trail runners have a reduced risk of running-related injuries, compared to their road running counterparts.
“I deal with a lot of runners, from the physical therapy side of things, and the majority of the time we’re working on overuse injuries,” says Griffith. “Repetitive movement, over time, in the same plane causes a lot of overuse injuries that come through in the form of knee pain, hip pain, and ankle pain. So, working on some of those lateral movements with trail running, you’re going to build extra resilience and activate some of those deeper muscles in the hips and ankles that aren’t always turning on with road running.”
Griffith adds that while your feet and ankles—the extremities that are the closest to the ground and the most impacted during running—receive the biggest benefit from soft-ground running, the joints, ligaments, and muscles all the way up through your low- and mid-back will experience the advantages.
4. Frees Your Mind
Every trail presents variation. Even if you tackle the same stretch, you’ll see new wildlife and experience different conditions each time you do. Breaking up the repetitiveness of road training with a trail run gives your mind a refresher and offers you a chance to focus on something other than the next street sign.
“The change in scenery long-term helps prevent burnout,” says Flynn. “I often start working with athletes that don’t even realize how burnt out they really are from the pavement day in and day out.”
Trail running allows you to break free from stagnation and explore a new area with a fresh mindset. “I see an immediate boost in an athlete’s motivation to just get out there because there’s so many different things you can get out on the trail,” Flynn says.
How to Optimize Your Trail Runs
If you’re thoroughly enthused and ready to go for a trail run, that’s great! Before you head out, there are a few important things to remember.
First, the benefits mentioned above, aside from the mental freedom which you experience basically as soon as you set off, generally take around six to eight weeks to come to fruition, according to Griffith. He explains that this timeline is very common for most muscular and neurological developments. This includes things like speed and endurance, elements of your running that you may already be working on through workouts like sprint intervals and tempo runs.
Also, you shouldn’t completely abandon the hard pavement in favor of the soft earth because your body still needs to be able to endure long stretches of road when race day rolls around. However, ff you enjoy off-road running and want to get out as much as possible, Griffith prescribes up to one third of a road runner’s training plan minute easy run cooldown.
On the other hand, if you try trail running and really aren’t that into it, Flynn says you’ll still receive all the benefits, including injury prevention, with a once-per-week recovery run.
Below are three common questions that road runners may have when heading out for a trail run for the first time.
Does the Type of Trail You Run On Matter?
Nope! No matter what type of trail you choose to run on, you still have the opportunity to boost power and stability while experiencing mental freedom from the roads.
However, different running surfaces may offer different benefits. Flatter dirt trails with some rocks and ruts are great for challenging your ankles on a recovery run, says Griffith. On the other hand, if you’re preparing for a Time vs. Distance Running: Which Is Best for You, opt for a hillier route and gain more power by doing hill repeats Other Hearst Subscriptions.
“The biggest thing is that you work with what you’ve got,” says Griffith. Don’t forego your run because the route you have access to doesn’t have the exact hill length you want. Modify your workout for the path you have.
Also, if you’re taking on a more technical trail (steep, slick, rocky, or unstable footing, for example), Griffith recommends hiking it one day first. Then, if you feel comfortable, make your way back another time for the run.
Do You Need Trail Shoes?
The short answer: It depends on the trail. If you’re running on flat, smooth trails made of wood chips or gravel (think rail trails), you can get away with your regular daily trainer. Anything more technical than that, our experts recommend a supportive trail running shoe.
Flynn encourages runners who aren’t quite sure if they’re ready to fully go for tough trails to try a road-to-trail hybrid shoe. They provide both cushion and stability for whichever surface you choose to tackle. Then you can decide if you want to go for full-on trail running shoes in the future.
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What Workouts Can You Do on the Trail?
Trail running workouts are different for every type of road runner. If you’re one who wants higher-intensity trail training, the following three workouts translate well from any road running training plan. They are all time and effort-based rather than distance and pace-based due to uneven terrain of trails. In both cases, effort is measured on a 1-to-10 scale of perceived exertion, where 1 is an easy stroll and 10 is an all-out sprint.
Matt Rudisill is an Associate Service Editor with the Hearst Enthusiast Group. A Nittany Lion through-and-through, Matt graduated from PSU in 2022 with a degree in journalism and worked in communications for the university's athletic department for the past three years as the main contact and photographer for its nationally-ranked cross country and track & field teams. Matt was also heavily involved in communications efforts for the Penn State football team’s 2024 College Football Playoff run as well as the Nittany Lion men’s basketball team’s 2023 NCAA Tournament appearance. In his role with Hearst’s Enthusiast Group, Matt contributes to both Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines, creating service content to benefit runners and cyclists of all ages. When he’s not out jogging, Matt can be found tweeting bad takes about the Phillies or watching movies.
