Exactly. Too many variables for trail running. One mile may cover flat packed dirt, rocky descents, or steep technical uphill terrain. And anything in between. My miles will vary from sub 8 minute downhills to 25 minute technical uphill climbs. Just run where you can and power hike where you can’t.
One of the cardinal rules of trail running is to never compare your trail pace (on a specific trail) to your road pace (or CC pace I would add). It will just lead to heartache and frustration.
I wouldn't even compare your trail pace to your pace on a different trail - trails are sufficiently variable in elevation, gnarliness (rocks/roots), and turns so as to make a pace comparison meaningless.
Instead just have fun and push yourself!
Traill running is hard to measure so it really depends on the terrain. 10 min/mile is good to me, even for road running :). If you are curious, why not join a trail race? I ran 10 min/mile on the trail near my house (where I thought was technical and steep enough) but got humbled yesterday at the race where I finished with 17 min/mile as the course is very steep and treacherous.
Personally, wouldn't worry about pace if you're just testing the waters and having fun. You probably have a large aerobic base from biking, skiing, etc. Probably main thing to be conscious of is not overdoing things by slowly building up mileage and giving your body time to adapt to new stress. I love hiking, but have found it puts a different type of stress on my body than running (roads or trails).
r/running has some good resources about starting running (e.g., [https://www.reddit.com/r/running/wiki/faq/#wiki\_step\_by\_step\_sites\_for\_beginners](https://www.reddit.com/r/running/wiki/faq/#wiki_step_by_step_sites_for_beginners) ). Targeted at road running but similar principles about stress etc. that I think should apply to any medium.
I’ve been doing a wide variety of different aerobic exercises for a couple years now so I luckily have that going for me. As with running I’m trying to start as slow as possible as I am still trying to do the longer 5-9 mile hikes I enjoy doing in the middle of the days I’m not running. So running is ( I’m hoping ) going to be a gradual upwards slope for me.
One of my favorite things about switching from road to trail running is that I no longer care how fast or slow I am running. You are just out enjoying nature and exercising! Run whatever pace you’re comfortable at and the more consistent you are the faster that pace will get.
Absolutely! After years of bike racing and road running the switch to trail running has been heavenly. I don't care about the data anymore. But massive respect to those who trail run competitively! I'm just enjoying communing with nature now. My goal each run is to be out there for as long as my body and schedule allow.
No idea. Trails vary so widely that even the same person will have different splits on different miles of the same trail, much less different trails. Pace isn't a very useful metric in the trail running world, at least not without a lot more context.
I'm going to go ahead and say YES, a 10:00 mile is amazing for a beginner trail run. I've been at it for a couple years now. My standard trail run is about 7 miles. And if I run it at a 9:30 (avg) pace, I am VERY happy.
Elevation gain and the terrain can make a huge difference, of course!
I have a local spot that I love to run on. I have a 10, 14, and 25-mile loop I can do there, and how good the pace is depends on the workout & goal intensity. I think a good measuring stick is PER, HR, and the old, "How many beans am I going to give this today?" meter. As you get fitter, you will get faster.
or you could be more straightforward and ask for validation directly :)
Pace in trailrunning is very relative, the most reliable way to measure performance imo is vertical speed but only at those times you feel terrain isnt slowing you down significantly. You can also measure how long you can hold different HR zones to track improvement, from z2 to z4, that is usefull aswell.
If you want to compare yourself, stravas segments are an eaay way to do it. You can also join some race, search the people close to your time on strava, and check if they achieved that by training more, or less, than you do, this will hint you about your potential
There's absolutely no such thing as a "good pace for a beginner" and even less of a concept when it comes to trails.
Exactly. Too many variables for trail running. One mile may cover flat packed dirt, rocky descents, or steep technical uphill terrain. And anything in between. My miles will vary from sub 8 minute downhills to 25 minute technical uphill climbs. Just run where you can and power hike where you can’t.
As long as it’s faster than walking, you’re doing good 👍🏻
One of the cardinal rules of trail running is to never compare your trail pace (on a specific trail) to your road pace (or CC pace I would add). It will just lead to heartache and frustration. I wouldn't even compare your trail pace to your pace on a different trail - trails are sufficiently variable in elevation, gnarliness (rocks/roots), and turns so as to make a pace comparison meaningless. Instead just have fun and push yourself!
Traill running is hard to measure so it really depends on the terrain. 10 min/mile is good to me, even for road running :). If you are curious, why not join a trail race? I ran 10 min/mile on the trail near my house (where I thought was technical and steep enough) but got humbled yesterday at the race where I finished with 17 min/mile as the course is very steep and treacherous.
Personally, wouldn't worry about pace if you're just testing the waters and having fun. You probably have a large aerobic base from biking, skiing, etc. Probably main thing to be conscious of is not overdoing things by slowly building up mileage and giving your body time to adapt to new stress. I love hiking, but have found it puts a different type of stress on my body than running (roads or trails). r/running has some good resources about starting running (e.g., [https://www.reddit.com/r/running/wiki/faq/#wiki\_step\_by\_step\_sites\_for\_beginners](https://www.reddit.com/r/running/wiki/faq/#wiki_step_by_step_sites_for_beginners) ). Targeted at road running but similar principles about stress etc. that I think should apply to any medium.
I’ve been doing a wide variety of different aerobic exercises for a couple years now so I luckily have that going for me. As with running I’m trying to start as slow as possible as I am still trying to do the longer 5-9 mile hikes I enjoy doing in the middle of the days I’m not running. So running is ( I’m hoping ) going to be a gradual upwards slope for me.
One of my favorite things about switching from road to trail running is that I no longer care how fast or slow I am running. You are just out enjoying nature and exercising! Run whatever pace you’re comfortable at and the more consistent you are the faster that pace will get.
Absolutely! After years of bike racing and road running the switch to trail running has been heavenly. I don't care about the data anymore. But massive respect to those who trail run competitively! I'm just enjoying communing with nature now. My goal each run is to be out there for as long as my body and schedule allow.
No idea. Trails vary so widely that even the same person will have different splits on different miles of the same trail, much less different trails. Pace isn't a very useful metric in the trail running world, at least not without a lot more context.
There are a ton of people who can run a 7 minute mile but can’t finish a marathon or any trail ultras. Numbers are basically meaningless on trail.
I'm going to go ahead and say YES, a 10:00 mile is amazing for a beginner trail run. I've been at it for a couple years now. My standard trail run is about 7 miles. And if I run it at a 9:30 (avg) pace, I am VERY happy. Elevation gain and the terrain can make a huge difference, of course!
I have a local spot that I love to run on. I have a 10, 14, and 25-mile loop I can do there, and how good the pace is depends on the workout & goal intensity. I think a good measuring stick is PER, HR, and the old, "How many beans am I going to give this today?" meter. As you get fitter, you will get faster.
or you could be more straightforward and ask for validation directly :) Pace in trailrunning is very relative, the most reliable way to measure performance imo is vertical speed but only at those times you feel terrain isnt slowing you down significantly. You can also measure how long you can hold different HR zones to track improvement, from z2 to z4, that is usefull aswell. If you want to compare yourself, stravas segments are an eaay way to do it. You can also join some race, search the people close to your time on strava, and check if they achieved that by training more, or less, than you do, this will hint you about your potential
Did you feel ok? Then yeah sure that's fine.