Are you looking to get started in trail, or have you just discovered this fantastic activity? Don't make the usual mistakes that many participants make — mistakes that can lead to disappointment, injury, and most importantly, taking the joy out of running in the great outdoors. Here are 7 mistakes to avoid when practising trail!
Wanting to progress too quickly
This is also a common mistake among beginners or those who lack experience. Trail, like most endurance sports, requires a fairly long progression curve. It is a mistake to tackle long distances too quickly without first mastering the intermediate ones. It is better to try shorter races, enjoy the experience, and build up knowledge before taking on more demanding routes.
Not accepting your personal limits
We are all different, and true champions are rare. Even if we all dream watching the exploits of a Kilian Jornet, we can only admire them. The influence of stars and the media coverage of their achievements often lead athletes to overestimate or ignore their limits. We also need to take into account our own personal circumstances — our age, our job, our family life — and realistically assess how much space sport can take up within all of that. Imagining doing an ultra trail when you have demanding professional weeks is often unreasonable and can lead to real problems. Keep in mind that sport, whatever it may be, is a source of balance in life and should not become a burden on the mind and body. Above all, you should enjoy yourself while practising an activity that contributes to your wellbeing and health.
Testing new gear on race day
Many athletes treat themselves and buy a new pair of shoes, a new heart rate monitor, or some other piece of kit ahead of an event they've signed up for. The ambition to be better equipped is perfectly legitimate and understandable, but it's a mistake to use that gear for the very first time on race day. With shoes, you can easily imagine the outcome: pain because your new pair hasn't been broken in. But the same applies to any piece of equipment — you might experience an unexpected discomfort with your new shorts, or misread the data on your new heart rate monitor, and so on. The same goes for nutrition. Don't try a new energy gel on race day: you don't know how your body will react. All new kit must be tested several times in training so you can identify any issues or gradually adapt to the new accessory.
Training too intensively before an event
Overloading or intensifying trail training in the lead-up to a competition is another common mistake. The underlying desire to do the right thing drives this behaviour, reinforced by the fairly common feeling of not being ready. This can only result in arriving on race day too tired and lacking freshness. On the contrary, it is better to put in a high training load several weeks before the event and then ease back over the final two weeks. Make sure you also rest and relax in the 48 hours before your race. Don't drain your energy, for example, on stressful or physically demanding activities.
Neglecting a healthy lifestyle
This is a fundamental point in any sport, and particularly in endurance sports, yet it is often overlooked by beginners. Too many people rely solely on their training, telling themselves that doing more compensates for poor dietary choices, for example. This is a mistake with serious consequences. A healthy diet and good sleep are essential to support progression and performance. Moreover, it is often a virtuous circle: if you improve your lifestyle habits ahead of an event, you adopt routines that are easier to maintain over the long term. A healthy lifestyle will also help you prevent the risk of cramps during a trail.
Disrupting your habits and routine
Just as you wouldn't try a new product on race day, you shouldn't radically change your habits 72 hours before an event either. If you have already adopted a preparation routine that works for you, don't overhaul it completely. Of course, you can tweak it gradually, changing one thing at a time (to better assess the impact). You might, for example, slightly adjust your sleep schedule or your diet the day before a race — but bear in mind that the body doesn't respond well to sudden, drastic changes.
Not having a race nutrition plan
This is especially true for medium and long distances, but it can apply to any event. A nutrition plan allows every competitor to approach their race with a clear mindset and leaves nothing to chance when it comes to fuelling. A nutrition plan should tell you what to eat and drink, and when. It also covers pre- and post-race nutrition and hydration. You can seek advice from more experienced competitors or coaches when putting it together, or draw on your own training experience. Setting off without a proper nutrition plan can lead to missed fuelling windows, major errors, loss of bearings, and ultimately significant underperformance.
There are certainly many other common mistakes in trail, but these are the most frequent among those discovering the discipline. They are fairly easy to avoid, and above all it is straightforward to build a method tailored to your own ambitions and means. Trail should remain, above all, a source of enjoyment and connection with nature, while keeping you fit and developing your endurance!
