Trail Running

LIVE. BREATHE. RUN.

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WHY BUY TRAIL SHOES?

When running over rough hillsides, up fells, or along wooded tracks, trail running shoes promote speed and mobility while still offering protection from impact and trail debris. Low-profile sensitive designs keep feet close to the ground for quicker reaction times on changing terrain; breathable uppers are cool and quick-drying; and deep-grip sole units give traction on mud and loose surfaces. This is where road shoes come unstuck! Our grippy, protective and supportive trail shoes help you run faster, further and more safely off road.

WE KNOW FEET

Many of our staff are passionate about trail running. We have team members from across the country entered into a variety of races every year, including half marathons, vertical kilometres and 100 milers. We value their skills and invest in their knowledge, both on-the-hill and in-store with our SUREfit programme. Working closely with our brands, we operate on-thehill events in the Lake District and North Wales, where staff demo the latest models and clock some serious distance, whatever the weather. Their first hand insight elevates your in-store experience.

SUREfit is our in-store fitting service. Developed over many years, it is both a way of fitting and a system of training. From seminars and coursework to brand training and product testing, the SUREfit programme ensures Ellis Brigham staff have the skills and knowledge needed to help you find the best product for your needs. We will discuss your intended activities and analyse your feet to help select the optimal shoes for your needs.

FITTING PROCESS

Initial discussion: We listen carefully to your needs, including your intended activities and any existing foot problems that may affect your choice.

Foot analysis: Measuring for size is only the start; we observe all parts of the foot to get a detailed understanding of their shape and volume. We also look at your biomechanics and test for any signs of instability, including over-pronation or over-supination.

Trying on: Putting together our discussion and observations, we make recommendations from our wide range of quality running shoes. We check the fit, making sure there are no signs of discomfort, and offering effective solutions to support and stabilise your feet.

Adjustments: Our expert staff are adept at making adjustments to the fit, using lacing techniques and alternative footbeds to fine-tune the comfort.

Breaking in: Footwear moulds over time, which is the final step to getting that perfect fit. We encourage you to wear your new shoes inside at home before hitting the trail, and if there are any problems we are always here to help.

Footbeds: By supporting the arch, footbeds are able to reduce over-pronation or oversupination. This can alleviate discomfort and fatigue, helping you focus on the scenery rather than your feet! We offer a range of insoles, all of which can dramatically improve comfort and stability inside the shoe. Footbeds can be found on page 17.

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TIME toFLY with HOKA ONE ONE athlete Andrew Douglas

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I like wearing the Speedgoats because they give you that bit of extra comfort and support when you’re out hitting some of the harder trails

”

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Hoka One One have brought max cushioning into the mainstream. Combining plush cushioning with support and grip, it’s easy to see why they’re now the number one shoe brand worn by runners at the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc.

Andrew Douglas is one of the British athletes taking Hoka onto the podium. Our Aviemore store manager, ultra runner Martin Bell, caught up with Andrew in the Highlands to find out what it takes to compete in elite mountain running.

Martin Bell: Hi Andrew. How did you originally get into running?

Andrew Douglas: I got into it from quite an early age. I joined the local athletics club when I was about 10 or 11, up in Caithness, and from there I just really enjoyed athletics, and being part of a club; the social aspect of it. Once I finished university then I began to take my training a bit more seriously and looking to improve my times. And then I got called up for a Scotland vest and it’s just escalated from there.

MB: You’ve run in all sorts of distances from 5ks to marathons. You’re actually the Aviemore course record holder of the Park Run here! So what do you prefer - do you prefer the speed, or the trails, to the mountains?

AD: Yeah I’m a bit of a jack of all trades in running! With running sometimes it can become a bit monotonous if you just do the same thing over and over again. I like to mix it up in the winter with a bit of road and cross-country and in the summer enjoy the mountains and the trails. Sometimes you’ve got the need for speed and you want to go out on the flat, and blast out a really hard session. Other times you just want to have a really long run on the trails where you don’t see anyone for miles and you’ve got great scenery.

MB: Last year you hit the heights in mountain running and came fourth in the mountain running rankings. How did that feel for you?

AD: Yeah that was great. It was the first year that they introduced a world ranking system to mountain running, which I think is a really great idea. It gives a bit more context to the sport and it gives individual athletes something to really fight for over the season. I was really happy to finish this season ranked fourth and I finished third overall in the World Cup series. Hopefully I can sneak up a couple more places and maybe one day get that top spot.

MB: That involved running abroad and a race called Sierre-Zinal. Was that something that you enjoyed, racing abroad?

AD: Yes! I love to travel and to experience different places and different cultures, and running is a great way to do that. Whether it’s through racing or training; you get to see some stunning places. But I think particularly Sierre-Zinal was an amazing race, because it brought together the long and short distance mountain runners which made for a really competitive field. And it’s an absolutely stunning part of the world.

MB: Sierre-Zinal was part of the Golden Trail series, which has got other races involved with it including Zegama and Glencoe Skyline. Have you any plans to take part in any of those races?

AD: That’s certainly something I’m thinking about for this year. The races tend to be a bit on the long side for what I’m doing just now. The mountain running in the European and World Championships is usually over around 10k distances. Certainly there’s room for going to the longer races, so it’s something I’m keeping fairly open minded about and we’ll see if there’s a couple I can do this year.

MB: What’s been your most memorable race so far?

AD: It’s a toughie! I think the one that I’m probably most proud of was when I ran the World Mountain Running Championships in 2015. It was in Wales so it was a home championship, so that was great because we had a ton of support on the course and it was just fantastic to have people waving flags at you and screaming at you! I personally had a really good run and so did my teammates as well, and we ended up winning a team bronze.

MB: You’re running pretty much every day. Is motivation ever a problem for you?

AD: Yeah absolutely. I mean there’s definitely some days when it’s really cold and wet and you don’t really want to get outside. Other days you might be a bit fatigued because you’ve had a heavy training week or been working, or if you’ve had a particularly stressful day and you just want to go home. But I always tend to stick to a routine. The big motivation is that you know you have to train if you want to perform at the level you want. So I always find a way to motivate myself to get out, and you try to remind yourself that you will feel better for it at the end of the day.

MB: What does a typical training week consist of; how many days a week are you running, and what sort of distances?

AD: At the moment, and over winter, I’m typically training twice a day most days. I’ll do around about 90 to 100 miles a week. And that will be a mixture of steady running; an interval session in there as well; a track session; and a long run on Sunday which can be between 18 and 20 miles.

MB: Do you have a favourite piece of kit? What’s your go-to shoe?

AD: I love the variety of shoes I wear with Hoka. In particular when I’m out on the trails, I like wearing the Speedgoats because they give you that bit of extra comfort and support when you’re out hitting some of the harder trails. Obviously you can get that bit of speed as well! I like to tear it up a bit on the trails.

Read the full interview: www.ellis-brigham.com/news-and-blogs/introducing-hoka-one-one

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Inov-8 design their clothing for the athlete who plays at extremes, the one who wants to go faster, further and longer, pushing to see just how good they can be. Inov-8’s philosophy is to allow trail runners to move as nature intended, reflected in a range that provides freedom of movement and optimal comfort when exploring new territory.

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HOW TO

RUN FASTER FOR LONGER by DONNIE CAMPBELL

Salomon athlete Donnie Campbell knows what it takes to be successful. He has turned from a 17-stone jogger to one of the UK’s top ultra trail runners, representing Great Britain and racing at some of the biggest trail running events across the globe. With wins over the last few years at major UK events such as the Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra and the Highland Fling, Donnie has also impressed across Europe too, culminating in a podium place at the 2018 Salomon Mont Blanc Ultra in France.

An ex-Royal Marine Commando, Donnie is also one of Scotland’s top running coaches and is the founder and owner of Get Active Running. He has worked with numerous athletes varying from complete beginners to national and international level athletes who have all seen improvement in performance under his coaching.

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HOW TO RUN FASTER FOR LONGERWhether it’s 10km, a half marathon, marathon or ultra-marathon, runners want to know how they can run faster for longer. There is no simple answer, no one miracle type of training, supplement, food… instead it comes down to hard work and doing a number of things well. I will briefly outline some training principles that if you apply to your own training will help you run faster for longer. As I said above, to improve will require applying more than one of these principles and lots of hard work.

RUNNING EFFICIENCY Running is a skill! Everyone can kick a football, but some people can kick a football better than others. Running is the same; everyone can run but some people are more efficient than others. Working on your running biomechanics to make you a more efficient runner will help you run faster for longer. Build up to your base mileage and be specific. The key for getting your legs used to running your desired distance is simply by putting in the miles. As a guide you should increase your mileage by 5-10% each week focusing on logging the extra miles during your steady and long runs until you have reached your desired distance. Be sure to keep these runs specific to the event you’re taking part in, if it’s a flat run, train on the flat but if it is a hilly run train in the hills. Also try to avoid running on asphalt as much as possible to reduce the risk of repetitive impact injuries. Many people make the mistake of running too fast on their steady, long and recovery runs, so when it comes to running their speed session, their legs are too fatigued, so they can’t run fast enough to get the benefit from the session. Your steady and longer runs should be run at a pace where you can hold a conversation and where your heart is working at no more than an average of 70% of your max Heart Rate (HR). I find a good GPS watch like the Suunto 9 Baro, with its built-in wrist HR monitor, works well for monitoring intensity especially with its easy colour indicator letting you know what training HR zone you are in.

SPEED SESSIONS Hill Sprints - to build power in your legs, increase your VO2 max and running speed. Sample sessions could look like: sprinting up a hill for 1-3 minutes followed by a recovery walk or jog back down the hill. You should aim to get your HR above 90% of max HR during the intervals. Tempo Sessions - these are again best run over similar terrain as to what you’ll be racing on. For this you’ll be looking to run close to your 10km race speed for 30 to 60min depending on fitness levels. The aim of the session is to push your lactate threshold (i.e. the point where your muscles are producing more lactate than the body can process) so you should aim to be at 70-80% of your max HR. Tempo running is part of the staple training plan of many Kenyan distance runners.

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING It is important to make sure your body is conditioned to be able to run the distance you want it to. Many runners get injured due to weak muscles, muscles not firing properly or muscular imbalance, so doing some strength and conditioning can reduce the risk of injury and improve your running efficiency. A sample Strength and Conditioning session might be: 20 one legged bridges helping to get the glutes to fire; 20 one legged squats (can be done with weights) helping to build strength and balance; 20 squat jumps (can be done with weights) to help build dynamic power, a one minute plank and 30 sit-ups with a twist and 30 back raises (to work not just your abdominals but the oblique and lumbar regions). Rest for 30-60 seconds after each set, repeat the circuit 3 times.

NUTRITION You can’t out train a bad diet. This expression is particularly relevant in a society where a growing number of people think an hour or so of running should be rewarded with a takeaway! Learning from the elite Kenyan runners, you should be looking to fuel your training and body. Kenyan runners base their diet on carbohydrates because that is your body’s preferred energy source, more specifically, complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables. Also, you need some lean protein in your diet to help repair damaged muscle tissue from training and some natural fats to aid body function. A guide to filling up your trolley at the supermarket is to think about what would typically grow in your garden, sticking to the fresh food aisles and cooking your meals from scratch and avoiding ready meals and highly processed food.

If you are already doing all of this in your training then you just have to try improving on each principle, look for marginal gains and train smarter and harder if you want to be able to Run Faster for Longer.

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