THE TRAIL RUNNER’S COMPANION

Before I became a runner, I was a rider. Taking care of a horse and riding it Western or English—everything from gymkhana and trail riding to dressage and hunter jumper—anchored my adolescence. Sitting astride a horse always felt like second nature, and today, as a middle-age adult, I’m confident I can swing onto the back of almost any horse and ride it reasonably well, even bareback.

But, I also know this: Every muscle in my body will hurt the day after I ride, because I’m not adapted to it. Soreness will radiate from inner thighs to lower back and shoulder blades. I’ll have a hard time walking for at least two days. I’m reminded each time I get on a horse that nothing gets you in shape for riding other than riding.

It’s the same with running: Nothing gets you in shape for running other than running.

You can go to the gym, lift weights, and do the elliptical. You can take a spin class. You can swim a mile in the pool and hike miles more. All these things can make you very fit. But if you haven’t been running regularly, and you start again, chances are it will feel challenging, perhaps even unpleasant, and you will feel sore for a couple of days.

You will feel that way because you lack “a base” of running-specific fitness developed through consistent weekly running.

Consistent running develops your aerobic capacity—that is, your body’s ability to take in, transport, and process oxygen to produce energy. It adapts your muscular system to the movement and impact of running, to a level where you can safely begin to add more distance and specialized training to your routine.

Running also stresses your body. We think of “stress” as a bad word, but it’s good in this context; it means you’ve challenged your body, and as you recover from and adapt to that stress, you become more fit and develop into a better runner.

With both riding and running, my rule of thumb is: You have to do it at least three times a week to build a base and make progress. Four to six times a week is ideal.

I know the feeling of starting over as a runner due to pregnancy and injury. Running three months postpartum with fifteen extra pounds and a jelly belly is humbling, for sure. So is running on a weak foot with atrophied muscles after healing from a fracture and wearing a cast for months. Those first few runs back felt both wonderful and terrible—wonderful because I was happy to be running again, feeling the rhythm of my breath and stride while breaking a sweat; terrible because I felt awkward, slow, and winded.

I knew I just had to stick with it, get past the first uncomfortable miles, and rebuild my base. It helped to remember this adage: “Never judge a run by the first mile.”

Building a base generally takes two to three months. You’ll know you’ve developed this foundation when you’ve established a routine, and the first mile of a run feels better. Running becomes an integral part of your daily and weekly routine. The level of challenge, or stress, may feel relatively easy. That’s a sign you hit a plateau, so you’re ready to add more time and intensity to your training to make more progress.

This chapter focuses on base-building and reviews proper running form, so you can run consistently and properly to make progress and minimize risk of injury.

On the one hand, building a base for trail running is that simple, and I don’t want to overcomplicate it. But I do want to give you guidelines to make progress, and to dispel some myths.

When you start, or get back to, running on a regular basis, your priorities should be:

● Run on trails at least once a week: Trails are ideal for base-building, because the variety of terrain and the natural environment make runners more inclined to adjust pace according to feel, and to run relaxed and comfortably. Plus, the joy of being in the great outdoors inspires you to run more.

● Run consistently and frequently: Establish a schedule that begins to feel routine, so you rarely skip running for more than two days in a row. Try to run a minimum of three times a week, with a goal to progress to four, and then five or six.

● Run faster once a week: The majority of your trail running should be at a relaxed pace, and you should allow yourself to downshift to hiking when the terrain becomes too steep or technical to run at a steady, sustainable pace. However, it’s a myth that faster, higher-intensity running is for “advanced” runners or road runners only. On the contrary, some faster running belongs in the base-building phase, and should be embraced by trail runners. All runners benefit from a relatively small but effective amount of high-intensity running during the week, running that makes you sweat profusely and raises your heart rate past the point of being able to talk in full sentences. We’ll get into details below, and in later chapters, about how to do this.

● Run farther once a week: Push yourself to go a little longer on one of your runs. For most people, it makes sense to designate Saturday or Sunday as a longer run. Base-building is not a time for extra-long, depleting runs, but you should gradually extended the time on your feet. If most of your weekday runs are in the 45-minute range, for example, try to extend the length of your weekend run from 60 to 90 minutes.

Over the weekend, take about ten minutes to look at your schedule for the coming week, and then block out time on your calendar to run. For runners who have not been running consistently, I recommend trying to run four times a week, which usually means three weekday runs and one on the weekend.

How much time should you spend running? It depends on your past experience, but if you used to run regularly and are getting back to it after a hiatus, then a reasonable target for the first month might be approximately 2.5 hours (150 minutes) each week. For a runner averaging a 10-minute-per-mile pace, this would amount to 15 miles. Such a week might look like: 3 miles on Monday, 4 on Tuesday, 3 on Thursday, 5 on Saturday.

While base-building, your total weekly mileage matters less than the frequency and the time spent running. The important thing is to get out and run with regularity.

Three runs of 30 minutes each, spread throughout the week, are more beneficial than a single midweek run of 90 minutes. If 30 minutes of running feels too hard, try 5 minutes of hiking, 20 minutes of easy-pace running, and 5 minutes of hiking—or even split it 10/10/10, with 10 minutes of running sandwiched between 10 minutes of hiking.

Your 30-minute run on a trail might only amount to 2.5 miles, given the slower pace due to hills and rough terrain, instead of a speedier 3.5 miles on the road—but that’s OK.

Experienced runners who are rebuilding a base after time off can start running with greater frequency and volume. For example, when I’m in a rebuilding phase, I aim for five runs a week totaling approximately 30 miles. This is about half of what I run during peak training, which is 60 to 70 miles per week. That 30-mile week might look like: 5 miles Tuesday, 7 on Wednesday, 5 on Thursday, 10 on Saturday, 3 on Sunday.

Note that in this base-building phase, the longer weekend run is only about one-third of the week’s total mileage (5 on Saturday for the beginner who runs a total of 15 miles per week; 10 on Saturday for the more experienced runner doing 30 per week). By contrast, when your training advances past base-building into greater volume and specificity, then the weekend long run can increase to 40 to 50 percent of the week’s volume.

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY AS YOU BUILD YOUR BASE?

As you get in the routine of running several times a week, some awesome physiological changes take place, including:

● Your heart gets bigger and stronger as it adapts to pumping more blood per stroke to deliver oxygen to muscles. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to your muscles, enabling them to run, and carries away the waste products (lactic acid and carbon dioxide) of metabolism. Your whole cardiovascular system becomes more efficient at processing oxygen, and you likely will notice a lower resting heart rate over time.

● Your muscles grow new blood vessels to improve the flow of blood to them, and your muscle cells increase in number and size. These changes work together to improve your ability to convert macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) into energy.

● Your body taps into fat stores for fuel during and after running, resulting in weight loss (unless you entirely offset these burned calories with greater food intake). A process called excess post-oxygen consumption, or EPOC, nicknamed “afterburn,” creates a higher level of oxygen consumption—and hence, a higher level of calorie consumption—for a short period after your body stops running, as the body replenishes energy stores and repairs cells while returning to its resting state.

● Your skeletal system and connective tissues adapt to running longer distances. Over the long term, running increases bone density, and some studies suggest running can help prevent osteoarthritis (the degeneration of joint cartilage and bone).¹

You may have noticed I use the word “phase” to describe base-building. Training and racing should be divided into distinct phases, or cycles: base-building, followed by race-specific peak training, followed by a period of recovery. This method is known as “periodization.” We’ll cover how to plan these phases monthly and weekly, in preparation for one or more races, in Chapters 9 and 10. For now, let’s stick to the “base-ics.”

One of my ultrarunning buddies, Ken Michal of San Francisco, is known for the slogan, “All Day!” A tall, heavy-built guy with an irrepressible smile, he has run over 100 ultramarathons, including several 200-milers. He explained to me that “All Day” is about running all day long, and more; like a twist on “carpe diem,” it’s an attitude of seeing opportunity in challenges, and of getting the most out of every day.

I think of Ken and “All Day!” when aiming for an easy, relaxed pace and cultivating the patient, mindful mindset of a long-distance trail runner. I tell myself, “I could do this all day—and wouldn’t I be lucky if I really could be out here all day?” Then I aim to find a relaxed, steady pace that feels sustainable and stress-free.

You should embrace this slow-and-steady, tortoiselike pace while building a base and developing into a trail runner. Even during more advanced, peak-training phases, you should run the majority of your miles at this sustainable pace.

It’s essential to develop your aerobic system with longer, slower running—a pace where your heart rate stays low enough that you can manage to carry on a conversation—because running like the proverbial tortoise rather than the hare sets you up to be a successful long-distance trail runner. Mentally, you are cultivating patience, and physically, you are adapting your body to longer times on your feet, which improves your running economy.

With slow-pace running, you’re learning and practicing the “easy” side of the essential “easy/hard” rule: Make your easy days easy, and your hard days hard.

Most accomplished long-distance runners spend about 80 percent of their total training at a relatively easy pace. Ironically, many runners find it hard to run easy. They’ve been conditioned to push themselves and to think that faster equals better, so their “easy” is actually medium intensity.

Additionally, the start of a so-called “easy” or “recovery” run may not feel so easy, because your body likely is fatigued from a prior day’s more demanding run—but that’s a good thing. Running gently through lingering fatigue on a slow-pace, easy run further enhances your fitness and adapts your body to a higher volume of running.

So, how do you know you’re running “easy” enough for an “easy” or “recovery” run?

You could wear a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate in the aerobic zone between 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Heart rate monitors are useful tools, but I would not recommend relying on them exclusively. Instead, I recommend two low-tech, tried-and-true methods²:

1. The talk test: After a mile or so of warming up, you should be able to speak in complete sentences and carry on a conversation while running on flat terrain. Your breathing should be deep and rhythmic, not rapid and strained. Even on an uphill incline, you should maintain the ability to talk (although you may have to pause to catch your breath between sentences).

2. The perceived exertion scale: Think of your forward motion on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is resting and 10 is a sprint. At 1, your heart beats at or near its resting rate; at 10, it’s beating at its maximum rate and is not sustainable past a short distance. In the middle, around 5, is a brisk hike or slow jog. For “easy” running, you should aim for a 6 to 7 on this scale.

Remember: When you run, most of the time you should aim for a pace that feels comfortable and sustainable, not stressful.

Earlier in this chapter, I gave the advice to run faster once a week. Becoming “fast” isn’t necessarily the main goal; being fit is—and high-intensity running, which improves your cardiovascular fitness, will improve all aspects of your running.

You might resist a dose of speedwork, especially if you’re attracted to trail running because it’s “mellow” and there’s reputedly “no need for speed.” Also, you may have been coached to layer in speedwork later in the season, after you’ve built a base of consistent mileage.

Let me try to persuade you that a careful, measured amount of faster running, starting early in the season, is great for anybody—and I mean “any body”—including those who are older, heavier, and beginners.

To get in shape and become a better runner, you need to train your body to consume and process oxygen as effectively as possible. Nothing does this better than high-intensity running that elevates your heart rate past the point of being able to talk in complete sentences. On the 1-to-10 scale of perceived exertion, where 6 to 7 is “easy,” 8 to 10 is “hard.”

Faster, high-intensity running builds your cardiovascular system, promotes good running form, and leads to progress by stressing the body and inducing adaptation to that stress. Most importantly, it raises the bar on the amount of oxygen your body can consume and process.

A few beginner-friendly speed workouts, which can be done on trail, follow. The intention is to increase your cardiovascular fitness by increasing the amount of oxygen you process as well as improve your running form. In Chapter 10, we’ll cover more speedwork.

Running fast, aka “speedwork,” doesn’t have to happen at a track. You can have an effective weekly speed session out on a trail.

Near our family’s home in southwestern Colorado, for example, a wide, smooth, and mostly flat trail runs for about a mile alongside an irrigation ditch. A half-mile of switchbacks cut up through a meadow to reach the ditch. The switchbacks and flat path provide an ideal combination for a speed session: I alternately hike and jog the switchbacks up to the ditch path to warm up, then run timed intervals (alternating hard efforts with recovery time) back and forth along the ditch. On some days, I jog back down the switchbacks, turn around, and do a few short intervals back up them.

Slight variations in the trail, along with obstacles like rocks and puddles, make my pace slower than it would be on a perfectly smooth, flat track. But my effort level is up around a 9, approaching 10, and I’m sweating profusely and can only talk in single words rather than full sentences. Best of all, I’m taking in the sights of an aspen grove with a snowcapped mountain range as a backdrop. The experience feels more satisfying and exhilarating than running laps at a high school track, and it prepares me better for the terrain of trail racing.

● Warm up properly with dynamic stretching (which we’ll cover in Chapter 5) and at least ten minutes of running at an easy pace.

● Choose a relatively smooth, flat trail, a dirt road, or a recreational path for speedwork. It doesn’t have to be a perfect surface, like a track or a paved bike path, but if it’s dirt, it’s better if it’s not too rocky or rutted, and devoid of sharp hills.

Strides: Always start with strides! Strides are short bursts of speed that last only 20 to 30 seconds. You simply surge and run fast, approaching a sprint. Picture an airplane taking off down a runway, and try to emulate that feeling of acceleration. Then recover for 30 to 60 seconds, until your breathing is close to normal. Repeat four to six times.

If you’re at a track, use the 100-meter length for the stride, then jog or walk the curve of the track to recover, and then do another stride on the straightaway. Out on the open trail or road, time yourself to do a 20- to 30-second stride, and then recover for at least another 30 seconds.

Strides are excellent both for warming up and cooling down. You should do a set of strides at the start of any and every hard-intensity session. Additionally, on one of your easy-run days, you can finish with a set of strides (strides are short enough in duration that tacking them onto the end of an easy run would not qualify that run as “hard”).

Strides accomplish two main things: They get your body used to running fast, in preparation for running a higher intensity for longer intervals, and they promote good running form and cadence, which we’ll cover later in this chapter.

Timed short intervals: Time yourself to run fast for a certain amount of time (up to 5 minutes), and recover with very easy running or walking for that same amount of time; then repeat so that your total amount of fast running equals at least 10 minutes. Over many weeks, gradually build the total time of fast intervals to 20–25 minutes.

What does “run fast” mean? This is tricky and, of course, individualized. You want to run as fast as you can for the time given. On the scale of 1 to 10 perceived effort discussed above, aim for a 9.5. Yes, that means it should feel hard! But you should not sprint at the start of a two-minute interval as if you’re running a 50-yard dash, or else you’ll need to stop—gasping for breath, lactic acid flooding your legs with a burning sensation—after only thirty seconds.

Instead, run at the maximum pace you feel is sustainable for the duration of the interval. That means your pace for a one-minute interval would be faster than the pace you can sustain for a five-minute interval, but both the shorter and longer interval should feel between a 9 to 10 on the effort scale by the time you’ve finished.

You can do 5 x 2-minute intervals, for example, which means run fast for 2 minutes, recover for 2 minutes, repeat 4 times, for a total of 10 fast minutes. Or, you can do 4 x 3-minute intervals, with a 3-minute recovery after each, for a total of 12 fast minutes.

Or, try a pattern called “a ladder”: 1 minute fast, 1 minute recovery; 2 minutes fast, 2 minutes recovery; etc. to the peak of 5 minutes fast, 5 minutes recovery. As you make progress over the weeks, you can grow your ladder into a pyramid, with a total of 25 minutes of fast running, in the following pattern: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Make sure you jog easily enough during the recovery minutes so that your breathing returns to the point where you can talk easily before you start the next fast interval.

Generally I dislike the “J” word—jogging—because it sounds wimpy. We’re runners, not joggers! But, you definitely should jog, not run, during the recovery interval. The recovery interval that follows the fast interval should be slow enough that you feel recovered, ready—and, ideally, eager to the point of feeling impatient—to do the next fast interval.

The short, timed intervals described above should be done only once a week during base-building, and should be followed by an easy-run day or a complete rest day.

Uphill intervals (aka “hill repeats”): For variety, and for an increased challenge, do some of the short intervals in the workouts described above—such as the 1- and 2-minute intervals—on a moderate incline. The key is to find a hill long enough that you can run up for the interval’s full amount of time. In other words, avoid hills that are too short or too steep. Take it easy on the downhill—jog or walk downhill during the recovery interval. In Chapter 4, we’ll cover how to run hills in detail.

Let’s review the basics of good biomechanics, because flawed or asymmetrical running form can lead to injury and slow you down.

My natural running form is far from ideal. For years, I overstrided, which meant I hit the ground with a leg stretched out too far in front. Not only did this create an extra-hard impact upon landing, which contributed to injury in my upper hamstrings and glutes (gluteal muscles); it also made me spring off my forefoot in a bouncy way, and I lost efficiency and forward momentum due to that bouncy stride. Plus, my toes angle out, and my ankles and feet roll inward as I push off (called overpronating). I also used to clench my fists so hard while racing that my forearms would go numb from lack of circulation. I’ve worked hard to fix my form, and the payoff has been faster running with fewer injuries.

Few people run perfectly balanced and efficiently. Have someone film you running so you can watch yourself, and then assess whether you’re following these dos and don’ts.

Many runners have an inefficient arm swing. Good news: It’s one of the easiest things to fix.

● Don’t swing your arms side to side (past the midpoint of your belly button), or hold your hands unusually high and close to your chest (nicknamed “T-rex arms” because it makes the arms look like the front limbs of a T-rex).

● Don’t forget about your arms and let them hang listlessly by your side when you downshift to hiking.

● Do smoothly glide your hand from hip level up to chest level (think “hip to nip,” as in hip to nipple). When your hand is down at hip level, your elbow should be straight behind you. The shoulder should be the fulcrum of the swing; feel the swing come from your shoulder socket, and keep your shoulder blades relaxed.

● Do keep your arms relaxed and flowing, and your hands lightly and gently cupped, usually with thumb resting on forefinger. Imagine you are holding something fragile like a potato chip, and you need to carry it in your cupped hand without breaking or dropping it.

● Do focus on arm swing to maintain speed when your legs fatigue. If you swing your arms purposefully, your legs are compelled to follow.

● Do “power hike” by maintaining a strong, runner’s arm swing during your walking breaks. On very steep climbs, you might find it helpful to place your hands on top of your quads, instead of swinging your arms, as if giving your thighs a little push to help get up the hill. In either case, your arms should keep working along with your legs.

Why do running coaches make a big deal out of doing exercises for a strong core? Don’t the legs matter the most for running? Well, yes and no. You need your legs to run, of course, and your arms to help propel them, but you won’t run well unless you have a stable and balanced center—your core. A strong core, along with proper posture, is essential to good running form and injury prevention.

This “core” refers to more than your stomach muscles. It includes the muscles on your back and butt, and they work together to support and control your spine and pelvis. Chapter 5 covers core-conditioning exercises you should do two to three times a week. In addition to strengthening your core with exercises, try to follow these dos and don’ts regarding form:

● Do run with a slight forward lean. To feel this proper forward lean, stand tall, with your feet together, and let yourself fall forward, leaning from the ankles (not bending the knees). You will automatically put one foot forward to stop your fall. In the split second before you put your foot forward, you are at the point of leaning that is ideal for running.

● Do tuck your tailbone under slightly, elevate your chest by rolling your shoulders back, and feel your core muscles engaged and ready to work. This posture will get your all-important gluteus (butt) muscles doing their job to move your thighs. If you’re having a hard time following this advice, try a visualization tip that my podiatrist, the ultrarunner Dave Hannaford, once told me: Imagine your waistband is the rim of a teacup and you don’t want to “spill” anything from your belly button. You have to keep the teacup’s rim level. So tuck your tailbone under just a little, and that usually does the trick to level your waistband.

To achieve proper lower-body running form, visualize riding a bike, and then try to achieve the symmetry and fluidity of pedaling a bike when you run. Imagine the feeling of pedaling when your feet are clipped into the pedals. Your toes are straight ahead, and your feet are parallel. Your legs are moving in a perfectly balanced way, each leg putting out an equal amount of effort. Your forward leg’s knee stays bent when it is in front of you, never straightening all the way. Your foot glides through the low part of the rotation as part of a fluid motion, rather than striking or pounding. Your cadence is quick.

The following tips aim to promote that feeling and form of pedaling while running.

● Don’t overstride, which happens when you land with your foot too far in front of you, usually with your leg more straight than bent.

● Don’t land with a loud, hammering thud. The next time you’re running with a group of people, such as in a race, use your ears to identify both quiet and loud runners. The quiet runner with the soft foot strike probably has the best, most efficient form, while the loud runner likely is overstriding and hammering. See if you can spot the differences in their form.

● Don’t have your toes angled way out or way in. I know this is hard, because some of us are built this way naturally (I am).

● Don’t shuffle with your feet low to the ground, even when—or, especially when—tired. This is very important for trail running, because shuffling can cause you to catch a toe on a natural obstacle, such as a rock or root, and trip.

● Do shorten your stride by increasing the rate of turnover (aka cadence). To do this, think of keeping your front leg’s knee bent, and land your foot directly under your body, rather than out in front. You will need the forward lean described in the “core” section to achieve this. You also will need relatively quick turnover. Count one foot’s strikes while running for precisely one minute. If you count to 90, that’s ideal. If you’re only in the high 70s to low 80s, chances are you’re overstriding.

● Do run with as quiet and soft a landing as possible. This requires a shorter stride and quicker cadence, as described above. Your foot strike should be like a glancing blow to the ground rather than a hard strike, briefly touching the ground for a quick and light push off.

● Do try to eliminate your natural toe-out or toe-in as much as possible (but not to the point it feels uncomfortable or unnatural) by pointing your toes straight ahead. When you are running on a road or track where a straight line is painted on the surface, use that line to visualize your foot landing parallel to it.

● Do always lift up your knees and toes. When running over an uneven section of trail with lots of tripping hazards, repeat this mantra in your head: “Lift up your knees, pick up your feet.” When you are tired and can barely manage a jog, think “prance” rather than “shuffle”; in other words, try to achieve a step with some spring to it, even if it is a very slow and short step. This light-footed, prancing type of slow running also is effective for running efficiently on sand and snow.

CROSS-TRAINING DURING BASE-BUILDING

Like to spin? Swim? Stand-up paddle? I’m not a strong advocate of cross-training, but doing other forms of exercise and recreation makes a lot of sense when you’re building your base, recovering from a hard race, or coming back from injury. In the early weeks of a training cycle, cross-training can be a productive and enjoyable way to boost your fitness as you adapt to more frequent and consistent running.

I make a distinction between “cross-training,” which refers to other sports and cardio workouts, and “conditioning,” an umbrella term for strength conditioning and physical therapy. Some conditioning should always be a part of your week (and will be covered in Chapter 5), whereas cross-training is nonessential.

If you’re serious about training for a race, then cross-training should be phased out in favor of more running, as training for the race becomes more specific (which we’ll discuss in Chapter 10). On the flip side, if cross-training brings you happiness and makes you feel more well rounded in life, while avoiding burnout from running, then by all means, fit it into your weekly routine.

It’s important to recognize that some forms of cross-training count as high-quality cardio workouts, and therefore stress your body and build your fitness. A high-intensity spin class falls into this category, for example. In my view, spin is the best substitute for running, in terms of building cardiovascular fitness and leg strength. For this reason, you should treat a spin class, or other high-intensity cross-training workouts, as a “hard” day, and follow it with an easy run or rest day. Other cross-training, like yoga, a gentle swim, or a walk, can be considered “active recovery,” and is excellent to do the day after a challenging run.

As you build your base, you also should develop a routine of strength conditioning and stretching. A lot of runners make the mistake of viewing pre- and post-run stretching and strengthening as optional. Chapter 5 explains why exercises for flexibility and strength are beneficial for trail running, and how you can fit them into your routine.

What if you’re thinking, “I can’t find any more time in my life to run?”

I’m a fan of an Australian-based trail and ultrarunning website called ultra168.com. “Our name is based on our ethos—no excuses in life, just choices we make,” says the site’s “About” section. “There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and 168 hours to do the stuff you enjoy doing, be that running, family, life or work.”

Surely you can carve out time to run in those 168 hours per week, without overly compromising sleep, family, and work. But I know, it’s easier said than done.

In Chapter 1, I listed flexibility as one of the characteristics of a trail runner’s mindset. Flexibility is key to finding more time to run; that is, being flexible about the time and circumstances of your run, and realizing that “some is better than none.”

● Run errands. When my car needs servicing, I drop it off and run home rather than getting a ride. Or I run to shop with an empty backpack on my back, and walk back with my stuff in the pack.

● Run first thing in the morning. My friend Jennifer O’Connor, an ultra-runner who has a demanding job with a commute, swears by this: “When I’ve got a busy or unpredictable day ahead, then I get up an hour or so earlier to be sure to get my run in first thing. Running early is a great way to wake up, and you’ll be less stressed all day knowing you got it done,” she says.

● Run while your kids’ sports games are going on, or run to or from the game. My son and other parents got used to seeing me run the perimeter of the field during baseball practices and games. Often, when I was trying to fit in a weekend long run, I would arrange a carpool for my son while I ran to or from the game’s location.

● Play hooky on a Friday to run long. Shift your work schedule around occasionally to take Friday morning off for a long trail outing. I do this once every four to six weeks so that my long weekend runs don’t always take a big bite out of our family’s weekend.

● Walk or run home from dinner out. I am in the habit of bringing my running shoes with me to restaurants and changing into them after a meal, so I can walk home (usually 2 to 3 miles) while my husband drives back. This brisk after-dinner walk inevitably feels great, and makes me feel less full and tipsy. Sometimes I feel so good, I break into a slow run during the walk, in spite of the fact I’m not wearing running clothes.

● Run on a treadmill. In inclement weather, or while traveling in unfamiliar cities, the “dreadmill” might be your best option. For those who view running and gym workouts as an either/or option—e.g., “I can’t run because I have a session with my personal trainer”—I say, hop on the gym’s treadmill for 2 to 3 miles before your workout, even if it means shortening the time with your trainer a little bit.

● Care less about how you look, what you’re wearing, and how clean your house is. A lot of people I know, especially women, say they don’t have time to run in the morning because they need that time to get cleaned up and organized. Or, they can’t run during a lunch break because they wouldn’t have enough time afterward to shower. You’ll have more time if you skip blow-drying your hair and make uncomplicated clothing choices. Save your cleaning and organizing for nighttime, when you wouldn’t be running anyway.

● Make the best of your circumstances. When I think of an excuse not to run, then I think of my friend Stephanie Case, an ultrarunner and human rights worker who has excelled in some of the world’s toughest trail ultramarathons. When she was stationed with the United Nations in Kabul, she ran 1-kilometer loops around the high-security compound. When she was working in a refugee camp in South Sudan, she ran around a small area of the camp while innumerable refugees watched in bewilderment. And when she was in Gaza, stuck inside due to security lockdowns, she would run up and down her apartment building’s stairwell, and then around the apartment’s small rooftop (Google “rooftop running in Gaza” to view the short video from 2014 of her tiny rooftop loop). If she can find the time and place to run under those circumstances, then I know most people can manage to find the time and place, too.

CHAPTER 3

BUILD YOUR BASE