HElp Center

Believe it or not, training for a trail race isn't much different than training for a road race! In both cases, athletes need to build endurance, durability, and speed in their training. All of MOTTIV's training prioritizes durability for athletes. We work hard to make sure everyday people can safely train for endurance events without getting hurt, regardless of their physical abilities or starting fitness levels.

To train for a trail race (sometimes called off-road) using the MOTTIV app, follow these instructions:

1. Add a new race to your profile.
2. Pick the date of your race.
3. Choose the race distance closest to your trail event. (Pick 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon, etc.)
   
   (NOTE: For a 50-mile or 50km trail event, please pick that specifically from the drop-down. These fall into the category of "ultra" endurance events, and require different training than the more standard distances of running races.)
   ‍
4. Once you begin your training, you will do ALL of your MAIN RUNS (long runs) on trails. You'll still do your steady runs and interval runs on flat surfaces like you would when training for a standard race. (More on this below.)

By doing your main/long runs on trails, you'll be strengthening your leg muscles AND your core stabilizer muscles to handle the uneven surfaces of a trail event for a long period of time. You'll particularly be adding strength to the small muscles in the feet, around the ankles, and in your calves. You'll also be working on your body's proprioception (the body's ability to sense position and movement) on those uneven surfaces, another important aspect of getting fit for a trail run.

You can, of course, train on regular surfaces, but you won't be as prepared for your trail race.

The reason you'll still be doing your intervals on flat surfaces, like in road race training, is because we're working on building your body's ability to turn your legs over more quickly, and doing this on uneven surfaces is a recipe for injury. You'd never sprint in a trail race as it would just be too dangerous, so you would not do this in training either.

It's also critical NOT to skip the strength training workouts we provide in our training plans. The strength workouts we provide were written specifically for endurance athletes to target the common weak points in the body that often lead to injury if they're not strengthened. This is even more important in trail racing than road racing.