Home » Resources » Saucony XC » Coach's Chalkboard

Coaches Chalkboard - with Ed Lyons

The benefits of TRAIL RUNNING are many. The endless "pounding" on roads is virtually eliminated when you get a high percentage of your weekly mileage on soft surface trails. We aim for at least 70% of weekly mileage off road. It is a great idea to hit the trails as often as possible. As an example, if you normally do a 10 mile road training run in 70 minutes, try a 75-80 minute trail run. The slightly slower training pace normally associated with trails will allow you to easily handle the extra and beneficial minutes during your run. The undulating trail surface will also strengthen your ankles. Trail running will give you the opportunity to try pure "fartlek" training for some weekly speed work. The constant change of running surfaces with additional turns and hills on trails will naturally give you the desired fartlek training effect. This can be viewed as fun while getting the benefits of moderate speed work. A few important points to remember for trail running, hydrate well before each run as you will be out there for a longer time frame. Stretch before and after your run. Consider using a trail shoe which offers additional cushioning and support and has a last built specifically for trails. As always, follow the guidelines of your coach.

Leave a comment

Enter Your Name

or Login Here
Please enter this code to post comment. Login to skip Captcha.
captcha img
Archives

About

Ed Lyons, 58, is entering his 16th season with Bentley University (Waltham, MA) as cross country and indoor & outdoor track and field coach. Overall, the 2007-08 academic year will be Lyons' 19th as a part of the cross country and program at Bentley, as he served as an assistant for three years from 1989-92.
Lyons has led Bentley to 13 Northeast-10 XC Team Championships. He has coached 3 IC4A Champions, 12 NCAA All-Americans and 12 ESPN the Magazine All-Americans. He is a seven-time NE-10 Men's Coach of the Year, and in 1998, he was named the U.S. Track Coaches' Association Division II Cross Country East Region Coach of the Year.
Lyons is a 1972 graduate of Northeastern University. He was a three-year letterman in track and cross country and won numerous New England team titles with Northeastern.

Sign Up

Join Saucony's email club to hear about occasional product launches and events, and you'll be entered to win Saucony shoes of your choice.