Trail Running in Lake Linganore
Title: Roofnest Condor Review
I never thought of myself as a runner; in fact, I pretty much hate running on the road. But mix in some trees, some ups and downs (maybe on a mountain), and I’m 100% in. Trail running has helped drive my 55+ pound weight loss as well, so I’m biased about what it has helped me to do in terms of my health.
In the video linked here, this is a very typical trail run for me. The clips show part of a 3.25 mile loop that I do a few times a week. I’m not a distance person, and I’m usually doing this run in the late afternoon, after I’ve wrapped up most work activities for the day. My pace is SLOW too…in fact, my wife says that I’m not really a trail runner…more of a trail jogger. But this is another discussion, where I state that I’m faster than her on the trail.
The area pictured in this video is Lake Linganore in Maryland, and I can access trails from my front door. In that way, having close access has also REALLY helped support my fitness goals, especially when I find that motivation is flagging at the end of a long day.
For gear, I’ve discovered I’m partial to wearing a running vest, where I can carry a phone, lip balm, power bar, and a soft water bottle. The one pictured in this video is from Nathan, and it’s a HUGE upgrade over my first Ultimate Direction vest (which rode much lower, pictured above). I know folks have lots of different preferences when it comes to this kind of thing, but this works for me. The downside? Well, if it gets REALLY warm, heat dissipation can be an issue.
I’m running in the Hoka Speed Goat 4, which is a shoe I didn’t expect to love but I do. As far as other gear goes, since I’m generally pretty cheap, those running shorts pictured used to be a bathing suit (it turns out if you cut out the mesh, with the quick drying material, they work really well), and old poly soccer shirts. This is what works for me.
Should you take up trail running? YES! Even if you are a slow poke old-guy-person-jogger like me, the benefits scale up quickly. And if you get tired, well, your run becomes a hike. And that’s okay too.
