People tired of running on the treadmill or the same routes on city streets should consider trying out trail running. As Steven Rindner says, it would be a good way to break the monotony, lower the risk of injury, and allow runners to challenge themselves in a new way. The difference between typical road running and trail running is that the latter is relatively more unpredictable, meaning that the runners would not be guaranteed a smooth, paved path. There are many benefits associated with trail running.

Steven Rindner underlines a few health and physical benefits of trail running

While running in any capacity is a good form of exercise, trail running provides greater challenges but also greater rewards. It benefits the health and well-being of a runner in many ways. Even short trail runs can be good for the fitness levels of the runners. Here are some of the biggest health and physical benefits of trail running:

It is good for the core: Rapid changes in direction, uneven footing and increased need to focus on balance are important to trail running, and all of them make for a great core workout. Staying upright and navigating diverse variety of trails implies that the runner has to maintain full-body tension at all times. This keeps the core firing in somewhat a standing plank hold during the entire time one is running. For people wanting to build a stronger core, trying out trail running would be a good idea.

Improve balance: The key to a good balance is stable ankles, a strong lower body and a solid core. Trail running helps in all of these three aspects. Running on uneven and unpredictable surfaces strengthens the legs, works the core as well as challenges the feet and ankles of the runner to build a solid base for stability and balance.

Increases endurance: No matter whether one is training for their first 5k or preparing for a marathon race, trail running would be good for boosting overall endurance. Maintaining balance on a trail run ideally causes runners to activate the small stabilizer muscles in the foot every time it hits the ground. This helps strengthen the feet and allows runners to take on more mileage with less pain. As the runners charge inclines at high intensity, they would be able to increase their aerobic threshold to a good extent. However, much like any other exercise, runners must increase the length and complexity of their trail runs slowly, instead of trying out a marathon in the first run itself.

As Steven Rindner mentions, running on trails puts a much lesser degree of stress on the lower body in comparison to running on concrete and tracks. Moreover, the stability and power challenges associated with trail running may create improved core and knee control that help lower the risk of ACL injuries. A number of running injuries are caused due to overuse of certain tendons, muscles or ligaments, as they get stressed beyond their ability to recover. However, in the case of trail running, the varying directions and constantly changing terrain can help avoid overloading any single area on the body during the run, thereby protecting vulnerable areas from overuse.