About three days a week, Heather MacPherson hits the trails near her home in Canmore. But, instead of hiking paths like the Highline Trail, she runs.
A longtime road-and-sidewalk runner, MacPherson, 51, started integrating mountain trails into her running routine about 10 years ago after reading a story about Canmore Trail Culture, an outdoor group started by Michael Fitzpatrick that organizes weekly trail runs for all skill levels. After a few group outings on local pathways, she was hooked. She even joined a second local trail group, Dirtbag Runners Bow Valley.
“It’s a totally different activity from road running,” says MacPherson. “It’s quiet. You’re off the street and you’re in the forest. You go up places you never dreamed you could run.” MacPherson isn’t alone in pursuing this new passion. Over the past decade, Canmore Trail Culture’s Facebook page has jumped from around 200 followers to more than 4,000, and up to 100 runners come out in summer for the group’s weekly evening runs.
“The sport is growing massively everywhere,” MacPherson says.
Trail races are selling out across Canada and internationally, and outdoor adventure companies such as Canadian Mountain Holidays now offer guided trail-running trips among the planet’s prettiest peaks, like the towering granite spires in B.C.’s Bugaboo Provincial Park.
Calgary-area trail runners, in particular, have plenty of reasons to love the sport: sublime mountain views, the challenging terrain that makes a run more fun, and the hits of nature therapy (and endorphins) from exercising in the great outdoors. The sport has been growing about 12 per cent year over year since 2010, and people within the trail-running community expect that trajectory to continue.
“It’s becoming more and more popular,” confirms Aly Walford, a physiotherapist with Banff Sport Medicine who treats runners in her practice. “You get away from the busyness of things, and it’s a fun challenge — you have to be mentally engaged.”
Trail running forces participants to be mindful on the trail; otherwise, they’ll trip and fall, or surprise a bear. It also requires strength and stamina because of the elevation gain that comes with running in the mountains, says Walford.
To condition properly, she recommends new trail runners gradually build their pace, distance and elevation to prevent common running injuries like IT band issues or straining the Achilles tendon.
Walford also suggests runners strengthen their calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes and core, which reduces the risk of injury while helping with balance and stability over technical terrain.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy,” she says. “Just simple movements like calf raises and different variations of squats, dead lifts and lunges.”
When it’s go time, minimal gear is required, which makes trail running an easy sport to adopt. A run vest is handy for holding water, a snack, a windproof or waterproof layer and bear spray for mountain runs (remember to make noise on the trail and consider running in a group). For longer backcountry runs, carry a satellite communication system such as inReach. And, it’s definitely worth investing in a good pair of trail-running shoes.
Three Trails to Try*
*Spring trail conditions can be unpredictable. Ensure you bring appropriate gear by checking the weather forecast and trail conditions before heading out.
Nose Hill Lake Loop
Nose Hill Park
Right in the city and perfect for beginners, this route is an ideal introduction to elevation running. It gradually ascends 117 metres as it circles through open prairie landscape with city views, over a distance of five kilometres.
Highline Trail
Canmore
There are several pathways you can use to include the Highline Trail in your running, but, if you start and end at Quarry Lake, using the west and east connectors, you’ll find it’s a roughly six-kilometre run with a little more than 250 metres in elevation and some great views, too.
Fullerton Loop Trail
Kananaskis Country
This flowy trail near Bragg Creek covers roughly 6.8 kilometres and gains just over 200 metres of elevation through forested terrain with plenty of valley and mountain views. Running the loop
counter-clockwise is best for a gentler ascent.