Running Wild

Some runners are attracted to trails rather than streets for reasons that range from practical--orders from their doctors--to exotic--the call of the wild.

“There’s just something about the smell,” said Sally Adam, 56, who had just completed the Great American Adventure Run in February in Huntington Beach. “You’re breathing deep anyway, and there’s just something about the smell.”

It’s not car exhaust, for one.

“You don’t have to fight with cars or bikes,” said Jon Trimble, 42, a UPS driver from Chula Vista.

Or dogs.

“You hear barking, and it can make you paranoid,” said Brian Thomas, 42, a systems analyst for General Electric.

But for those looking to run competitive cross-country or trail races, the pickings are slim. While there are fun runs and road races most weekends in the Southland during the spring and summer, there are few off-road races.

“If I had to estimate, I’d say between 5-10% of the races held are trail or cross-country,” said Rose Reilly, editor of Raceplace magazine, a bi-monthly which publishes races in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Santa Barbara counties.

“One issue is the availability of the trails,” she said. “It’s easy to have a road race, but to shut down areas in parks and preserves is rare. Plus there’s the environmental impact. [Officials] just don’t want lots of people running on these narrow trails.”

Two off-road races are coming up: the seventh annual Hillsea, a 7.57-mile race in Huntington Beach’s Central Park, is Saturday.

Most runners who train and compete on trails do not do so exclusively. Sue Reinhardt, 52, a parts manager at a Cadillac dealership, trains about half the time on trails. She thinks more people would run on trails “if a doctor gets ahold of them.”

“One of my friends had to start running on trails because of their softness,” the Rancho Palos Verdes resident said. “If you have an injury--I know one woman who’s recovering from a broken foot--she was told to run on soft surfaces.”

Doctors have long known the disadvantages of running on hard surfaces.

“The biggest problems [with running on streets] is overuse injuries,” said Carol Frey, a Manhattan Beach orthopedist and member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. “It’s the repetitive pounding. You can have chronic heel pain.”

Different running shoes, she notes, are recommended for off-road training. They tend to be thicker, have better traction and toe box protection.

“If you run on a fire or horse trail, the surface is more forgiving,” she said. “There’s less shock on the knees and the lower back. . . . The worst problem is unpredictable surfaces, especially going downhill. When you’re going uphill, you have time to observe the trail. But downhill, each landing is like a controlled fall. There’s a lot of muscle tension.

“I haven’t been able to run on cement for 20 years. I can easily run three miles on sand. I only get three blocks on cement.”

And the view tends to be better.

“Trail runs have better scenery,” said Charlie Unger, 64, a retired Boeing engineer. “Street runs are faster. You get better times. There’s a lot of people who don’t like to run trails. More people run streets than cross-country, obviously. You’ll get 20,000 at the L.A. Marathon, and 500 at the Catalina Marathon. The winning time on a street marathon is 2 [hours] 10 minutes or so, and at Catalina, the winning time is 3:20.”

And it’s a lonelier existence. But for some, that’s part of the attraction.

“Trail runners tend to be more loners, because there aren’t many of us,” said Unger, a member of Buffalo Bill Trail Runners who has run in 13 of the 21 Catalina Marathons.

For some, there is no love affair with trail running, merely a break from the monotony.

“I never used to run trails,” said Steber Ivan, 32, who works at General Electric in Ontario. “If I have a trail [race] versus a road race, I chose the trail, because it’s different. You’re always out on the road.”

Ivan, whose left leg was amputated 4 inches below the knee after a farm machinery accident when he was 13, also competes in triathlons. He has to be especially cautious when running trails, because the surface is inconsistent.

“I thought [trail running] would be a lot worse on my [artificial] leg, because it doesn’t have flexibility,” Ivan said. “But actually, I’m running more trails because my doctor recommended I do it instead of pavement all the time.”

His friend, Brian Thomas, has been running 27 years.

“I like running on streets better,” Thomas said, “because they’re a little faster and you get a better rebound. The downside is, it’s harder on your joints and knees.”

“One of the biggest things is you’re breathing very hard in a trail race, because you’re going fast,” Adam said. “Then you hit a hill, and it slows you down, no matter what your caliber. And what’s hurting now are your quads. The pain shifts from your lungs to your quads. It’s really nice to have a pain shift.”

Said Oscar Rosales, race director for the Hillsea and the Great American Adventure run, held for 15 years at Central Park in Huntington Beach: “When you put your foot down on the road, you get even push-back every time. Sure, you get tired running a street race, but it’s easier.

“All of a sudden, you take that same mentality and put it in cross-country, with the grass, the dirt, the hills, and it’s totally different. When you run on grass, you lose a lot of energy. It’s like going from a Maserati to a Cadillac.”

For those who don’t keep track of their splits, that’s just fine.

“I think the type of person who’s attracted to trail running is someone who enjoys the outdoors,” said Shirley Reynolds, 46, who runs trails almost exclusively. “We don’t mind running by ourselves. I find a certain peace. When my father passed away [recently], the first place I went to was to run on the horse trails in Huntington Beach.”