Trail Lingo

To some people, running is synonymous with “pounding the pavement.” While I love running in almost any form (sorry, treadmill!), I am happiest running in the woods. As our trail running head coach, I love introducing runners to the trails in our local forests. Trail racing has grown a staggering 231% since 2010 (Jens Jakob Andersen at RunRepeat) and has formed its own culture. With that comes terms that may not be familiar to other runners. Here’s a few of my favorites:

Technical (“tech-y”)

Similar to road running, when you’re researching a new route to run, you’ll try to figure out distance and elevation gain. But another consideration is how difficult the terrain is. Steep uphills and downhills create challenges, but technical terrain also means that there are other factors at play, like rocks, boulders, roots, mud, or narrow trails. Running technical terrain is a skill, and honing your mastery not only can have you passing faster runners, but also strengthens your ankles and core as you bound over the obstacles.

Singletrack/Doubletrack

This is a pretty simple one…can you run next to a friend, or are you doing the single file conga line shuffle? Singletrack is the latter, and often (but not always) is associated with more technical terrain. Doubletrack trails often double as a snowmobile or old carriage/Jeep road.

Doubletrack vs single track

Vert

Vert is short for vertical, and it basically just means elevation gain. You may say “this run has a lot of vert!” if it has more than 100 feet of elevation gain per mile. A personal favorite of mine!

 The Serengeti

No, your trail friends from Syracuse haven’t booked a ticket to Tanzania (though I am sure there is beautiful trail running there!). They’re likely talking about the fields above the lakes at Green Lakes State Park, where there are miles of trails many locals never visit. The Serengeti is also home to the Quarry, the Snack Shack, and Snack Hill. And yes–trail runners are obsessed with snacks.

Type 2 Fun

There’s fun that is just plain fun, like having a picnic or playing a board game. Then there is the type of fun that is barely fun and kind of awful at the moment, like running through a snowsquall as your phone blares an alert and the wind whips the snow into your eyes. The key is, these runs are fun in retrospect but not in the moment, like a 3 hour long run on a humid summer day. But if you’re a type 2 fun runner, you’ll be asking your friends what time next week to do it all over again.

Type 2 fun is -10 F trail runs with friends! 

If you’re looking to put more of these terms into your vocabulary, or think crushing some tech-y singletrack sounds like a good time, join us this summer as we train for the Green Lakes Endurance Runs 25K. This program is an intermediate trail running course focused on building trail confidence for experienced road runners capable of running 5+ miles at a time or those with some trail running experience.