Is there any merit to doing easy runs on trail instead of on the road?

No. Contrary to popular belief.

ruuuun wrote:

As above. What are people's thoughts on this? Running for mileage, would the trail give you any added benefit?

Now that I'm over 40, I do most long runs on trail. Much better for my lower back.

More bears on the trails.

Lydiard was a big fan of trails and cross country running. He said that there was more use of the ankles, agility and total body workout. The downside is that it's easier to run longer (over two hours) on the road.

I would typically train on Texas hill country trails for up to twenty miles with great benefit. This made running on the road a piece of cake.

Jack Foster of NZ didn't even bother with trails, just ran literally cross-country across sheep-grazed countryside, all hills. Became the best masters marathoner of all-time. Lotta other NZ guys like Derek Turnbull did the same, and outperformed the bigger countries across the board.

The benefit is trails are less boring.

Pure results - probably not much of a difference.

Aesthetics, no cars, peace of mind - trails a no brainer. Also easier on the joints and muscles (assuming you don't twist an ankle or fall off a cliff).

One other thing - my pace always slower on trails than roads for obvious reasons - rocks, undulating terrain, mud, etc - so when I get into a road race and don't have to think much about the ground under my feet, I run significantly faster than the pace I've trained at. And sometimes it even feels easy.

There is much merit to trails; easy, medium and hard.

I find I get injured less when I start running again on trails after taking time off. Maybe the ground is 'softer' or something but it feels easier on me.

Factuality wrote:

Jack Foster of NZ didn't even bother with trails, just ran literally cross-country across sheep-grazed countryside, all hills. Became the best masters marathoner of all-time. Lotta other NZ guys like Derek Turnbull did the same, and outperformed the bigger countries across the board.

um... John Campbell too. (his Masters Record @ Boston remains untouched after 25 years).

Masters athletes run 2:08 these days.

Factuality wrote:

Jack Foster of NZ didn't even bother with trails, just ran literally cross-country across sheep-grazed countryside, all hills. Became the best masters marathoner of all-time. Lotta other NZ guys like Derek Turnbull did the same, and outperformed the bigger countries across the board.

this is ideal.

Would that we could do that here. Unfortunately there is no countryside that either isn't part of someone's property or a protected national wildlife refuge not accessible to the public. In the US, if you just go run on someone's farm not only is it illegal, but you're likely to get shot. We have a lot of golf courses, but heaven forbid you run on them, even if its in the 30s and only a handful of people are out golfing. The course manager will ride out and threaten you with tresspassing. Some college campuses have a little bit of open terrain you can use if you're lucky enough to live near them.

anyways, trails can cut down on injury because they are softer, less stress on the bones