How do people manage to train on trails?!

Live in a town with a bunch of fat slobs. They’ll be on the couch and not on the trails.

maybe try to man up and stop whining ?

John n.1 wrote:

maybe try to man up and stop whining ?

This, plus it sounds like your issue is running in an overpopulated area, not the trail itself. Dogs and kids exist on the streets as well.

John n.1 wrote:

maybe try to man up and stop whining ?

Ditto

If you think that's bad, you should try the local public track.

I mean.... your answer is obvious.

Regardless of what surface you're on, the area where you are running is too crowded.

Trails can make that harder because you can't just go wide around an obstacle. On a sidewalk you could just go into the grass to get around someone.

Also, I hate dogs, too. ESPECIALLY when the owners just look at you as the dog jumps all around. I had a guy the other day whose dog was standing directly in front of me and my daughter on a narrow trail. I looked at him for about 5 seconds and then said "Can you please call your dog?"

He gave me a dirty look and then whistled at his dog and it moved. C'mon, dude.

party like it's 1859 wrote:

If you think that's bad, you should try the local public track.

My "favorite" offenders at the local track I used to run on in RI were the lady who would walk in the first lane- while on her cell phone and smoking- and the folks pushing strollers in lanes one and two despite multiple signs saying no wheels on the track. It was the cell phone which took it to the next level because they would not notice a runner coming.

In our area, the trails start to clear out when it cools off. I'm doing most of my running on the treadmill during time of COVID but will have the trails to myself starting in mid-September. Cannot wait for some crisp, cool, grey long runs while seeing next to nobody.

Usually training in the early AM hours eliminates 99% of traffic .

semi_pro wrote:

I mean.... your answer is obvious.

Regardless of what surface you're on, the area where you are running is too crowded.

Trails can make that harder because you can't just go wide around an obstacle. On a sidewalk you could just go into the grass to get around someone.

Also, I hate dogs, too. ESPECIALLY when the owners just look at you as the dog jumps all around. I had a guy the other day whose dog was standing directly in front of me and my daughter on a narrow trail. I looked at him for about 5 seconds and then said "Can you please call your dog?"

He gave me a dirty look and then whistled at his dog and it moved. C'mon, dude.

I love dogs. But wow, there are a lot of terrible dog owners out there who seem oblivious to the fact that they're terrible dog owners. Not bothering to clean up crap, thinking their dog for some reason isn't subject to leash laws, thinking it's ok for their dog to jump on anyone ever.

Sounds like the problem is the trail. I run trails all the time in Ohio with no one on them. Like literally no one.

I run around residential roads in Ohio (I fall too much on trails), and it's the same here. Hundreds of people at home inside houses, usually no other runners, no kids out playing, no one walking dogs, handful of people gardening.

electron1661 wrote:

Sounds like the problem is the trail. I run trails all the time in Ohio with no one on them. Like literally no one.

Yea maybe you can find some less crowded trails OP but I'm with you. I've been bitten twice in the last 10-ish years of running. Nothing serious, the dogs didn't break skin but tried to as I went by. Owners are clueless and don't follow rules (must be on leash). If you're moving along at a good clip & a dog comes out of nowhere, the last thing I want to hear is "don't worry he's friendly."

Sucks that every trail in the whole world has the same problems as the one the OP runs on. Go figure.

Maybe this has highlighted that agility is an area that you need to work on? Lateral type SAQ drills using ladders etc are what off road runners use in training.

I run on a lovely trail looped beside a stream and had it more or less to myself for 18 months. Then they changed it from completely natural underfoot to levelled, crushed gravel.

I should have predicted the next step, being the local population exploding and my scenic, quiet running trail becoming a very popular dog and bike track. You can't have everything and I'm very fortunate to have had it so good for so long. But the change has been very rapid, and I long for the days where it was just me, the birds, and grass aside gently running water.

Plus in my country it's customary to acknowledge other people when passing and I'm bloody sick of a) raising a hand in greeting to middle-aged people with dogs, and b) not being able to stop and pat the dogs, cos I really like dogs.

Learn to run faster, noob. You think there won't be any traffic during a race?

Idk man just find a different trail. This sounds like a big city problem. Sucks to suck.

Seriously though, why would you want to run intervals on a trail, period, much less a trail like that? I guess you can try to fit a square peg into a round hole if you want but I’m going somewhere where I don’t have to worry about anything other than leg turnover for intervals.

I know you said you were doing an easy pace run but it seems you should just go elsewhere.