Elite Road vs. Elite Trail Runners – What are the differences?
by Doug Stewart
A recently published paper set out to explore the differences between elite athletes in the world of road and trail running. It analysed their running economy, strength and power.
The researchers worked with 17 male runners, all part of the French national team (7 road runners and 10 trail runners).
The road runners’ average age was 27, with an average height and weight of 177.1cm and 62.6kg. As for the trail runners, they were on average 30 years old, 176.7cm tall and weighing 65.6kg.
All the athletes undertook a number of tests, such as a completing sprint tests on a stationary bike. Their isometric strength was also tested by having them sit in a specially designed chair with knee and hip angles at 90 degrees, and performing maximal efforts for strength in this position.
They also completed a series of running assessments. This involved 3 sessions of 4 minutes on a treadmill in 3 different set-ups. One was on the flat at 10kph, another at 14kph also on the flat, and the third at 10kph on a 10% incline. Various measures were taken whilst they were running, to allow for comparisons to take place. This included the researchers recording ground contact time and flight, to determine step frequency and leg stiffness.
Additionally, training and racing data was reviewed to understand total training load for the previous year.
The results revealed that the trail runners produced higher sprint power on the bike compared to the road runners. This was the case when power to body weight was considered, too.
With respect to isometric strength, although the trail runners produced more force, the difference was not deemed significant between the two groups (from a statistical point of view). However, there was a difference when comparing the road versus trail runners when running on the flat at 14kph. During the 10kph test (both the flat and uphill tests) there was no significant difference between the two groups, but at 14kph the road runners were more economical than the trail runners.
However, across all three treadmill tests, there were no significant differences between the road and trail runners in terms of flight time, ground contact time, cadence or leg stiffness. So they had similar running form.
With respect to their training characteristics, significant differences did exist. Road runners completed more hours of training - this was both running and cross training, such as strength work, than the trail runners.
Overall, the findings suggest that there are neuromuscular differences between male elite road and trail runners, with the latter being stronger and more powerful. However, road runners are more efficient when running at a faster speed on the flat. Why these differences exist is not clear. But we do know that there are discrepancies in total training volume, which could be a factor.
The researchers state that trail runners should pay special attention to developing strength and power. This may be of particular relevance to those switching from road to trail. Moreover, these findings suggest that you can train fewer hours to become an elite trail runner rather than an elite on the road. There’s also a hint that increasing training volume may yield performance improvements for elite trail runners.
Looking at the research, it would have been interesting to compare the running economy when climbing steeper slopes or running faster on the 10% climb to determine if there were differences in economy in a faster/steeper setting. Additionally, it may be that the trail runners were stronger as a result of the undulating terrain they run on, and due to the different demands, such as downhill running, placed on their bodies.
References:
Sabater Pastor, Frederic; Besson, Thibault; Berthet, Marilyne; Varesco, Giorgio; Kennouche, Djahid; Dandrieux, Pierre-Eddy; Rossi, Jeremy; Millet, Guillaume Y.. Elite Road vs. Trail Runners: Comparing Economy, Biomechanics, Strength, and Power. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Reserch 37(1):p 181-186, January 2023. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004226