Trail running is not road running. The pace changes all the time, because of the climb, the footing, the heat and your own body. That is why the runner who finishes a trail race well is not the one who holds a pace: it is the one who shows up with a smart, flexible plan and makes good decisions when the legs get tired.
You are not racing against the clock.
You are running with nature, with your body and with your mind.
This is how CMTeam prepares a trail race, whether it is a weekend 25K or a mountain ultra. The principles are the same; what changes is the size of the plan.
Pace is just one variable
On the trail, pace is not a reference. Heart rate doesn’t rule on its own either: it rises with heat, with altitude and with start-line nerves. The most reliable guide is perceived effort, the 1-to-10 score you give to how hard you are working. It takes everything into account at once: the climb, the footing, the fatigue you’ve built up and the kind of day you are having.
- 1Early on, hold back the excitement. Trail starts are deceiving: everyone is fresh, the first descent is gentle, your head is asking for speed. That is where races are lost.
- 2In the middle, find consistency. Steady effort, nutrition on schedule and no heroics on the climbs.
- 3At the end, look for another gear. Only now, and only if it’s there. The runners who respected the start are the ones who have something left to give here.
Before the start: the terrain and your why
Read all the race information. Then read it again. Four questions need an answer before the start:
- Where are the aid stations, and what is the longest gap between two of them?
- Which climbs and descents are the toughest?
- What footing should you expect: fire road, single-track, rock, roots, mud?
- What time is the start, and what is the forecast?
These details let you go into the race already playing the game, not just reacting to it.
The second part of the preparation is mental. In a long race, discomfort will come. When it does, you need something solid to hold on to, and that gets decided beforehand: what brought me here? What do I stand for? What do I want to prove to myself in this race? Runners who start with clear answers have something to grab when the mind starts to bargain.
Six habits on the trail
1. Climb with patience. A pace at which you can still breathe and keep moving steadily. Hiking with purpose is part of the strategy, not a defeat.
2. Short steps. On technical or steep ground, shorten your stride: more contact with the ground, more stability. On the trail, agility beats brute force.
3. Look two to three meters ahead. Your eyes steer your body. If you read the terrain early, it can’t surprise you.
4. Active arms. On descents and narrow trails, your arms keep you balanced. Don’t run stiff.
5. Descend with control. Don’t throw yourself down the hill and don’t brake on your heels: controlled steps, your center over your feet, flow. Descending well means saving your quads for the end.
6. Leave no trace. Nothing stays on the trail: gel wrappers go back in your pocket. Being a trail runner also means looking after the trail.
Slice the race into sections
Nobody runs a long race in one go. The CMTeam plan splits the race by aid stations, and every section gets the same card: distance, how much it climbs and descends, type of terrain, target effort, the focus for that section and one phrase for the mind. On race day, you don’t think about the full distance. You only think about the section you’re in.
Almost every trail race has one section that decides the rest of the day, and it is rarely the last one. On the card, it looks like this:
Where it usually is: before halfway, between two aid stations that are far apart.
Terrain: long, technical, progressive climbing, often the longest stretch of the race without support.
Effort: moderate and steady, 5 to 6 out of 10. Harder surges only for moments.
Focus: even rhythm, nutrition on the clock and a strong mind.
Why it decides the race: it is long, it climbs a lot and it comes early, while your head still thinks the race is just getting started. Whoever went out too hard feels it here. And everything that happens until the finish depends on what you did in this section.
The phrase: “This climb is the filter. Breathe. Hold. Get through it.”
And the next section is often the opposite: a long descent with technical stretches. Its card asks for easy effort, 4 out of 10, and a single focus: recover without wrecking your quads, because there is still climbing ahead. That is why a section-by-section plan is worth more than an average pace: it tells you where to spend and, above all, where to save.
Fuel by the clock, not by hunger
In a long race, if you wait until you’re hungry or thirsty to eat and drink, you’re already behind. The plan I use is simple and goes on a card in my pocket: something every 30 minutes, alternating gel, caffeinated gel and solid food, with salt every hour and a half and water at every aid station. Everything sorted by pocket, in the order it gets used.
Amounts and products are individual and get tested on long training runs, never on race day. The principle applies to everyone: the clock decides when you eat, not your appetite.
Follow the right ribbon
In races with several distances on the same day, each course usually has its own ribbon color, and many organizers use a specific color to mark the wrong way. It’s in the athlete guide and the briefing. Before the start, know your color and which color means “not this way”.
CMTeam’s safety rule: if you go three to five minutes without seeing a ribbon, go back to the last point where you were sure of the way. Pushing on is the fastest way to turn a two-minute mistake into half an hour lost.
Race week
The training is done. In the last week, the focus is review and readiness:
- Watch charged, with the course loaded if you use a GPX file.
- Pack filled with hydration and nutrition, sorted in the order you’ll use it.
- Shoes already tested on the race terrain.
- Phone charged, light jacket, cap and photo ID.
- Your section plan reread, and your why clear in your head.
At CMTeam, every athlete gets the full race plan: the sections with elevation and target effort, the nutrition card and the race-week guide. The coach builds it with you, from the real course and your own history.
The trail asks for more than strong legs.
It asks for attention, humility and constant attitude.