Easy Trail Running: How Slow Should You Go?

Trail runner on a mountain trail on an easy run

To progress, you need to run slowly. The message is everywhere, and it's accurate. But we're seeing more and more trail runners doing all their runs at a crawl: very slow runs, long outings where they walk as soon as it goes uphill a little, entire weeks without ever challenging their cardiovascular system.

The problem? This approach removes any intention behind each session. Here's how to bring meaning back to your training.

Diagram of different intensity zones in trail running

Three Benchmarks for Pacing Your Easy Runs

I. An Easy Run is Still a Run

If you can comfortably maintain 6'00/km, doing everything at 7'30 to keep a minimal heart rate brings you little benefit. The right pace is low enough to recover and build volume, yet lively enough to stimulate your aerobic system.

An easy run must remain a run, not a walk with a minimal heart rate. The goal is to develop your base endurance, not to save every heartbeat.

II. Power Hiking Has its Place, But Not Everywhere

Power hiking is a real skill: on a steep incline, walking fast with poles saves a lot of energy for almost identical speed. Hike where it's the most effective strategy.

Everywhere else, run: your body adapts to what you regularly ask of it. To still be jogging after 8 hours of effort, you also need to run for long periods in training. Reserve walking for inclines where running costs a lot of energy for minimal gain.

III. Name Each Session Before You Go

Before you go, name your session: recovery, endurance, threshold, VO₂max, power hiking, specific outing. Each intention calls for a different intensity.

The classic trap is doing everything in the intermediate zone: easy runs finished with too high a heart rate, then key sessions approached fatigued. This gray zone develops neither endurance nor speed effectively.

The 80/20 Rule: Simple and Effective

The principle is simple: 80% of your training volume should be easy, 20% genuinely intense, and almost nothing in between. This polarization allows you to simultaneously develop your base endurance and cardiovascular capacities without accumulating unnecessary fatigue.

Intermediate zones (moderate tempo, “comfortable but sustained” pace) have their place in specific preparation phases but should not make up the majority of your sessions.

How to Apply These Principles Concretely

Here's an action plan to structure your training week:

  • Name each session of the week in one word: recovery, endurance, threshold, VO₂, hiking, specific
  • Easy run: a pace where you can speak in full sentences, while actually running
  • Long run: run on flat and gentle ascents, even when your legs feel heavy
  • Reserve walking for inclines where running costs a lot of energy for minimal gain
  • Keep one to two genuinely intense sessions per week
  • Apply the 80% easy, 20% hard, almost nothing in between rule
Trail training plan with intensity distribution

Question to Ask Yourself Now

Over your last seven days of training, can you say what each session was working on? If even one remains unanswered, you know what to adjust for the coming weeks.

Giving a clear intention to each outing radically transforms the quality of your training. You no longer run just to log miles: you methodically build the physiological adaptations you need to perform on race day.

— Antoine, Baptiste and Etienne from TRL