About Trails
FAQ Questions and Answers
Trail Maintenance
Trail Maintenance Proof of
Volunteer Hours
FAQ Questions and Answers
How do I prevent a twisted ankle?
Ans: Strengthen your ankles with exercises, wear trail shoes, stay light on
your feet so that you can respond quickly.
Will my road shoes
work on the trails, or do I need trail shoes?
Ans: For non-technical trails (like Mundy Park, or Fisherman’s), road
shoes are fine. For more technical and hilly trails, trail shoes will be a
definite advantage because of their grip and capacity for lateral movement.
How do I estimate my race time for a trail race
compared to a road race?
Ans: A trail race will take longer than a road race, usually anything from
30-100% longer depending on the level of difficulty of the trail.
Who has the right of way on a trail, a biker or
a runner?
Ans: Give the biker the right of way because it is easier for the runner to
get out of the way. Runners should also give way to hikers and equestrians.
Who has the right of way on a hill, the runner
going down or the runner going up?
Ans: The runner going down has right of way because it is more difficult to
stop while coming downhill than it is going uphill.
What is a technical trail?
Ans: A technical trail is one that has many obstacles like roots, rocks, logs,
steep hills and difficult terrain. Baden-Powell trail is a technical trail;
Fisherman’s is a non-technical trail.
How is trail running different from road running?
Ans: There is no steady rhythm to trail running due to the terrain, hiking
is necessary, you run on natural surfaces, there are very few bathrooms along
the way, trails take longer to run, you may get to see wildlife if your wahooing
hasn’t chased them away, you develop strength rather than speed, and
trails are unpredictable compared to roads. More importantly, you get to run
through puddles.
What is a switchback?
Ans: A wiggly trail on a steep slope, designed to prevent erosion.
What is trail maintenance?
Ans: Practicing care when using trails and helping rebuild or repair them.
See Trail Maintenance.
Trail Maintenance
What is Trail Maintenance?
When we run trails, we are spending time in nature’s living room. Even
though the trails are groomed by the parks, it is our responsibility to help
keep them as natural and undisturbed as possible. Trail maintenance involves
everything from keeping the trail clean to rebuilding bridges. Maintenance
occurs on a casual and organized basis; as a runner, you can contribute to
both.
How You Can Contribute
There are many ways in which you can contribute to trail maintenance:
- Stay on the trail.
- Never leave a trace that you were there (take out any garbage you bring in, including kleenex).
- When you use the outdoors as a bathroom, bury all evidence and make sure you pick a spot that is well away from streams or rivers.
- Pick up things left behind by others (like gel containers).
- Always stay on a switchback trail and don’t cut through it.
- After a storm, remove large branches from the trail making sure you don’t put them in streams.
- Avoid trails that are closed.
- Volunteer to help on organized trail maintenance days.
Trail Maintenance Volunteer Hours
Work parties are organized to make improvements to trails. Many races now require that you participate in trail maintenance.
Here is a record of trail maintenance provided by volunteers for Mountain Madness (you may need this proof for race entry). We can send a pdf file if you need it.
- 2010 Trail Maintenance List
- 2010 Volunteer Hours
- Contact us at info@mountainmadness.ca if you need proof other than this link.