Training for Trail Running Photography

I'm not a runner in the traditional sense of going out for regular runs, or running for the sake of running.

But I love to run when there's a deeper purpose. For example, I can smoke any of my kids in a game of tag, and I wouldn't be the first one eaten running from a T-Rex.

Oddly enough, one of my favourite times to run is while photographing a trail run.

Merging Landscape and Sports Photography on the Trails

When I photograph trail runs, I scout out what I think are the best spots to take photos. I'm trying to merge landscape and sports photography.

The Challenge of Covering Multiple Shooting Locations

Often, there's a half-kilometre or more between good spots, so I've got to move quickly to make use of them. Running is the quickest way to do it. That's my purpose.

Managing Multi-Course Photography Marathons

The other thing is that I really make it a challenge to capture every single runner on the course.

Sometimes that means several distances with different starting times. On different tracks. This is a mega challenge.

Emergency Battery Sprint: A Real-World Training Test

One time, I was out on the course and noticed my camera battery was suddenly running low. I thought I had plenty of juice left, but Fuji is notorious for its batteries dying in an instant. I had to limp my camera through a few runners until I was semi-confident that there was a good gap.

At that point, I made a dash for it. I had to sprint hard through the woods, back out to my car parked on a side road, change batteries, sprint back, find out from the aid station if anybody had passed by in the meantime, and if so, what they looked like so I could chase that runner down and take their picture.

Gottcha.

My Minimal Effective Training Approach

For me, trail running photography is a sport. Like any sport, if you want to be half decent at it, you have to train.

Winter Strength Training Foundation

So far, my training for this season of trail-running photography has consisted of strength work through the winter. I have a minimum effective dose approach to strength training, so I spend 5 minutes on leg workouts a week. If my legs are strong, that's half the battle for running.

Then I add incline walking on a treadmill while reading a biography or listening to a philosophy lecture - preferably Aristotle.

Progressive Incline Walking Protocol

First. I just walked with no grade on a treadmill at a pace of 3.5 miles an hour. Then I went to a 15% incline, which is the max I can get on the treadmill that I use. At first, I could barely maintain a mile-and-a-half pace, but now I'm up to about 2.5 miles before I break a sweat.

Future Goals

I look forward to running the North of 7 Challenge at the end of summer, so I intend to do a little more running in the meantime. Sprints, hills, and carrying heavy stuff.

• Early June - 3 km run with the Bay of Quinte Run Club (slow pace, no walking, nasal breathing)

• Mid-June - Photographed Boomerang Trail Race, lots of running, sprinting, easy thanks to a 3 km run the week before

• Late June - Hike down to Niagara Falls Whirlpool, farmer's carry two twenty-pound bags back up, 90 m elevation (two days in a row).

• Late June - 5.75 km run at Batawa, slow pace, nasal breathing

• Early July - 5.75 km run at Batawa, hot and humid, respiratory thing going on, tiny bit of walk-running, mostly nasal

• July - 8 kms!!! through Batawa. Really hot. Did well until Wild Turkey - if you know, you know. 90% nasal. Finished well.

• July - Lots of sprinting while photographing Dark and Dirty.

I'll keep you posted on training through this season.

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Mat Coker is a writer and trail running photographer based in Ontario, Canada.