026. Trail Tips, Talks, Routes and FKT with Hilary Spires of the Trail Running Women Podcast

Trail Tips, Talks, and Routes and FKT with Hilary Spires of the Trail Running Women Podcast

 

Episode 26: Show Notes.

 

Finding the time to push your boundaries on trail runs when you have kids can seem like an impossible balancing act. Our guest today is all too familiar with this dilemma and has accumulated tricks and tips to help you better manage your time and get the most out of your trail running. In today’s episode, we get together with Hilary Spires, a mom of a two-year-old son and an incredible trail runner and coach, who also hosts her very own podcast Trail Running Women. In our conversation, we discuss the many joys and challenges of trail running, from finding fresh routes to increasing your distance. We talk about the sense of connection and community that can be found in trail running and how motherhood led Hilary to this endurance sport. For all this and more, tune in today!

 

Key Points From This Episode:

 

• Introducing today’s guest, Hilary Spires.
• The wonderful community and sense of connection that Hilary found in trail running.
• Hilary shares her tips for increasing your distance.
• The benefits of trail running versus road running.
• How to frame your training as ‘time on feet’ to help you manage your time.
• Why power hiking is an excellent strategy for going up a steep hill.
• Hilary gives her tips on equipment and when to use them on trails.
• Why it’s important to always have snacks when trail running.
• Hilary discusses the double Baden-Powell run that she will be undertaking with her friend as well as other races she is looking forward to.
• The joy of pushing your boundaries through trail running and getting out of your comfort zone.
• Hilary shares some of the running trails she discovered during the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• How Hilary approaches potential encounters with wildlife like bears and cougars.

 

Tweetables:

 

“If you have the time, then yeah, definitely get one of those runs to be a little bit longer. But you don't need to be taking off for five hours. I know, lots of us have kids. And that seems impossible.” — Hilary Spires [0:05:18]

 

“We're all capable of so much. But we don't often push ourselves that much in life anymore. We don't get to get to the edge of our comfort zone, because everything we need is right around us.” — Hilary Spires [0:11:11]

 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

 

Hilary Spires

Trail Running Women Podcast

Mom Sweat Sanity on Instagram

The Mom Sweat Sanity Podcast