Hi, this is Debbie Boyles, coach at Mojo for Running with episode number 122, off road and on the trails.

Welcome to the Mojo for Running podcast.

I'm the coach, Debbie Boyles, and this is the podcast for middle of the packers,

regular people not afraid to work up a sweat, who embrace the outdoors and that wonderful feeling of endorphins surging through their veins.

My goal is to provide the information you need to achieve your goals.

I know, I know. If you're a roadrunner, you may be saying, not me, I have no desire to go off road.

Or maybe you're thinking, if I went off road, I'd be bound to get hurt,

turn an ankle or something worse. Or maybe you say, I don't like the woods. Woods have spiders

and spiders have webs and there are snakes, big dangerous animals, and no restrooms. Well, I'd say

all of those things are important and very worthwhile,

valid feelings to have. All I ask us this. Listen to my reasoning and just at least consider

running in the woods. And if I can't get you to do that, then by the time you hear all of my

reasoning, then at least maybe

you'll think that it's worth it to go into the woods and hike. Just hike. You'll be glad you did.

Before I get started, just one request. I hope you'll start following me on Instagram and on Twitter

at Run Tampa. I used to try to

maintain a separate Mojo for Running account, but I find that it's just too much to try to keep up with

all the different social media. So I'm just using at Mojo for running. Now let's talk about trail

running. Let's look at this first. When was the last time you

were in the woods? Think hard now. I think some people have literally never spent any time in the woods.

If you didn't go camping with your family as a kid, if you weren't a Girl Scout or a Boy Scout, and if you've

always lived in a city, you may have never been in the woods. Most people, though, have probably

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