Trail running has become a hot ticket in Flanders, with available spots for events selling out quickly. Why is running in a forest so popular these days?
Trail running – following a route through a forest, mountain or other nature spots – is seeing a boom in Flanders, with official events filling up immediately. It’s a trend seen across the country and in neighbouring countries.
“Last year interest really began to surge,” says Wim De Doncker of Sportevents, the biggest organizer of trail runs in Belgium and mangers of trailrun.be. Routes can be anywhere from 12 to 42 kilometres – or even 100km in the case of the Trail du Grand Ballon in France.
You are running on unpaved trails in forests or mountains. That’s really relaxing compared to a city or track
Karel Sabbe
But trail runners say that even the shortest routes are far more demanding than running on roads. So why has trail running gotten so popular? According to De Doncker, it’s less competitive – both in judging your own time and yourself against other runners.
“The first question people have after a traditional run is ‘what was my time?’,” he says. “With a trail run, it’s did you finish? If you got through it, then you’re already a hero.”
Karel Sabbe agrees. The dentist from West Flanders is one of Belgium’s best-known trail runners – taking part in international runs, including that gruelling 100km option down south. “With other kinds of surfaces or trails, you’re more focused on tempo or time,” he says. “Say you’re running around the Watersportbaan in Ghent – you automatically want to know your time. With trail running, you don’t have that because every trail is different.”
Want to get started in trail running?
If you want to hit the trails yourself, there are a few websites that detail trail running routes in Belgium. Runners are advised to get informed on the right gear and technique ahead of their first run.
Natuurpunt offers a list of 10 trail runs in all of Flanders’ provinces
Trailroutes.be has a wealth of freely downloadable routes across the country
Trailrun.be hosts running events, but you have to be signed up to one of them to get the route
Sabbe says this is a welcome running culture for people who already feel time pressures at work all week. It’s a way to escape the rat race rather than extending it to your free time. “With trail running, how fast you run doesn’t really matter.” It’s always going to be slower than urban running “because you’re running in a forest”.
And being in that forest adds another dimension. “Nature plays a big role,” says Sabbe. “You are running on unpaved trails in forests or in mountains. That’s really calming and relaxing compared to a city or track.”
It also encourages camaraderie, according to Andres Scherpereel, an elite trail runner who has made it into the CCC (Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix), a 100km event that is part of the UTMB World Series Finals. “I remember a trail run where one of the runners needed help. Runners who were behind him just stopped and stayed with him until help arrived. Only then did they keep running.”
Scherpereel finds trail running the epitome of good sportsmanship. “It’s also about how much fun it is, it really sticks with you afterwards.”