Trail running for beginner

cmyk

Looking for a point in the right direction here. Want to start running a few trails, small enough distances to start off circa 5km. Anyone got any links to decent ones, or advice on starting off. Dublin/Wicklow areas.

Preferably dedicated trails rather than climbing/scree running/mud plugging etc just yet.

earlyevening

www.imra.ie

You might use some of the routes here for inspiration - maybe Howth/Bray/around 3 rock mountain/Glencullen for beginners?

Krusty_Clown

The Dublin Mountain Way and the Wicklow Way are good starting points. You can typically bus/drive/cycle to a nearby stretch and hop on to the trail.

cmyk

Nice one, thanks guys, it'll give me a chance to build a bit of experience and mileage before hopping into something more formal and competitive.

Patrick_K

You'll find some good info/maps/trail descriptions on the following sites:
http://www.dublinmountains.ie/recreation_sites/recreation_sites/
http://www.coillteoutdoors.ie

If you're thinking of getting into it you could do worse than pick up a set of maps here too:
http://www.eastwestmapping.ie/catalog/1

PK

jester1980

I like the look of the Dublin Winter league starting in Howth, doesnt seem to be just for very competitve people, based on times it seems to be all sorts running which would suit me as a beginner.

cmyk

jester1980 wrote: »

I like the look of the Dublin Winter league starting in Howth, doesnt seem to be just for very competitve people, based on times it seems to be all sorts running which would suit me as a beginner.

That looks pretty interesting jester, might look into this.

hardCopy

If you're on the Northside, there are marked trails around Howth, colour coded by distance.

This is the 10K Loop. I haven't tried it yet myself but it's on my list for the winter.

ocnoc

hardCopy wrote: »

This is the 10K Loop. I haven't tried it yet myself but it's on my list for the winter.

Said loop is ~12.35km with ~330m of the vertical stuff.

hardCopy

ocnoc wrote: »

Said loop is ~12.35km with ~330m of the vertical stuff.

Any idea what the surface is like? I'd know the way up as far as the Bailey Lighthouse but don't know what it's like across the golf course and beyond.

ocnoc

Rocky in places.
Bit muddy if its wet on the trail after the light house.

Pretty much bog standard coastal single track

PaulieC

Just this week I made a route for this trail on GPSies - http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=kdcyszscawulvkse&referrer=trackList - as I plan on doing it on Saturday. It can be downloaded to your garmin which is very handy (especially if you're me and are rubbish at following maps/directions/signs when on a trail)