How To Know You’re Actually Running Easy: A Trail Runner’s Checklist

Brittany Olson
Nov 17
3 min read

Some runs should feel like a deep breath. Not a test. Not a performance. Just steady, patient movement that builds the engine you need for the long stuff.

If your “easy run” keeps turning into a “kinda hard” push… this one’s for you.

Below is the checklist I give my trail runner athletes to help them keep easy runs easy. Use it, save it, share it with the friend who loves to sprint the first mile and then wonder why everything hurts.

The Easy Trail Run Checklist

1) Talk test passes. You can hold full sentences without gasping. If you’re solo, narrate what you see… cactus, clouds, a snack you forgot in your pack.

2) Breathing is quiet. Smooth in and out. If you hear yourself huffing, you’ve crept out of easy.

3) Body language is loose. Jaw unclenched. Shoulders down. Hands soft. If you look like you’re trying to win a 5K, back off a notch.

4) You could keep going. Finish with fuel in the tank. Not wiped. Not wrecked. Just done for today.

5) Next day feels normal. You wake up with workable legs. Maybe a little tired from life, but not smoked from yesterday.

6) You can eat and drink while moving. Easy is the perfect place to practice fueling. If you can’t chew, you’re going too hard.

7) Effort stays easy on the hills. Power hike when you need to. Jog if it truly stays easy. Let terrain set the pace, not your ego.

8) “Numbers brain” stays quiet. Glance at pace after, not during. Keep your eyes on effort during the run.

Common Easy-Run Mistakes

Chasing yesterday’s pace.

Different day, different legs. Heat, sleep, hormones, stress… they all change the picture. Match the effort, not the number.

Letting heart rate rule the run.

Wrist sensors are often wrong. If HR data spirals your brain, remove it from your watch screen. Keep it as a data point later, not the driver.

Turning “shorter” into “harder.”

If life cuts your run to 30 minutes, keep it easy. Short and easy beats short and spicy on an easy day.

Social pushing.

We love our people. We also love our tendons, ligaments and muscles (pronounced muskles). Run your effort. If your group surges, meet them at the car.

Why Easy Runs Matter For Trail Runners

Short version… this is where your endurance grows. Easy effort builds your aerobic base, teaches your body to be efficient, and lets you recover so you can actually hit the workouts that move the needle.

The bigger the base, the higher the ceiling when it’s time to climb, tempo or do VO2 work. If everything becomes a grind, nothing gets the adaptation it deserves. That is the definition of stalled progress.

Set Yourself Up For Easy

Pick routes that match the goal of the day.

You can run easy on technical trails, steep trails, rolling trails or flat trails. The trail does not decide the effort. You do. If the rocks get chunky or the grade pitches up, slow down or hike. If the descent is smooth, keep it controlled instead of chasing speed. Phoenix folks, this might be an easy-effort day on National with plenty of hiking, or a chill cruise at Brown’s Ranch without turning it into a tempo.

Start slower than you think.

Let the body warm up. If the first ten minutes feel too easy, you’re finally doing it right.

Use the hike card early.

Power hike any climb that pops you out of conversational breathing. It’s training, not a performance.

Upload private if needed.

If Strava pokes your ego, go private on easy days. Train for your goals, not for the feed.

Keep a one-line post-run note.“How did it feel?” If the word is calm, smooth, or steady, you nailed it.

What Easy Isn’t

It isn’t lazy. It’s intentional.
It isn’t forever. It’s most of the week so the hard stuff can be hard.
It isn’t the same pace every time. Trails and life will change the number. The effort stays the same.