We all remember our first race or favorite adventure, but what about the first time you added poles into the mix? Below, LEKI athlete Sabrina Stanley shares her story of when she started running and training with poles and why it has been a game changer for her.
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I started running with poles consistently when I began training for a mountainous 100-miler in the summer of 2018. I knew I would be using poles for the entirety of the race, so I ran with poles during all my training miles. This helped get my upper body familiar with the additional load it would be taking on while climbing and descending. It also taught me how to use the poles efficiently.
My “Ah-Ha” moment came when I was studying the most competitive runners in the world at races that piqued my interest. These runners were all using poles. To be competitive I knew I had to learn how to use poles to assist in my running if I wanted to run at the same level as the top athletes.
Poles take some of the load off a runner’s legs while going up and downhill. This transfer of power to the upper body allows a runner to conserve their legs for a longer period.
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Had a pair of poles for some major vert training a couple years ago, and they saved my quads with all of the downhill pounding. Kinda let them go by the wayside for a while but just starting to become reacquainted again.
I bought some poles that I used to trek through the Grand Canyon earlier this year. I had no clue how beneficial they would be for my knees, the slippery decent and for my strength for that steep climb from Bright Angel out. I will say that the weight of the poles matter. I borrowed nice light carbon poles for the next adventure in Silverton and it made a huge difference in how my arms felt after the weekend full of hikes and runs.
When I finally did my first 14er, my friend brought two sets. “Trust me,” he said. I’m so glad I did because it opened a whole other world to me as it showed me a climbing assist is a good thing! They also helped me traverse down the late season snowfields, and kept me from sliding as much on scree. Now I’m sold on them and would love to have some to use regularly, especially for racing!
Poles made a world of difference on my first 100 mile mountain race. I don’t think I would have made it up the climbs in the back half of the race without poles.
I just started using poles this year. I get a lot of funny looks and asked WHY?. I have found that poles definitely help with the climbs and also give me better balance on the descents. Love using poles!
I started using poles to spare myself the wear and tear of the downhills. The first time I used them was in my Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim effort in September of 2020. Haven’t put them down since.
I tried poles for the first time this last winter while training for a winter 100k. Made a huge difference when the snow is not packed.
I started using poles for hiking at Grand Canyon and thru-hiking, so it doesn’t feel unnatural to break them out for really steep, long trail races. Almost everyone had poles at Lavaredo Ultra Trail in the Italian Dolomites with its 18000+ feet of gain in 74 miles
i live in a flat place. so when i go to races or adventures in the mountains it feels like catching up with an old pal when the poles come out.
I used poles for the first time in a race this weekend when someone I was chatting with going up a big climb needed their hands free to fix their water bottles and asked me to hold them. I used them for a few minutes and couldn’t believe the difference it made. I was instantly converted!