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.
Have a story of your own? Share your experience in the comments section and be automatically entered for a chance to win a new pair of LEKI Ultratrail FX One Superlite Poles. One random winner will be selected and notified.
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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I did my first Santa Barbara Nine Trails without poles and spent the last 18 miles and 6k ft of climbing knowing I would’ve been a lot happier with them!
I remember the moment when I decided poles were a necessity, at mile 55 of the Leadville 100 when I was contemplating if two sticks would help me get back over Hope Pass before dark. After that I was sold on poles!
Started training with poles for the first time this past season. Can’t discount the extra strength work I put in, but use of poles culminated in a solid R3 in the grand canyon. Just months before I wasn’t able to finish the full descent without debilitating knee pain
I have never used poles, but I am definitely intrigued to give them a try. As I get older, it seems like they will be even more useful. My race is the Hellgate 100k, and I might need them to maintain my streak.
I have historically trained roads since I live in the Midwest, but love beautiful, hard courses. I got a chance to help pace a friend at Hardrock one year. One of his other pacers asked me if I wanted to borrow his poles and I was glad I did! I have since used them to help me go faster on gnarly uphills and technical downhills. It makes a huge difference in proficiency to go up and down and confidence since I don’t have terrain like that where I live.
I first used trekking poles at the Virgil Crest 100, which goes up and over several ski slopes. The trekking poles made the ascents noticeably easier and I felt more secure on the very steep descents.
I had used cheap sets of poles backpacking for quite a while, even starting with old ski poles I got from the thrift store when I was in school, and poor.
I got a decent set of collapsible poles a few years ago, and used them on a few mountain runs, and found they really helped on the uphill sections.
I have used them in one 50K race as well that had about 9000ft of climbing, and they were key! I’m still working out exactly how much vertical is required before it is worth it to carry them in a race, but it is a fun experiment!
I started using poles after doing several ultras without them. I tried them in training and found they help propel me up the steep climbs. They also help me with stream crossings and coming down steep, technical sections of trail. I like what I see in the Leki poles with being lightweight and collapsible.
I use poles hiking, but haven’t used them running yet. I find them helpful for hiking though, especially downhill, so I should probably give them a try running : )
I started using poles after I signed up for my first mountain trail race in the San Juan mountains of Colorado. Being a city dwelling flatlander, I knew I needed to prepare for vert in any way I could! I would find the hilliest trails I could find within 2 hours driving and practiced using them. They are useful on the uphills but I find them most useful on downhills where I can really reduce impact from larger drops in particular.