Trekking Poles in Ultra Marathons: Boost or Burden? + Tips For Effective Use

Transcript

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So this came up recently while we were out at Bandera sometime in the middle of the night trying to figure out how to use track and polls Figured.

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I would do a quick little episode on this.

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Have you seen another runner using track and polls at a race and wondered whether you should be using them too? Maybe you have a pair and wonder if you're using them correctly.

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Are you considering buying a pair but can't ensure how to start using them, or really, if they're even needed?

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You're listening to Choose to Endure the show dedicated to the back of the pack runners, where we ask the questions and share uplifting stories, interviews, gear and training tips specific to the tail end heroes of the Ultra Universe.

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My name's Richard Gleeve.

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I've been Ultra running since 2017.

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I've taken on and finished numerous Ultra distances internationally, from 50Ks all the way right up through tough 200 miles.

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I am a qualified US car Ultra running coach and I'm a founder member of the back of the pack.

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Just like you, if you're open to finding out whether track and polls or something you can and should be adding to your gear bag for Ultra events, then keep listening.

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This one's for you.

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Make sure to stick around to the end to hear what direct peers from Choose to Endure's Facebook page had to say on the topic too.

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So Trekking poles have increasingly become a staple in Ultra marathons, particularly in the mountainous terrains of the US.

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Of course, following their popularity in European races, these Ultra running specific polls, enhanced by advancements in materials and construction, are now lighter and more convenient to carry and stow.

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There's loads of different choices of polls out there, but a couple of the most popular you'll hear and see are the Black Diamond Z-Poles and the Leki Trekking Poles, the ones with the built-in gloves and the quick release.

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Those are super popular.

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Harrier, a company over in the UK.

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They also have some excellent and relatively cheap, I would say, carbon fiber polls on the market too.

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I saw a lot of those last summer when I was over doing the Lakeland 100 over there in the UK.

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Carbon fiber polls specifically are very popular with us runners since they're both lightweight and they're super sturdy.

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Polls offer benefits like aiding in forward motion, offering support and stability and redistributing the load during uphill and downhill running.

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However, their use is a pretty personal decision and it's a bit of a hot topic among ultra runners.

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Some people consider them a nuisance, especially on the tight trails if there's not much room to pass and you're whacking people with your polls left and right, and others consider them actually a form of cheating.

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You've heard the term cheat sticks.

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That said, many races do allow polls.

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Usually it's stated whether they do or don't on the race website, so check there if you're not sure, and there are various pros and cons to consider if you decide you want to give them a go.

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So let's start with the pros of running with trekking polls.

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First and foremost, you've got assistance with propulsion.

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Yep, polls can contribute to maintaining a more efficient pace, especially going uphill, by providing that additional propulsive force.

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Your arms, which are gonna be connected to the polls, are used to generate some of the forward or upward motion that would otherwise be entirely done by your legs, and you essentially double the bite points on the ground with a pole end and a foot pushing off together.

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Each time You're using your arms and your shoulders to essentially augment your leg power.

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If you've ever found yourself leaning on your knees, particularly during a steep uphill section, you're probably already familiar with the main benefit of using poles.

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Another significant benefit of using poles is the reduction of workload and impact on the legs.

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This redistribution can help minimize leg fatigue while running or hiking from the thousands of muscle contractions during an ultra, potentially keeping your legs fresher for the latter stages of the race and on downhills.

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Reduce the forces associated with the pounding on your hips and knees and your ankles that are going into the ground on fast or steep downhills Again over the course of a long ultra over multiple hours, multiple miles.

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This can really add up.

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So having poles that are able to absorb some of that pounding, that can be a real benefit too.

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Runners often find as well that poles help maintain a more upright posture, especially during climbs and when fatigue eventually does set in, like it does for all of us.

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While training to reduce reliance on poles really is ideal, it can temporarily help alleviate back pain caused by fatigue-induced hunching posture.

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Also great if you are recovering from or have sustained any kind of lower extremity injury during a race.

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Think like ankles or maybe IT band, which is pretty common.

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Poles, if you're using them, can be a great reliever of pressure on that area and may actually allow you to continue to the finish or the end of your training.

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Run slowly, but obviously always consult a medic before making those decisions.

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The other area where I think poles can be super useful, and one that I have personal experience of recently is on technical or what I would call pretty dicey terrain.

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In those instances, poles are going to be a really good source of security and an additional layer of safety.

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What I'm thinking about here is things like river crossings, maybe, where you can use your poles to actually test the river bed ahead of you and make sure it's solid and you can actually cross in there.

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Or, as in my case, really slick, muddy paths, where securing poles on the ground with each stride is a huge help in maintaining balance, not slipping and sliding so much, especially on steep mountain sides and very narrow trails.

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So that was pros.

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What are some of the cons of running with poles? Well, as you might imagine, there is an additional burden involved.

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Most ultra runners use the collapsible Z poles, which are awesome.

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They collapse down, probably about a foot foot and a half long, and they attach to their pack, so while they're certainly not heavy, they can still be a little bulky and cumbersome.

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So planning when to use them on the course, such as maybe picking them up or dropping them off at an aid station, if that's allowed, that can really be a pretty useful strategic consideration to make.

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There's a mental burden associated with that too, and something I've seen in races for sure People resting poles on a chair or on a table at an aid station and then they take off without picking them up again.

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When they realize a mile down the trail that you've left your poles back at the aid station, then you have a decision to make, right and making extra unnecessary decisions and that additional mental stress of leaving the behind and now having to backtrack a mile to go get them.

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Those are potentially not things you want happening in an already challenging race situation.

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It does happen, and that leads to the next con the potential inconvenience of just having to do something with the poles when you're not using them.

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So managing poles can make eating or drinking on the move more challenging, for sure.

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Again, something I definitely have experience with Juggling both poles in one hand.

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You got to put two poles in one hand to access your food or your fluids.

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Might seem like a pretty minor hassle when sitting here chatting about it, but when you're a fatigued runner or it's really cold conditions out there, trying to figure out how to hold poles or where to put poles while you go get something to eat or drink.

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That can lead to delayed or maybe even skipped nutrition breaks, sometimes having to stop altogether to put your poles down, to do something with them, to free up your hands, and that would negate any pace benefit you were actually getting from the poles in the first place.

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Additionally, you definitely want to figure out when to put the poles when you aren't using them.

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So, like I said, although they're light, they can be quite bulky.

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Usually they'll still away somewhere on the pack.

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Most packs have a variety of places to put your poles.

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Sometimes it's on the side, sometimes it's on the front, sometimes it's on the back, kind of just above your glutes.

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Wherever they go, just make sure they aren't in the way of any needed storage so you can actually still get to the stuff in your pack.

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Or and this is what happened with me obstructing the swing of your arm.

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As your arms are going backwards and forwards, are they going to be catching where the poles are sitting? It's going to be different for each person, of course, but just because a manufacturer designates a spot for them doesn't mean it will necessarily work for you.

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Again, I speak from personal experience here when I suggest there is nothing worse.

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Over the course of many miles, then a the back or inside part of your arm rubbing on a pole, causing extra chafing.

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So test, test, test in advance would be my suggestion.

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With that, using trekking poles may not always result in overall energy savings either.

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While they can certainly help reduce fatigue in your legs, in correct form, when using them, can actually lead to less efficient energy use.

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This inefficiency might actually increase your total energy expenditure rather than conserving it and, anecdotally, I feel like there is a mental tendency to walk a lot more when you've got the poles out versus run, even though you certainly can.

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You can run holding poles in one hand, both poles, or you can hold a pole in both hand flat and run with them.

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I definitely think there's a tendency to walk.

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That might be another consideration that you really have to pay attention to and practice.

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You know actually running while holding your poles as well.

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So regular training with poles is needed to make sure you're going to use them appropriately and most efficiently.

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So that leads me into my next section, using the poles.

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Before deciding whether you're going to use them or not in your ultra, definitely consider the following First of all, the course and your strategy.

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Poles are, generally speaking, most beneficial the more you plan to power hike and the greater the vertical change up or down on the course.

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From a training perspective, practice with poles for at least four weeks, I would say before the race, so that you can develop the skill, the strength and the stamina needed for effective use.

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This period of training will also help decide if you prefer using the poles both uphill and downhill segments, or just uphill only, and it will help condition your arms and your shoulders to be able to Accommodate the extra load.

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This will also give you an opportunity to practice breaking them down on the move and stowing your poles as well, in addition to finding the best way to eat or drink with them out.

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As we talked about, learning how to use poles for stability, uphill and downhill, for propulsion if you were going uphill or flat and to manage the forces and impacts of downhill running, would definitely maximize their benefit.

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From a sizing perspective, you you want to get poles that are appropriately sized.

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Most poles are a fixed size.

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The right size for you should be where your elbow is at 90 degrees, when your hands are on the grip and the poles are on flat ground.

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That's how you know that they're big enough for you.

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If your poles have a loop strap on the handle, remember to put your hand up through it and then grip rather than grip down.

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That should mean the loop handle is resting approximately on your wrist and you should hardly have to grip the pole at all.

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It should kind of be dangling off, hanging off your wrist when you're on the trail.

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Adjust your hand, grab higher or lower on the pole as needed.

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By that I mean if you're going downhill you can move your grip to the top of the handle, and if you're going uphill, consider choking down on the handle to shorten the pole and give you more leverage from the push.

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There are actually poles out there that are adjustable length too.

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I believe the Harrier poles that I referenced earlier.

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They actually adjust the length of the pole itself on the fly for these types of scenarios where you just kind of change the length of the pole itself rather than your hand placements on the grip.

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When you want to change situations there, obviously you probably only want to do that for longer segments.

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You shouldn't be changing the length of the pole up and down for just short uphills and downhills.

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If you're using poles for propulsion, coordinate the pole strike with your opposite foot.

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Strike to maximize the work done by your upper body.

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Think about how you swing your arms when you walk relative to where your foot placement is.

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Poles are just an extension of that.

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So when your right foot goes forward, the left pole goes forward and vice versa.

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Again, it takes a little practice to get comfortable with.

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I also particularly like the double plant too.

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This is where you put both poles out in front of you, jam them in and pull back, pushing yourself uphill or forwards.

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Trekking poles can certainly be a valuable tool for you to use in ultramarathans to sort of maintain rhythm and cadence, but they're going to require some thoughtful consideration of those pros and cons as well as proper training and technique.

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I mean you really need to weigh the benefits of improved stability and reduced leg fatigue against the potential downsides, like the increased bulk and energy expenditure.

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If you show up at a race unprepared or untrained in use of poles, they might well end up being more of a hindrance to you than they are a positive.

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So definitely suggest trying out poles in training and maybe even shorter races to gauge your personal comfort and the effectiveness for you.

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Now, as I said at the beginning, we also put this topic out to folks on the Choose To Enjoy Facebook page and we got some opinions.

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We got some anecdotes from experienced back of the pack runners who've used their poles in races, highlighting lessons learned that they were willing to share with us here.

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So Garrett, garrett, frederick said he always takes them, he likes to have them out and ready.

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They help him maintain a rhythm, which is fantastic.

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The fabulous Karen Ellis she says well, it really depends on the situation.

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Having poles on standby can be the difference between finishing in a DNF if something flares up or gets overworked during the race.

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I use poles on a second half of my first hundred when my IT band flared up and it made it much better, I didn't bring mine to Bandera, but that's because I won't be able to have them as an option at Western States when she gets out there and Stuart Secker over in the UK.

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I'm no purist.

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I'll use poles in the right circumstances big mountains or for stability on rough grounds but I use them a lot less now than I used to because I think they make it more likely that I'd walk and walk slower when actually I could probably run.

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I use them on only one race last year the spine race.

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And if you haven't looked at this race, go look at the summer and winter spine races over in the UK.

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Absolutely insane and incredible races 268 miles right up the middle of England through some huge terrain, fantastic races.

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But Stuart says even then he only used them on three or four of the bigger steeper climbs.

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And as for me, well, I used to use poles quite a bit but, similar to Stuart, I have backed off recently.

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I found that I move with more purpose, generally speaking, without the poles, and the majority of the racing I'm doing at the moment probably doesn't need them anyway.

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Somehow poles for me have come to equate walking or moving much slower.

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In my last race on the technical ups the poles definitely slowed other people down.

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You could see it hindering them really clearly but conversely they were super useful as a brace on the backside of those climbs.

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On the very technical downhills and as an aside, I did see one lady kind of go over having gotten a pole stuck in a crevice.

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So there's that aspect to consider as well.

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I'm definitely not against them, but for the most part trying to go without, currently at least, unless there's a real reason to use them.

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I really don't know that there will ever be a right or wrong answer.

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This is one of those debates that's gonna go on forever, and it's really an individual choice.

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Ultimately, though, the goal is to find what works best for you so that you can enjoy and successfully complete the ultra races you sign up for.

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So if you want to use them and you feel you could benefit from them, the course would be appropriate for them and you've got the opportunity to train beforehand, then yeah, why not? Definitely go for it and have a go.

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Make sure you practice first.

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That'll do it for this quick episode.

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Don't forget to subscribe to the show, get notified each time a new episode comes out and, of course, follow, share and review.

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Doing any of those things really does help with the algorithms that are out there in the AI world, and that, in turn, helps other people find the show.

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You can find us on Instagram and Facebook and over, of course, at chooseandjoycom, and I'm also having a crack at putting us out on YouTube for the video version, so we'll see how that works out, but be sure to head over to any of those, check us out and jump into conversations that we have, just like this one, that drive this particular episode if you have a moment.

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We value everyone's opinion.

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That's what makes this community great.

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Until then, run long, run strong and keep choosing to enjoy.

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Thanks for running with us at the Choose to Endure podcast.

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We hope you enjoyed the show.

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We had a blast.

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If you did, make sure to like, rate and review, and we'll be back soon.

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Keep racking up the miles and the stories and we'll catch you at the next trailhead.

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Until then, remember to run long, run strong, Keep infinity focused, keep Miles ready for eye contact.

Trekking Poles in Ultra Marathons: Boost or Burden? + Tips For Effective Use

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