Cadence, drop, fueling, hyponatremia: the Trail Running ABC casually explains every term you'll meet in our guides — before you trip over it.
## Introduction "What actually is a 'drop' on trail shoes, and why does everyone talk in elevation gain instead of pace?" These are exactly the questions that pop up the moment you open a trail running guide — the sport has its own language. The honest answer: you don't need a degree to understand it, just this one ABC. Here we explain every term you'll run into in our guides — casually, with everyday comparisons, no encyclopedia tone. Read it once, and every sentence after this makes sense.
## Gear & Equipment: What Goes on Your Feet Trail shoes are the heart of your kit — running shoes with a grippy sole that hold on roots, gravel and wet rock, where smooth road shoes just slide out from under you.
Lugs (German: Lugs, also called Profil or Stollen) are the small rubber knobs under the sole. Think of them like studs on a soccer boot: the deeper they are, the more grip you get in mud and snow — for regular forest trails, a moderate lug depth is plenty.
Drop (German: Sprengung) is the height difference between heel and forefoot inside the shoe, measured in millimeters. A low drop brings you closer to your forefoot; a high drop feels more familiar, like a regular road shoe.
Stack height is simply how thick the sole is under your foot. More stack means more cushioning but less ground feel — like a thick sofa cushion instead of a thin rug.
## Gear You Wear and Carry A running vest (German: Laufweste) is your rolling backpack for trail running — it carries water, a jacket, food and your phone close to your body without bouncing while you run.
Mandatory gear (German: Pflichtausrüstung) is the safety kit list race organizers require for mountain and ultra races: a waterproof jacket, a headlamp, a survival blanket, a whistle, emergency food. It sounds bureaucratic, but it's exactly the stuff that gets you through an unplanned night in the mountains.
Poles (German: Stöcke or Trekkingstöcke) come out on long, steep climbs — they shift some of the work from your legs to your arms, a bit like pulling yourself up a staircase using the handrail.
## Technique Terms: What Happens to Your Body on the Mountain Elevation gain (German: Höhenmeter) is the unit that matters more on trail than kilometers — it counts everything you climb and descend, no matter how the distance looks on a map.
Power-hiking is brisk, deliberate walking on steep climbs, hands braced on your thighs. It sounds like giving up, but it's strategy: above roughly 15–20% gradient, walking is often nearly as fast as running while costing far less energy.
Cadence (German: Kadenz) is your step frequency — how often your foot hits the ground per minute. Small, quick steps instead of big, slow ones protect you from tripping over roots and rocks.
Foot strike (German: Fußaufsatz) describes which part of your foot lands first — heel, midfoot or forefoot. Uphill it shifts automatically toward the forefoot, downhill toward the heel; you don't have to force it, your body handles it on its own.
Eccentric load (German: exzentrische Belastung) is the braking work your quads do on every downhill step — the muscle works while being stretched at the same time, a bit like holding the handbrake the whole way down. That's why your legs burn after a descent.
The repeated bout effect is the good news: even a single short downhill run trains your braking muscles enough that the next one causes noticeably less soreness. Your body remembers the stimulus like a kind of muscle memory.
## Training & Body: What Builds Your Mountain Fitness VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use per minute — simply put, the size of your engine. On the mountain it counts together with your uphill economy, not on its own.
Running economy (German: Laufökonomie) describes how efficiently you use your energy — like how fuel-efficient a car is. Strength training improves it measurably, so you run just as fast on less fuel.
Base endurance (German: Grundlagenausdauer) is built at conversation pace — slow enough that you could still chat comfortably. It feels almost too easy, but it's the foundation everything else stands on.
Hill repeats (German: Bergintervalle) are short, sharp repetitions uphill with walking or jogging recoveries in between — your targeted training for the uphill fitness that flat roads simply can't build.
Proprioception is your body's sense of where your joints are without looking. Single-leg balance training builds it and protects your ankle from rolling on uneven ground.
## Racing, Fueling & Safety An elevation profile (German: Höhenprofil) shows you graphically where a route climbs and drops — your most important tool for pacing your effort before you even start.
Cut-off times are time limits in races — deadlines by which you must reach certain checkpoints or you're pulled from the race. A race with a generous cut-off takes a lot of pressure off as a beginner.
Fueling is the term for eating during a run — how many carbs per hour you take in so you don't run out of gas.
Hyponatremia (German: Hyponatriämie) is a dangerous dilution of your blood from drinking too much without enough salt — the opposite of dehydration, but just as risky. Hence the rule: drink to thirst, not ahead of it.
Electrolytes are minerals like sodium that you lose through sweat and replace during long or hot runs through drinks or salt tablets.
Ultra(marathon) describes any race longer than the classic marathon distance (26.2 miles / 42.2 km) — anywhere from just under 50 km to several hundred kilometers over multiple days.
## Pro Tip Make a small cheat card with the five terms that feel most foreign to you, and read through it before your next run. After two or three runs where you connect the word in your head with what your legs are actually feeling, it sticks for good — jargon sinks in faster on the mountain than at a desk.
### What is a trail shoe compared to a regular running shoe? A trail shoe has deeper lugs for grip on roots, gravel and wet ground, a tougher, often reinforced toe box, and usually a stiffer sole for rock protection. Road shoes slip fast on natural terrain, which is why trail shoes are the single most important first purchase.
### What does elevation gain mean in trail running? Elevation gain adds up all the climbing on a route, regardless of distance. It's a more honest metric than pace, because 8 kilometers with 600 meters of climbing is a completely different workout than 8 flat kilometers. Measure your runs in elevation gain and time instead of minutes per kilometer.
### What is power-hiking, and is walking uphill allowed? Power-hiking is brisk, deliberate walking on steep climbs. It's explicitly allowed and not a weakness: above roughly 15–20% gradient it's often just as fast as running while being far more economical. Even elite runners use it deliberately as strategy, not just out of exhaustion.
### What is hyponatremia and why is it dangerous? Hyponatremia is a dilution of your blood from drinking too much fluid without enough salt — it affects up to half of all ultra finishers. Unlike dehydration, it comes from drinking "ahead of thirst." The countermeasure: drink to thirst and add electrolytes on long runs.
### What does mandatory gear mean at a trail running race? Mandatory gear is the safety kit list race organizers require for mountain and ultra races — typically a waterproof jacket, headlamp, survival blanket, whistle and emergency food. It's not overkill; it's the equipment that gets you safely through an unplanned night in the mountains if things go wrong.
Trailrunning: Getting Started Overview