In this post, I’m going to discuss my 5 favourite trail running apps for navigation and route planning, specifically for trail running. I’m not going to go into too much detail on how to use each app, but instead will provide a more high level overview of the features of both the free and paid versions of each, and some possible use cases.

I’ll also highlight a handful of other apps you might want to check out as well which while not on my primary list are all very useful in their own way.

Winter can still be a great time to hit the trails. But when the temperatures drop and the snow begins to fall in the mountains, the gear we use needs to change as well.

In this post, I cover some of the winter trail running gear that I rely on, along with a few tips for staying safe in the snow.

The SwissPeaks Trail 360k is a trail running race that travels more than 360 km (224 miles) across the Swiss Alps, climbing more than 26,000 metres (87,000 feet) from Oberwald to the shores of Lake Geneva.

Runners have up to 160 hours to complete the race, refuelling at the 31 minor aid stations, with the option to sleep at any of the 6 major life bases along the way.

I got the Salomon XA 25 litre pack a couple of months ago. I’ve had a chance to test it out on a handful 2-3 day fastpacking trips and it has quickly become my favourite pack for my fast and light adventures.

Read on to learn what it is about this pack that I love so much, along with a complete video review.

As trail runners, we like to carry the absolute minimum amount of gear so that we can travel as fast and light as possible. But things can change in a split second with something as trivial as a rolled ankle or simply by getting a little lost, turning what maybe should have been a 2 hour run into an 8 hour slog. You might need to hunker down to wait for help, or find yourself stopping to help someone else in need.

That’s why I’ve begun to approach every run in the same way by asking myself the same question, “what’s the worst that could happen on my run today, and what gear can I bring to help deal with it?”

In this post and video I’ll go over the 10 trail running essentials that I always carry to stay safe on the trails.