Walking or Running

As I posted in a few weeks back about another Outdoor hobby when I’m not feeling it for Mountain biking I’ve started walking more with odd low speed jog rather than run.
Mainly along the Canal with the dogs for 2.5 to 5 miles as they are shattered by then. But I could probably up the milage if solo.
Was going to try running but unsure if my previous knee injuries will take it. Had both ACL’s repaired one in 2006 which was the last time I ran to be honest. And the other plus Mcl, meniscus and Tibial plateau Orif in 2013.
Now I walk 3 to 4 miles per shift at work. And sometimes I have a dodgy shift pattern of Monday Tuesday nights Wednesday Off and Thursday night in. So thinking of walking the Wednesday morning and Friday morning and mtb the Saturday if I get chance or a long walk.
Want to start hiking some hills also. Have some trail running shoes but don’t know if I should get some boots also? Currently using my mtb waterproof jacket but looking for a new one that isn’t £500 for a Mountain Equpment one. Will walking improve my fitness when I’m not on the mountain bike?

MTBing and hiking fitness seem to be separate for me. Or in conflict even; after a week doing exclusively one daily, doing the other feels hard on my legs.

If you build up (very!) slowly then you’ll likely find that running will work for you. If you’re already cardio fit due to cycling then DO NOT be tempted to be running at “out of breath” speed for very long. Try one of the Couch to 5K programs and DO NOT skip through it.

I mostly walk in trail shoes these days, saving boots for the poorer conditions we see in winter. You can get all manner of ankle-height trail shoes too – I’m currently using Hoka Anacapas if it’s likely to be wet.

Walking and biking don’t seem to impede each other too much, though I think that running and biking are a bit of a conflict. Either way, get some stretching/yoga in to condition the muscles too. I follow a few videos on YouTube, mostly from this guy…  https://www.youtube.com/@RunBetterwithAsh

Will walking improve my fitness when I’m not on the mountain bike?

Yes, 100%. Walking is great for body and mind 🙂

Easier to pick blackberries whilst walking

I’d stick to walking. Anecdotal but I know zero walkers who have spannered themselves and zero runners who haven’t at some point. Also running is really boring

Walking 100%. Lowers cortisol and is good for the mind. If you come across any hills then by all means HIIT them  for a couple of minutes. More benefit in that than jogging.

You can combine hill walking running. Walk uphill, jog on the flat and whizz downhill. You’ll also be back in the valley for a pint at lunchtime.

If you build up (very!) slowly then you’ll likely find that running will work for you. If you’re already cardio fit due to cycling then DO NOT be tempted to be running at “out of breath” speed for very long.

Definitely this. Despite not having done any running for over thirty years I entered the Lakeland 50 (a 50-mile trail ultra-marathon). I figured that I was probably fit enough from years of cycling to be able to manage it. After all I had nearly a whole year to train 🙂 Well the event itself was fine. The cut-offs are generous enough on that one that you can walk most of it anyway. But the training basically consisted of going too hard then having to take weeks off while whatever injury I’d picked up calmed down enough to allow me to run and then repeat. Spent nearly a month walking with a stick after I tore a tendon on a “training run” and didn’t really have any pain free runs the whole year. Would probably have got much more useful training done if I’d just taken it a bit slower but my heart/lungs kept writing cheques my muscles, tendons etc couldn’t cash.

Having said that, now I’ve calmed down a bit I do find that trail running gives me many of the positives that I used to get from mountain biking (being out in the hills and making decent progress) with a lower risk of injury. I can also get to lots of interesting places that I couldn’t get to on a bike. In fact I’ve not actually ridden my MTB for over a year now.  It was the rise of eMTBs that was the final straw for me, but I guess I’d been getting increasingly disillusioned with mountain biking for a while really.

Hike vs run is a bit of a spectrum though. Some hikers travel pretty fast and light anyway and even pretty fast trail runners don’t usually run the uphill bits.

Have you considered Nordic walking? Bit of a fan these days. Lots of studies show improved posture, faster cadence and higher heart rate is sustained than normal walking.  I find it a bit of a rhythm thing so better for more even surfaces and light trail/running shoes rather than a twisty turny singletrack through undergrowth or hoofing it up a rocking path style thing.  It’s similar but definitely not the same thing as hill walking with walking poles (which I also do).

I’d say walking, definitely, because you can pay attention to what’s around you, the sounds, the scenery, smells even, without being focused on where you put your feet. I can’t run, never have been able to, but I’ve been able to cover significant distances walking in the past – I did a 9 mile walk in wellies once, I walked from Burnham-on-Sea to Brean and back along the beach, about 12 miles, but I was struggling by the end, inappropriate shoes on sand.
Also ‘Easier to pick blackberries whilst walking’; I stood on a little bridge over the Bybrook at Slaughterford just watching the water happily munching on a huge handful of big juicy blackberries yesterday afternoon, only a couple of miles walk, but a fairly steep hill on the way back.

Will walking improve my fitness when I’m not on the mountain bike?

It’ll be decent for basic endurance particularly if you’re walking up hills a lot and not dawdling. It won’t be much cop for anaerobic efforts, unless you’re a nutter and absolutely battering yourself on the ups, but you’d probably spend a fair bit of time in zone 2, which won’t do you any harm.

Personally I find long walks produce an odd, low-level fatigue that feels quite different to the same time spent mountain biking. Presumably something to do with fuelling/metabolism/intensity. After a four-hour plus walk, I’ll be absolutely sleepy dead, whereas after an equivalent ride I’ll be more muscular fatigued than all over, if that makes any sense at all.

But basically, walking’s really good for you, mentally and physically. Try walking some of your normal bike routes and you’ll notice a load of things that you normally don’t pick up on.

I walked from Burnham-on-Sea to Brean and back along the beach, about 12 miles, but I was struggling by the end, inappropriate shoes on sand.

I think it’s just sand tbh. I was up in Bamburgh for a few days for work and walked about 25km plus on sand. Came away with some proper sore lower leg stuff, I think because it alters your gait enough to stress connective tissue and muscles in novel ways.

It took me probably close to 2 years to be able to run regularly without picking up injuries.

Now I run 10k 4x weekly – 2 high intensity runs (sub 40mins) and 2 jog type runs (sub 50mins). I do a social ride on weekend anything up to 80 miles and a solid 30 miles in the week. Each day I also walk our dogs around 5-7k which is a great recovery type walk.

Mixing it up is the key.

I never really got on with running , so tend to do more walking, it’s nice round here thou,which I find motivates me.

I plan on walking a bit in the mountains but it’s a bit warm still.

I think you have to mix it up and not obsess on one fitness thing, overdoing it thru getting overly keen ends up with too much time recovering from injuries.

I don’t reckon walking will do much to help bike fitness unless you’re either walking really fast or cycling very slow.

It’s however very good for general wellbeing.

Also running is really boring

I would walk, as I very rarely see a runner who looks happy whilst doing it yet most walkers are cheerful if you stop for a chat.

I Walk and run aka (jog)

I run when the terrain suits and  feel like it.

Do this alot and you will find yourself running more and more and bit longer between the walking bits.

I find running helps me loose weight which then improves the cycling.

I wear mtb baggie trousers and in cooler weather a buffalo lite.

Carry a mtb camelback rucksack with extra layers ,gilet, waterproof, water etc.

Its surprising how far you can.go.

I find running helps me loose weight which then improves the cycling.

Absolutely this. My speed uphill on a bike improved phenomenally once I’d shed a few Kg due to running. Biking doesn’t seem to eat the fat anywhere near as much.

Not trying to lose weight or Build muscle. Just stay how I am but toned. Currently 78 kg and 5ft 10. 

Also doing alot of stretching, press ups, sit ups and squats also after nightshifts. 

Looking to get out and explore my local Area more and do something different to the Cycling so it doesn’t get stale.

We did go for a 5 mile walk on various terrain and one very steep hill with the dogs on Saturday but they were flagging a bit. Get the dogs out for a 2.5 mile walk every Morning or Evening.

Might try the jog sections of walk then up the time. I can run up the stairs at work from lower ground to third floor

Which is five flights of stairs. Out of breath after it though.

I very rarely see a runner who looks happy whilst doing it

Joke right?

Another option is carry a weighted rucksack, makes the walk more challenging so more enjoyable and with a slightly different goal.

I tend to use trail shoes or trail running shoes. Jogging in boots not comfortable in comparison. Weghted ruck sack on very uneven terrain = boots .

me and my mrs started walking last year, on days we didnt fancy a bike ride.

started with a very slow couple of miles, as i was/am quite immobile in my legs, due to a hip replacement and a fused ankle.

we kept at it, slowly increasing distance and time. walking on holiday for a day whilst on bike tours, walking on the beach in northumberland is my fave.

we are now up to walks of around 10-12 miles in length on various types of surface and terrain.

we are currently walking a 60 mile loop local to us, in 10 miles sections.

one thing i do know, walking 10 mile is far tougher on my body than riding a steady 100 miler on the bike.

the days following a long walk are pretty painful on my stiff joints……. but i love the different exercise and so we will keep at it.

Joke right?

I do commute alot by bike and now find it refreshing sometimes to go away on a break and leave the bikes at home for a change. Never thought i would say that!

But as above we tend to alternate walk and bike days on most trips.

It took me ages to build up to the jog bit due to knee issues as well , but just build up very very gradually.

Long walks are a pretty repetitive movement so now find the jog/shuffle helps alot even for short repetitions on longer ones.

Top tip ….call it a walk on strava so you do not look at compare times etc.that just makes an injury more likely aiming for a target minute mile or such like!

Aggs- Had a look at that also. Think they call it Rucking across the pond in AR15 States of America. Quite interested in getting a weighted vest and doing that also. Did walk with 2×2 litre Bottles of Irn Bru and a Lemonade for 2 miles last week. Raised my heart rate the extra weight.