What I actually needed my first year of trail running
October 09/2026
My first year of trail running began with an unanswerable question: What do I actually need?
I’d never really been into running before, so suddenly I needed to figure out what to wear and which gear actually mattered, as opposed to what was just marketing from big corporations. Even buying my first pair of trail shoes felt like a serious financial commitment.
For me, trail running its a way to discover new places. But somewhere between that simple idea got complicated.
A lot of what I bought that first year wasn’t really necessary. It was about comfort.
The case for buying gear
Not everyone pictures the same thing when they hear trail running.
Some people run technical mountain terrain where grippy shoes are non-negotiable. Others head into the woods behind their house, where technical ground barely comes up. The first step is being honest with yourself about which one you actually are, rather than I’lll buy this because this ad said its the best I can get.
And gear genuinely does matter, sometimes in ways that aren’t just marketing:
- good shoes provide grip on technical ground and help prevent injuries and the blisters that shows up on long (20K +) training days
- proper clothing keeps you warm and dry
- hydration matters, especially on longer runs
- navigation tools can keep you from getting lost (in terrain you don’t know)
- mandatory safety equipment can genuinely save your life
- poles can help on steep terrain
Where it gets complicated
But somewhere along the way, necessity and comfort become difficult to tell apart.
The real question isn’t “would this help?” almost anything would, a little.
It’s: do I need this, or do I just want the experience to be slightly easier?
I’m clearly not the only one wrestling with this.
A lot of runners online have been pushing back on how commercialized the sport has become. Pointing out that running used to be one of the simplest, most accessible sports around, and that you don’t need the best gear to count as a “real runner”. Others have noticed the same pattern specifically in trail and ultra running, where new brands keep entering the market, each one competing to look more specialized or more serious than the last.
A question I keep coming back to, one I’ve seen other runners ask themselves too, is simple: am I buying this because it fills an actual need in my training, or because everyone else seems to have it ?
Some examples I keep coming back to:
- you don’t need the lightest jacket = you need a jacket that keeps you dry
- you don’t need the newest GPS watch = you need to know where you’re going
- you don’t need five pairs of trail shoes = you need one that works for the terrain you actually run on
What I Actually Used in My First Year of Trail Running
This is the part I think matters most.
What I actually needed:
- one pair of trail shoes
- comfortable clothes (just one outfit)
- a running vest: way to carry water + food on longer runs
- a headlamp for running in the dark
- time on the trails – more than anything else
So, whats the point?
The point isn’t that gear doesn’t matter. It does, sometimes in ways that genuinely keep you safer or help you go further.
The point is knowing why you’re buying it.
Before anything goes in my cart now, I ask myself one question: is this going to make me safer, help me reach a goal, or simply make me more comfortable ?
If the answer it the third one, that’s not automatically a bad purchase – comfort is allowed.
You just don’t have to mistake comfort is necessity.
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