Survive Mud Season
After the long cold winter, spring weather often has us dreaming of warm sunny trail runs - but, (alas!) we gotta get through mud season first!
Why do trails close during mud season? During mud season, snowmelt and rainfall saturate the soil, making trails vulnerable. Running, hiking or biking on saturated trails can cause damage that takes months or years to repair, so it is critical to let them dry out.
So…where CAN I run during this time of year? Luckily, Vermont has many mud-season-friendly scenic routes - check out our suggestions in the slides to keep you busy this spring! Mud-season safe routes include bike paths, dirt roads, low elevation trails, and select mountain biking trail networks (once they’ve been cleared for use by the managing organization)
A few basic rules of thumb for selecting your route:
✅ Low elevation trails, especially south or west facing, dry out first.
✅ Sandy soils (such as Sunny Hollow or Saxon hill) dry out faster after rainstorms.
✅ Always check conditions from the trail management organization and respect closures
✅ If conditions get too muddy, turn back. Dealing with a change of plans is great mental toughness training.
Now…as far the actual running:
Don't worry about pace during messy conditions. Focus on safe footing and staying on durable trail surfaces as much as possible.
Get a grip: Trail shoes with good rubbery soles and grippy lugs can help you gain some traction- but if it’s too slick even with those, let the trail dry out adn stick to dirt roads or rec paths.
The shortest way around is through: if you come across a muddy spot, fight the urge to go around it! Doing so causes damage by widening the trail and trampling native plants. Stick to the middle of the trail, use durable surfaces (like rocks or logs) when possible. Let’s be real - your feet are gonna get wet on the run eventually!
Lace up - keep those shoelaces relatively tight - even if it means pausing to re-tie them a few times (heck, you can pause your Strava if you want…we won’t judge!). Ever had a shoe sucked off in the mud?
Take care of those tootsies - wet feet can lead to blisters. We’ve found that lightweight wool socks (Darn Tough FTW…also Smartwool, etc) or toe socks (aka Injinji) combined with lubing up those toes with an anti-chafe cream (Squirrel Nut Butter, Trail Toes) work really well for staving off blisters. Do a little trial and error on shorter routes and see what works for you!
Save your shoes/car by keeping an old towel and dry pair of shoes/socks in your car to change into after a run, you can reduce the mucky mess. When you get home, hose down your muddy shoes + socks right away! It’s much easier to remove than once it’s dried into a mud-cement cake (take it from someone who’s forgotten to do this MANY times).
