13 Trail Running Essentials – Must Have Gear And Accessories
When it comes to trail running gear and accessories, I like to think of it like having a toolbox. You need the right tools for the right job. It’s much better to have the gear and not need it, than to need the gear and not have it. In this article, I’ll share 13 trail running essentials which I believe are must have items for trail runners.
All trail running essentials featured in this article are trail running gear and accessories which I have personally used and swear by. Some may be deemed more essential than others, but I believe it’s a great idea to have all of these items in your trail running arsenal. You never know when you might need to deploy them…
13 Trail Running Essentials
1. Trail running shoes
These are a critical bit of kit. Trail running shoes are specially designed for the demands, strains and pressures which come with running on the trail.
Compared to road shoes, they’re a lot more durable, sturdier, and have more aggressive tread and lug patterns on the outsoles of the shoe. They’re reinforced in key areas to give your feet protection, including in the upper, and (in my opinion) feel more stable than road shoes.
The main benefits of using trail shoes include:
Grip: You have much more tread and traction on unstable, muddy sections.
Protection: You have more protection against small rocks, nooks and crannies and tree roots.
Cushioning: Assuming you get a pair with a decent stack height and a nice foamy mid sole, trail shoes make steep, uneven descents more pleasant. This can also help protect against leg wear and tear.
There are different trail shoes for different jobs, but two I’ve used and swear by in my years of trail running are:
Hoka Speedgoats – For mostly dry, varied and stable terrain.
Salomon Speedcross – For uneven, extremely wet and muddy conditions.
2. GPS Sports Watch
An incredibly common bit of gear for most runners, I love GPS sports watches for trail running.
With convenience in mind, you can chuck these on your watch, press record, and document data from your runs which gives you the power to delve into your performance data using an app like Strava.
Many metrics can be recorded on most watches on the market including:
Heart rate
Location
Pace
Calories burnt (rough estimation)
Grade adjusted pace
Elevation gain and descent
Total time taken
Splits by mile or by kilometre
Rough estimations of how hard each effort was
Importance of a navigational feature
When it comes to trail running, I opt for watches which have a GPS navigational feature. This is for two reasons.
Firstly, it means I can find or plot a trail online using a website like All Trails or Garmin Route builder in the Garmin Connect app/website. I simply load the route up into my watch, travel to the starting point, and navigate using the built in navigational functionality. This is great for discovering new trails, exploring, and for making sure you’re going the right way during a trail race.
Secondly, it increases your safety. Turning on a GPS navigation like mode prior to setting off means you can track your steps up to a certain location and use the watch to backtrack if needed. I’ve been in situations where I’ve gone off course during a training run, and used the navigational feature to backtrack and get me to more familiar ground and back on course.
There are tonnes of GPS sports watches on the market, and I’d highly recommend doing some research to find one which suits you and is in your budget.
Personally, I’ve used the Garmin Forerunner 945 for two years up to this point and I absolutely love it. It has tonnes of useful features, including GPS navigation, and it’s still working just fine. Worth every penny.
3. Running backpack
We can be out on the trail for many hours at a time, and in many different terrains and unpredictable weather conditions. Having a means of storing equipment, gear, and accessories in a wearable garment, on your back, is hugely valuable.
I use my running backpack to store items I may need on long training runs. This includes food, drinks, my mobile phone, and a waterproof jacket. If I’m on a particularly long run, or in a race scenario (which may have mandatory equipment requirements), I tend to pack additional items like a compass, whistle, emergency blanket, buff, hat, and more.
Running backpacks come in many shapes and sizes, depending on the needs of each runner. There’s many options on the market, and many great videos and articles reviewing and comparing backpacks.
Personally, I’ve had the Salmon Adv Skin 12 since 2021 and it is one of my most important and trusted pieces of trail running gear. I’ve used it for over 2000 miles of trail running, including 100 mile, 100km, and 50km ultramarathons, and it’s still holding strong to this day in 2024. I don't think they make them anymore, but it looks like my next purchase for a running pack (when the time comes) will be the similar Salomon Agile 12.
4. Waterproof sports jacket
On the trails, weather conditions can change at a moments notice. For safety and performance reasons, t’s always good to have a waterproof jacket on you that you can slip it on and off when needed.
It’s not fun running being soaked through to the skin, and it can also be a safety hazard if you’re exposed in the rain for extended periods of time. Particularly in remote, rural locations with no shelter for miles around.
When searching for a waterproof sports jacket, I look for three things.
Weight: A light jacket is almost always the best option. Any additional weight being carried can make a massive difference over long distances on the trail, and packing lightly is always my preferred approach.
Waterproof rating: A common scale for measuring how waterproof a piece of clothing is, is hydrostatic head. This refers to the amount of pressure required to penetrate a piece of fabric. The measurement is in millimetres, and it means how high a column of water standing on the fabric can stand before it would be able to get through the piece of clothing. A minimum of 10,000 hydrostatic head is recommended for trail running/ultramarathon events. Higher hydrostatic head ratings will provide more waterproofing, but this may come at the expense of added weight.
The jacket I use is the Halo Jacket by OMM, which is ultra-light weight, has a hydrostatic head rating of 10,000mm, and is easily packable.
5. Hats
I have a variety of running hats, which I use during virtually every run. Hats can provide protection from the sun, shield you from rain drops getting in your face, and provide much needed warmth in the cold.
The hats I use, depending on the situation, are:
Lightweight breathable caps: Everyday hats for general protection from sunlight and the rain.
Sahara caps: For extremely sunny and hot conditions, with a fabric flap on the back for protecting the skin on the back and sides of my neck, as well as my ears.
Beanies: For when it’s freezing, freezing cold.
6. Headtorch
Despite being a small piece of gear, headtorches are an essential item which can make all the difference in the world. These allow you to see better and more clearly in darker conditions, typically at night.
Not only does a good headtorch give you confidence to perform better in twilight trail running hours, but it is also a fundamental for safety reasons. No one wants to trip up on an unexpected obstacle, after all!
When it comes to headtorches, I believe investing some cash in a powerful headtorch is the best way to go. For months, I’d buy rubbish £10 headtorches from Amazon or Ebay thinking I was being savvy by being cheap. But, these cheap and quick fixes came at the price of breaking quickly, having poor battery life, and the light source being extremely dim.
When I used my cheap headtorches, I’d have much less confidence during night trail running and I’d always trip up on unexpected obstacles.
Now, things are different. I decided to invest in a more substantial headtorch and bought the Fenix HM65r-T. I can see more clearly, I have confidence in the longer battery life, and I feel much more confident in my performance.
I recently came 3rd place in a night time trail 10 mile race whilst wearing this headtorch. This included lots of very fast running in pitch black forest trails, woodland and farmland. Without this powerful headtorch, I’m convinced that I wouldn’t have had the confidence to put my foot down and go all in for safety reasons.
In my opinion, a decent headtorch is worth every penny and I will always recommend investing one rather than buying cheap ones like I did for a long time.
7. Sunglasses
A great accessory to have in your trail running arsenal. Like you would do in daily life, you can chuck a pair of sports sunglasses on during your trail run to protect your eyes from the suns rays.
Having sunglasses on when it’s hot, sunny and there’s lots of light glare, can give you confidence to run stronger on the trails. It will also protect the skin around your eyes from unnecessary sun exposure and reduce the risk of burns.
8. Hiking/Running Poles
This bit of kit tends to create a divide. Some trail runners swear by poles, whilst others do not like them and wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole (pun intended). Running poles are all about personal choice and they are certainly a more discretionary item in the running arsenal.
For me, the decision to use running poles on a training run or in a race setting depends on the course I’m going to be dealing with. If I’m running really far, and there will be tonnes of climbs, and the terrain is going to be muddy and unstable, then I’ll probably bring them. Other times, I won’t.
When deciding on whether to bring poles with you on your trail run, you need to weigh up the benefits they can give you versus the cost of needing to store and carry them.
The benefits of running poles include:
Improved power and endurance when going uphill.
Shock absorption for the legs when running downhill.
Increased stability in uneven and unpredictable conditions like boggy mud, or rocky terrain.
The option to share the physical load with your arms, rather than solely your legs.
I got my first pair of poles in April 2023, and I used them for the first time during Ultra Trail Snowdonia 50km. I’ve since used them on a variety of really tough, long trail training runs, and I also used them during the Mozart 100km in Austria. Personally, they were fantastic choices for me in all of these scenarios and I like having the freedom of being able to use them when the moment calls for it. That being said, I won’t use them for every race or every training session.
The poles I currently use are the Helvellyn Carbon Z-Poles from Harrier, and I would highly recommend them as a mid-range set of running/hiking poles. They weigh 220g (regular length version), can be easily adjusted for height, and fold down for convenient storage.
My only issue with these running poles is that they feature a built-in mud basket which cannot be removed. They are integrated into the design and have caused me issues like not being able to store them in my pole quiver, which is my preferred method for pole storage.
Still, I think they’re a brilliant set of running poles and have been designed with the trail runner in mind. Highly recommended.
9. Nutrition
Bit of a no brainer, but certainly worth mentioning. Trail running is a highly physically demanding sport, and we need to fuel our bodies to make the most of our training and perform to the best of our potential.
Nutrition is highly personal to every runner, and its worth experimenting with what works for you.
My personal favourites for trail running, at the moment, include:
Sandwiches.
Fruit including bananas, melons and apples.
Cereal bars.
Electrolyte powders which I mix into my bottles. I am currently using Tailwind.
Energy gels. I like Science in Sport.
Sports bars. Clif Bars are a personal favourite.
10. Mobile phone (and emergency locator beacon)
I deem it absolutely essential to bring a fully charged mobile phone with me on all of my trail running sessions. No matter how remote, long, tough or the location. This is for safety reasons.
It’s not nice to think about, but the reality is that trail running does come with some risks and accidents do unfortunately sometimes happen. Having a charged phone with you is essential, as you never know when you’ll need to call the emergency services or someone to help you, or someone else on the trail.
If you’re trail running in an area known for poor phone signal, I’d recommend investing in an emergency locator beacon. These are portable, battery powered radio devices which can be used to send out a distress signal in remote areas so that you can signal to the emergency services that you are in need of rescue.
Emergency locator beacons inform the emergency services who you are, your location, and that you are in need of aid. I’d recommend these for trail running in highly remote and rural areas like mountains, canyons, forests, and anywhere else where signal might be patchy on a mobile phone.
11. Safety gear
Having a collection of safety gear essentials in your arsenal is a great idea and will give you piece of mind. Some essentials include:
A compass: Having one of these, and equipping yourself with some knowledge of navigation using a map and compass, is highly recommended.
Emergency blanket: For keeping you warm and protected from the elements if you find yourself in a rough situation.
A whistle: For attracting attention.
A bivvy sleeping bag: If you find yourself needing to spend a night on the trail, for whatever unfortunate reason, one of these is indispensable and will make you much safer.
Portable first aid kit: For immediate access to supplies for treating small injuries sustained on the trail.
12. Wireless earphones
Admittedly, you might not like the idea of using earphones whilst you’re on the trail.
Perhaps you’re someone who enjoys soaking up all the sounds of your environment, and you enjoy the peace and quiet which comes with trail running. Myself, I like to run most of my trail runs without earphones for these reasons. But it’s always nice to have the option of using earphones should you want them, so I always pack a pair.
I find a pair of wireless earphones helpful in the following situations:
When I’m in a difficult patch during a long trail run or an ultramarathon, and I could use some energetic music as a pick me up.
When I want to listen to a podcast or audiobook to relax or learn something.
When I just feel like listening to something.
13. Sunscreen
As trail runners, we can be out in the elements for many hours at a time. This comes with the risk of being exposed to the sun and its harmful rays which can have an array of negative consequences including sunburn, premature aging, and increased risk of skin cancer.
Packing a small travel sized bottle of sunscreen means you’ll be able to protect your skin with an occasional application. Not only is preventing skin damage good to avoid the negative consequences I just mentioned.
It also means you won’t get sunburnt which can have the performance implication of inflammation and water being sent to the site of the burn, which will mean less water available for your body’s effort during your run.
I made a video about why runners need to wear sunscreen. You can find it here.
Some honourable mentions
Physical fold up maps.
Fold up cups. Great for drinking coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or soup at aid stations.
There you have it. 13 trail running essentials, which I swear by and use on a regular basis in my own trail running. You might not need to use all of these items 100% of the time, but having them and not needing them is much better than needing them and not having them.
Thanks very much for reading and the very best for your running.
Craig Running Cafe
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