Trail Runnning > Road Running?

Yeah... why would you want to trail run? I mean, nature is nice and all, but so is not winding up in a hospital with a concussion and a broken arm!

So, the "runner's high" phenomenon was scientifically proven back in 2008 by Dr. Boecker. However, this article (from Trail Running Magazine Beginner's Guide, May 2010 if the link doesn't work) suggests that the "stresses" of the road (running traffic light intervals, playing Frogger with pedestrians who yell "run Forest run" at you, sucking down exhaust fumes, etc.) can inhibit or reduce this effect. Trial running, on the other hand, is naturally more calming and has been shown to have positive effects on mental health. Also, trails provide a softer surface compared to roads, and can help reduce the number of overuse injuries.The article goes on to suggest these reasons for why trail running is better than road running:

• No fashion police
• Easier on your joints and tendons
• No obsessive-compulsive split checkers (or not as many…)
• Smaller, more laid-back community and race scene
• You can pee your shorts and nobody notices

Ok, I've never much cared about how I looked when I ran (or otherwise quite frankly), so if there are fashion police out on the road...ehhhh. And, I still like to know my splits, even though I fully expect them to be slower. Unstructured workouts/races make me more tense, and I don't care if no one knows if you pee in your shorts or not... you do and that's still kind of gross. So, aside from the better surface (which tracks offer), there is no reason why I should like trail running. But, I still kind of do, so I would like to propose a few additions to this list:

• Trail running seems more adventurous than road running (although I can still get lost in downtown Raleigh, so any run is an adventure). 
• There's always something to do when you're trail running (like worrying about how best not to fall). So, if you're like me and have to constantly distract yourself, running solo on roads can seem like a chore (the license plate game doesn't work so well when you can't see them... and, when you do the same routes over and over, the abc game gets too easy). On trails, however, you have to constantly be on the look out... and you can jump over stuff, which is fun especially for used-to-be hurdlers and jumpers (and maybe someday steeplechasers).
• Getting dirty is also fun. Yes, there is some childish part of me that thinks its funny, like I played a trick on my mother or something, by not being able to avoid the mud... too bad I do my own laundry now.

So, basically, trail running is FUN!