Hi all, I'm doing my first trail race on the 8th of September. The Montrail Run Like A Girl 8k in the Boston area. The event link is below. Most of my training has been on roads (some dirt country roads -- a lot in city streets and bikepaths) and so I'm wondering how to adjust my pace expectations. Any thoughts? I don't think this trail is going to be very technical (forest roads, fields, along beaver ponds) but since I've never done this before I'm not sure how to adjust my pace expectations. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and if you're going to be there, let me know that too!! http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1594184%20&assetId=5f1909f8-69e6-492c-862f-116151bd0d64

Often what you will find in a trail race is varied terrain throughout a course. I think the general consensus is that your pace will be a little slower on a trail because you have to constantly adjust your stride to avoid holes, roots, rocks, and the inevitable misstep. And depending on your shoes, you may have more 'slippage' in your stride. The terrain you mentioned may not have goodies such as tree roots. Still, it will likely not be flat, in the sense that a road or paved path is 'flat.' There will likely be little adjustments that the foot and stride have to make that will affect pace, though not necessarily in a major way. (I saw a technical term for this but I can't remember it now.) I have found that if I have two similar days, one on trail and one on road, with similar elevation change, my pace may change 30-40 seconds on average. And the more technical, the more of an impact. Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

Thanks for the replies!! It's this Sunday, will probably be raining and slippery (afteraffects of Hanna), but I'm excited to get nice and muddy I'll let you all know how it goes!