Jan. 5, 2021
In this weeks’ XTERRA Connect training spotlight we venture to the North Island of New Zealand to kick-off a new video series all about trail running, hosted by reigning XTERRA Pan Am Tour women’s elite champion Samantha Kingsford.
In this first installment Kingsford demonstrates drills to improve your contact time.
“Contact time is an important factor to running fast, especially in XTERRA and trail running. We need to have really fast feet to get through the technical and rooty sections,” says Kingsford.
Kingsford focuses on four drills to improve her contact time;
A-Skip – “On your toes, not your heels. Start with a walk, then add speed and do it for real”
High Knees – “Act as if you’re tall”
Butt Kicks – “Land on your toes, chest and torso flat and straight”
Ladder – “The ultimate exercise for fast feet”
“Put these tricks into practice in training and then take them out on the trails and see the difference,” says Kingsford.
Samantha Kingsford is one of the fastest elites in all of XTERRA. She won three majors on the World Tour in 2019 - XTERRA Brazil, Victoria, and Mexico - and also captured the XTERRA Pan Am Tour title.
