Sports
Trail Running: The Danger of Being Unprepared
Shubi Guimarães and Sidney Togumi discuss athletes' lack of self-reliance and the vital role of safety gear.
The booming popularity of trail running has brought a critical challenge to mountain trails: fit runners lacking basic self-reliance and safety awareness. In an interview on XTREMMA Sports, Shubi Guimarães and Sidney Togumi examine the risks of being unprepared and why mandatory gear is non-negotiable.
The growth of trail running in Brazil has drawn a wave of new runners to technical terrain and rugged mountains. However, this surge in participation raises an urgent safety concern: many athletes show up for extreme races without understanding the complexity of the wilderness or the true necessity of self-reliance.
PUBLICIDADE (GAM) — 1250x250
Self-reliance is more than just physical fitness
During the XTREMMA Sports episode, Sidney Togumi and Shubi Guimarães emphasized that while physical fitness can help runners meet race cutoff times, the capacity for survival and decision-making during emergencies remains a major hurdle. In remote areas like Serra Fina, home to the La Misión race, being strong physically does not guarantee that a runner knows what to do when facing heavy rain, sudden temperature drops, or an injury on Pedra da Mina.
Shubi shared alarming situations she observed in race discussion groups, where participants asked about using disposable ponchos instead of proper seam-sealed anoraks. For her, this unfamiliarity with high-mountain environments puts runners at direct risk, as many approach a 35 km mountain course with the mindset of a road race.
The illusion of distance and the harsh reality of mountains
Easy race registration and the rush to tackle longer distances create dangerous scenarios. Shubi noted that when runners miss out on spots in shorter 25 km races, they often jump directly to 55 km or 80 km courses without adequate preparation. Sidney pointed out that the race's official training camp served as a reality check: after experiencing the Serra Fina traverse firsthand, dozens of participants immediately requested to drop down to shorter distances.
Mountain rescues are nothing like city calls. Sidney recalled extreme incidents, such as a participant in 2014 who asked to call a taxi from the middle of the mountain ridge, along the section known as Maracanã. On remote trails or high peaks, any evacuation demands hours of grueling manual labor from rescue crews, turning individual negligence into a collective hazard.
Mandatory gear is the absolute minimum, not the ceiling
Experience is often earned the hard way. Shubi shared that early in her adventure racing career, during the 2003 Eco Motion in Chapada Diamantina, she trimmed parts of her emergency space blanket to shave grams off her pack—until she suffered severe hypothermia on the Subida da Fumaça climb.
Since then, the lesson has been clear: a mandatory gear list is not the upper limit of what to carry, but an uncompromising safety floor. Beyond emphasizing intact thermal blankets and proper cold-weather layers, Shubi highlighted the need for essential medications, such as antihistamines (like prednisone and hydroxyzine), which are critical for treating severe allergic reactions to insect stings in the backcountry.
PUBLICIDADE (GAM) — 1250x250
