@kimba1 - good to hear about your interest in trail running
@Niranjan - I just popped over to Italy for a couple days last week but I did not have time to take in any trails - but I did get a awesome view of the Alps so that did my heart good.

I agree that trail ultra running is not particularly more difficult than road running. It is definitely less stressful because of the great physical and social environment. My feeling is that road runners watch the clock so a lot of energy is focused on PRs. Benchmarking your running performance is a good thing, but clocking a great time is not why I run.

There is a lot of ebb and flow in the longer runs so walking and taking short food breaks can actually get you to the finish line sooner. It is as much about input as it is about output. Yeah, the fast guys will blow through the first 2 or 3 aid stations but by 60+ km, they are stopping to take on nutrition, too. Ideally, they should to be eating more sooner, but there is some jockeying for position early in the race so those guys are looking to get a good lead before breaking at an aid stop.

Also, perceived effort changes a lot on the long runs. I paced a fellow club runner last weekend for the last 10 miles of a 100 mile race and the running pace by that time was more or less a walking speed. It is a lot easier to short step a running gait than a walking gait, so running to say you ran may not get you to the end quicker. I personally like the change in gaits because it works different muscles and helps extend my effort.

Anyway...my 2 pences

The trail running season may be coming to an end in CH, but it is mostly kicking off here in the US South. I have 600 - 700 km of race "miles" between now and spring time! Whoohoo!!

Btw, do your running clubs sponsor group trail runs? That is a good way to get in some miles and do an informal supported ultra.