When to Use Poles in Trail Running, and When Not To

Poles pay off on sustained climbs steeper than about 15%, and the longer the race, the more they pay. On runnable ground they cost you energy, attention, and a free hand. The common sales pitch is also backwards: poles don't save energy, they spare your legs. This guide gives the thresholds in percent grade, so you can read them straight off any course profile, and walks through a real pole plan for OCC (UTMB).

Do poles actually make you faster?

Only where you'd be walking anyway. In a field test on a steep climb (433 m / 1,420 ft of gain over 1.3 km / 0.8 mi, ~35% average grade), 15 trained trail runners (small, all-male cohorts are the norm in this literature) went about 2.5% faster with poles at full effort, at the same oxygen cost, heart rate, and lactate (Giovanelli et al. 2022). At a submaximal, ultra-like effort on the same climb, poles changed nothing. And on flat and gently rolling ground they make you less economical: pooled studies show oxygen cost going up, not down, the moment poles start doing work on terrain you could run (Saller et al. 2023).

The one-line rule: poles help in a walking gait. If the grade still lets you run, they mostly get in the way.

What poles do to your body (and what they don't)

They don't cut the energy bill. Across the literature, oxygen uptake with poles is the same or higher at a given speed; a small saving (2–3%) has been measured only on extremely steep ramps of roughly 47–71% grade, in a single study that has not been replicated (Giovanelli et al. 2019).

They unload the legs. Force on the feet drops by ~2.5% at easy effort and ~5% at max; leg muscle activity drops ~15% at a 20% grade while arm activity rises: the load moves, it doesn't vanish (Giovanelli et al. 2023; Foissac et al. 2008). After a mountain hike, pole users showed less strength loss, less soreness, and lower creatine kinase, all signs of less muscle damage (Howatson et al. 2011).

They make climbing feel easier. Perceived effort is 14–18% lower with poles on climbs of roughly 28% and steeper, and never higher anywhere. Coaches also credit poles with balance on loose ground (four points of contact instead of two), though that one is experience, not lab data.

The benefit grows as you fatigue. The newest study, the first to test poles on tired legs, ran the same steep-climb test before and after a simulated 31 km (19 mi) trail race: on trashed legs, climbing without poles became 2.5% more expensive, while the pole condition held (Giovanelli et al. 2025). This is the scientific case for poles in long races: they are a leg-preservation tool, not an engine.

How steep before poles pay off?

Read your race's elevation profile in percent grade: sustained grade over a climb, not one steep switchback. This is the scale we use on every race page, next to what studies have actually measured:

Sustained grade	Our call	What's measured
−20% to +10%	Runnable, poles stay away	Extra oxygen cost, no benefit
10–15%	Only if already in hand (except long grinds in ultras, worth a deploy of their own)	No measured benefit on fresh legs; +7% O₂ at 15% in one study; benefit grows with fatigue
15–25%	Power-hike zone: poles spare the legs	Hiking beats running here; leg muscle activity −15% at 20%
≥25%	Maximum benefit	Effort feels 14–18% easier from ~28%; small O₂ saving from ~47%
Descent steeper than −20%	Braking aid, long ultras only	Knee and ankle loading −12–16% in walking hikers; running descents unstudied

Thresholds shift with fitness and technique: a skimo racer will double-pole ground a road convert should run. Treat the bands as defaults, not laws.

Is the climb worth getting them out?

Get poles out for climbs that are long enough: from roughly 250–350 m (820–1,150 ft) of sustained 15%+ climbing on a long race, 400–550 m on a short one. In an ultra, a gentle 10–15% grind also earns a deploy of its own once it runs past about 800 m: deep into a long day, sparing the legs outweighs the oxygen surcharge. No study has measured the exact break-even. These are our model's defaults, with coaches putting the deploy cost at a few percent, so a lone 150 m kicker is faster power-hiked with free hands.

The asymmetry behind the rest of the plan: carrying poles in hand is free on runnable and moderate ground: your hands are busy, nothing more (on a fast, technical descent you want them empty). Folding poles into a vest or quiver and getting them back out is the expensive part: time, fumbling, attention, twice per cycle. So:

• Once they're out, use them liberally. A gentle 12% grinder you'd never unpack poles for in a shorter race is still worth poling when they're already in your hands.
• Between climbs, default to carrying, not stowing. Stow only for genuinely long runnable stretches: about a kilometer of flat on a short race, up to 3 km (1.9 mi) on an ultra, and half those distances on fast descents, where busy hands cost more.
• The longer the race, the earlier "bring them" wins. Fatigue is what unlocks the benefit, and it compounds over hours. First figure out how long you'll be out there (our finish-time guide covers that), then decide: a mountainous course past the marathon mark is pole country; the same vert packed into a runnable 50K is not.

When to leave poles alone

• Runnable courses. Below ~28 m of gain per km (~150 ft/mi) poles are dead weight with a rental fee.
• Fast descents. Nothing energetic to gain, busy hands to lose. Front-of-pack runners stow before descending.
• Hands-on terrain. Scrambling, chains, via ferrata: poles go away, no exceptions.
• Crowded starts. In a conga line your pole tips are someone's shins. Deploy after the field strings out.
• Aid stations and eating. Poles in hand make gels and bottles clumsy, so decide where they go while you eat.
• If you haven't trained with them. In the field test above, the least pole-experienced runner got slower with poles.
• Races that ban them. See the rules below.

Should you bring poles to your first ultra?

Decide by the course, not the distance. Pull up the elevation profile and ask two questions: how much of it climbs at 15% or steeper, and how long will you be out there? A mountainous 50K with sustained climbs is pole country: bring them and expect hours of use. The same distance on runnable terrain is not, however impressive the total gain looks. Race Compare puts two candidate courses side by side, gradient breakdown included, if you're still choosing. And where the rules allow mid-race pickup, there's a low-regret middle path: leave poles with your crew or in a drop bag at the foot of the biggest late climb.

Downhill poles: the honest picture

The lab case comes from hikers, not runners: planting poles on descents cuts knee and ankle loading by 12–16% while walking down under load (Bohne & Abendroth-Smith 2007; Schwameder et al. 1999). Nobody has measured poles during running descents. What remains is a trade: braking and balance on steep, technical ground versus busy hands at speed and tips to trip over. Our default: run descents with poles carried or stowed; start braking with them late in a long ultra, on drops steeper than about −20%, when your quads are already gone, and only if you've practiced it.

How we build a pole plan: OCC (UTMB) as the worked example

Every race page on Endurance Analytics carries a Pole Advisor: it reads the course's gradient segments (the same ones behind the elevation profile), applies the grade bands above, and simulates the deploy/carry/stow decisions along the route, using flat-equivalent distance (FlatKM, our distance-plus-vert measure) to scale the thresholds to race length. Weather, your height, and your pole skill are deliberately out of scope; it's the course's answer, the same for everyone.

OCC, 59.5 km (37 mi) with 3,427 m (11,240 ft) of climbing and 58 m of gain per km, comes out as a high recommendation: 3.6 km of poling at 25% or steeper clears our bar for the top verdict, another 4.5 km sits at 15–25%, and 5 km of gentler climbing gets worked too: partly because on an ultra those long grinds deserve poles in their own right, partly because the poles are already out. All of it in just five deploy–stow cycles. The plan reads like the race: poles out for the climb to Champex-Lac, away for the long runnable valley, out again for the two big climbs toward Trient and above it, carried, not stowed, across the rolling middle, braking on the steep drop into Vallorcine, a quick cycle for the short climb past it, and one last one for the final climb before the drop to Chamonix. Race reports agree; so does the field, where nearly everyone at OCC carries poles.

Two honest limits. The model doesn't know the rulebook, and at UTMB races the rulebook is half the decision: start with poles and you must carry them to the finish; stash or collect them mid-race and you take a time penalty. That turns "bring them, decide later" into a start-line commitment. And treat the stow marks as may, not must: the model flags where stowing is worth it, but keeping poles in hand through a grey stretch costs you almost nothing.

Rules and etiquette in 60 seconds

Check the rulebook before every race: pole rules vary more than any other gear rule. UTMB Mont-Blanc: optional, but all-or-nothing for the whole race, no poles in drop bags. Western States allowed poles for the first time in 2026, with pickup and drop at crew points. Diagonale des Fous bans them outright (a 2000 pole injury started it); Transvulcania restricts a ridge section; Lavaredo's 10K disallows them.

Etiquette is mostly about the people behind you: tips down and covered when carried, never horizontal under an arm, no flailing at aid stations, and give the conga line room. And yes, Europeans pole and Americans historically don't. That's steeper home trails and ski culture, not physiology; the science reads the same in both directions.

Technique and practice: the short version

Size them so your elbow sits near 90° with the tip on the ground. Learn two patterns: alternating (opposite pole to foot, for power-hiking) and double-plant with 2–3 steps between plants (for the steepest ramps). Downhill, plant ahead and wider, and learn it on mellow ground first. Give yourself at least 4 weeks of 2–3 pole sessions a week before racing with them, longer if you've never held a ski pole. Upper-body fatigue is real: arms weaken late in races too, so the arms need training, not just the legs. Find sustained 15%+ grades near you with Trail Finder and do your long climbs there.

FAQ

Do trekking poles save energy? No. Oxygen cost stays the same or rises; the measured wins are lower leg load, lower perceived effort, and speed on steep climbs. The exception: on fatigued legs late in a race, climbing without poles gets measurably more expensive.

How steep does a climb need to be for poles to help? From around 15% sustained grade: the zone where power-hiking beats running and poles start sparing your legs; measured effort gains kick in around 25% and steeper. Below 10%, poles are a cost.

Should I use poles on downhills? By default, no: carry or stow them. Braking with poles earns its place late in long ultras on steep, technical descents, if practiced.

Do I need poles for OCC or UTMB? The courses argue yes: OCC rates a high recommendation on our model, and most of the field carries them. Mind the rule: start with poles and you keep them the whole way.

Are trekking poles allowed in trail races? Usually, but check the rulebook every time: some races ban them outright, some restrict sections, and UTMB races make them an all-or-nothing commitment from the start line.

Will poles slow me down on runnable trails? Yes. They raise oxygen cost on flat and gentle ground and occupy your hands. That's why the skill is deciding where they're out, not whether they're good.

Key takeaways

• Poles don't save energy: they spare your legs and lower perceived effort. The benefit grows with fatigue, so long races profit most.
• The test that scales to your level: would you walk this climb? Then poles earn their place. Still running it? They aren't worth getting out. Above ~25% the test retires: everyone hikes, poles help everyone.
• Meaningful benefit starts around 15% sustained grade; below 10% poles are a cost; 10–15% is "only if they're already in hand", until an ultra makes long gentle grinds worth deploying for.
• Deploying and stowing is the expensive part; carrying is free. Get them out for real climbs, carry them between, stow only for long runnable stretches.
• Downhill: default to carrying; brake with poles only late in long ultras, on steep ground, with practice.
• Check the rulebook (UTMB: all-or-nothing) and train with poles for at least 4 weeks before racing with them.

Sources: Saller et al. 2023 (systematic review) · Giovanelli et al. 2019 · Giovanelli et al. 2022 · Giovanelli et al. 2023 · Giovanelli et al. 2025 · Howatson et al. 2011 · Bohne & Abendroth-Smith 2007 · UTMB regulations · WSER performance rules