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Somewhere Along the Way.

A discovery

By Katie Published 3 years ago 4 min read
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Somewhere Along the Way.
Photo by Brian Erickson on Unsplash

I’ve been a runner for most of my life. Even as a child I loved to run. It came to me naturally, instinctively. I was never one of the fastest runners but I held my own. And the longer the distance was, the better I was.

Throughout high school I ran cross country and track. Always finishing near the front. And we had fun. This band of misfit runners who found that we all had a little something in common. The sport pulling us together as friends.

Then came the military, making me the fittest that I’d ever been. At first. But when you put a bunch of young adult males together running is generally not going to be the chosen activity. I had left my running behind.

Slowly over the next decade I fell further and further away from my running. Jobs, marriage and eventually a child leaving little room for my running.

Then I turned thirty. I needed something I decided, and so I returned to the sport that I loved. At first the body rebelled, but soon I was running 5k‘s and 10k’s in the surrounding communities. Eventually I looked at the marathon. Some of my best years were ahead of me at this age. We traveled some and I ran Boston, the Marine Corps marathon and others.

It was at this time that the triathlon was an emerging sport. Never one to shy away I eventually completed several Ironman competitions. Lake Placid and Panama City Florida among them. What I eventually discovered about the sport of triathlon is I wasn’t like the majority of these folks. I did not have this overwhelming need to make the podium anymore. While I still enjoyed the sport I didn’t like all the egos.

All these years that I ran and pushed my limits there was something I was missing. Though I didn’t know it at the time. Unconsciously my soul had latched onto it, now I just needed to realize it myself. Enter ultra running.

The joke I tell to people new to trail running is “ welcome to the dark side” After my first 50k I was hooked. This was something different, I had found what was missing. It was as if I had returned to my childhood. The simple joy of running trails caused a inner peace that I had been craving without knowing it. The final piece had finally fallen into place.

Leaving the asphalt behind I embraced this sport like no other. It is a community of like minded people. Sure there are still some “A” type individuals that push themselves to excell but even they are down to earth and easy to get along with. Most of the races end with everyone hanging around and enjoying a few beers.

But I still haven’t conveyed to you the love that I feel for this activity. There is nothing I enjoy more than the solitude of a trail run on a wooded path. Everything that life throws at me just falls away when I slip into a quiet rhythm of footfalls on a run. The energy that the earth returns to me tenfold helping to sustain me throughout the day. Just the scenery alone can lift my spirits, regardless of the season.

While having the added benefit of being in good shape, especially for my age, my busy mind is probably what benefits the most from going for a trail run. People sometimes ask what do you think about for all those hours spent out there. The answer is quite easy, this activity is a moving meditation. Thoughts come and go but I feel no need to fill all the time spent with thinking at all. Once I’ve settled into a comfortable pace the miles will just click by easily,my body on autopilot. Trail running is the salve that heals me. It gives me the armor that my soul needs to protect itself from the harshness of living in this society.

This activity is not for everyone, a friend of mine just can’t unhook enough to be able to wrap his head around doing a 100k run through the woods over the course of a day. That said the sport has really taken off. Races that I used to be able to sign up for on race day now fill up in a matter of hours. Some say the popularity has damaged what the sport is about. My reply is there is room for all at the table. If they can find what I have found from returning to nature then I welcome them.

Lastly I’ll add I have tried several times to achieve that allusive 100 mile belt buckle, having come to the sport late in my life it just hasn’t fallen into place. Injuries from to many years of running on the roads taking it’s toll. It may happen someday, perhaps some alignment of the planets giving me just the boost I need to get over that line. But it’s not that important. My priorities are different. My focus leaning towards the expansion of my consciousness, trying to raise my vibration as some say. In that, trail running will always be there for me ( even if it’s more of a walk nowadays) to help me realize those goals. A well rounded life.

healing
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About the Creator

Katie

Really just an amateur trying my hand at this.

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