For many years, I believed in the cliché ‘you can take the girl out of the city, you can’t take the city out of the girl’. This was unfortunately true until about 3 years ago. Get wet? Get muddy? Get outdoors? You have to be kidding me. So how did I go from a city slacker to a trail seeker? What happened ? What changed?
It began with a vague idea of wanting to get out of the daily grind and get healthier. I had no idea what ‘healthier’ meant. Vaguely in my mind, it meant not sitting around watching TV. It meant giving up cigarettes, a habit which was getting quite expensive. It meant doing some form of exercise. Not blessed with the best of eye and body coordination, jogging I thought would be the easiest to do.
So my journey into the world of running began. I thought how difficult can it be, one foot in front of another. No need for gym fees. No need to face the embarrassment of being in a room full of fitter bodies. Easy it was not. I remember the breathlessness just jogging down the street where I live. I remember feeling as if my heart was just going to burst out of my chest and it was most torturous to say the least.
Somehow, for reasons I cannot explain, I kept at it. I believed joining a local parkrun and later a local running club gave me the motivation and inspiration to want to get better. Slowly but surely I did get better. Running is still not easy, just a little easier each day.
For a while, I pounded pavements. Wandering each time further and further away from home because I am privileged to have a great city to run around in - Cardiff, a city that seems to be made for runners. The city is flat with beautiful parks and waterfront so one has the freedom to roam and feel safe. But for me each morning, making my way through the city and being part of the city as she wakes, are quite special moments of my day. These early morning jaunts give me a window in the day to observe and experience things that most of us take for granted. I can hear the dawn chorus of birds and I see the people who keep the city clean when most are all still tucked up in bed. I pass delivery trucks unloading supplies to our shops and see the people coming off night shifts to make their way home wrapped up in their own tired thoughts.
However, the real discovery came when I attempted my first multi-terrain race. That 6 mile race changed my perspective of running and subsequently sowed the seed for other things to come. In this race, I remember struggling up a long climb on a narrow country lane and as I got to the top, the view of just hills and blue skies took my breath away. The race continued off -road toward the hills over muddy marshland. There were sheep grazing along the route. Gentle autumnal breeze in the air. The hush, just hearing my own breathing as I picked my way down the hill felt strangely calming. My daily concerns seemed a world a way. I was surrounding by so much beauty. I was alive. This experience gave me a taste of what it feels like to run in nature. After that race, I look forward to opportunities whenever I can to go off and explore new trails.
From a runner’s perspective, I believe running is quite a personal journey. Some like me started as a way to get fitter and then develop a sense of competitiveness and go on to set personal challenges in races. Some people just run because they have always done so as a child and kept at it as part of who they are. Running for me has helped me test my boundaries, physically, mentally and has opened up a whole new world for me. It has helped me discover the simple pleasures of being outdoor. There is a sense of liberation to just lace up my trainers, pack a snack and off I go. The only limitation is how far I can physically go before I tire.
It is in my wanders that I discovered the many wonderful woodland trails, coasts and hills that I had taken so much for granted. All free. All there regardless of the season. It made me realise how fortunate I am to have all this nature around me. It made me want to encourage others to go out there and enjoy it. To love it and to inspire others to do the same. So all because of a pair of trainers all those months ago, I have become a trail seeker and I hope there will be others like me, who will discover the wonderful experiences that running can bring. Whatever your motivation is, get out there. Give it a go. You might find something you like. I promise you, there is a journey of discovery of who you are, what is important to you and what you can be waiting for you, should you want it.
It really is quite simple. There is a world out there waiting.
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