Benefits of Trail Running-Inspiration,Health and Friendship

"Be generous, be delicate, and always pursue the prize."
– Henry James

 

One of the reasons that I run is because of all the fun that I have on the trail. Last Thursday, Chris, Tony and I hit the trail in the morning. Tony, said he was tired from Wednesday’s long trail run. I’ve learned, over the years, that I can not always trust what Tony says regarding being tired. We finished our warm-up and Tony reiterated being tired. That was all I that I needed to hear, as I took off and started running . I knew that he would either start running with me or do something to get my attention .  I didn’t know how tired he was, but  I was  going to soon  find out.

Running ,for maybe 30 to 45 seconds, I didn’t hear Tony  or Chris behind me. I quickly stopped and turned around looking for them . As they came into view, I found them both, laughing as they had stopped to watch me run off by myself. I found that funny as well,  as I laughed too. They caught up and we walked, laughed and talked. After a few minutes, I reached a place on the trail, which provided an option for me, of either going straight and continuing on the trail or cutting off- for a shortcut .

I’m thinking that I wanted a longer run , so I’m going to continue straight down the trail. Sure enough, both Chris and Tony said were going short and began heading toward the turn off They asked me where I was going to run and I told them We parted. I continued down the trail towards third gate and then turned to do my loop. At this juncture, I’m running a slight downhill. After a brief amount of time, maybe 10 minutes or so I look up and I see them running up the trail toward me. Chris said it was his idea to meet me. Once again we started laughing.

This brief episode allows the reader to see the silliness, the competitiveness and the friendship that exists with  my running comrades . We are competitive and we laugh a lot, both of which are good for our souls.

Thursday’s television show featured Don Freeman, DC as our guest. Don  is also one of the main principles on the trail runner nation.com podcast. Don shared his views about the ultra running community as well as his background. He told us about one of his most difficult runs-The Angels Crest 100 , which he completed in 2011. He talked about his lack of planning that resulted in numerous problems for him. However, he also talked about the running community, the friendships, the giving,  the helping, and learning that goes on. There were a number of individuals that assisted him during that adventure. Don liked the above quote by Henry James so much that I presented it to him after the Watch the interview for inspiration, knowledge and enjoyment. Inspiration with Don Freeman DC, Trail Runner Nation http://youtu.be/tCpbYF7nHhU

 

The bottom line is to keep moving, laughing, smiling and deep breathing.