"This is why I am trail running"
Previous blog posts
I wrote on this topic already, with:
- "Why am I running" 2 years ago,
- and "Why am I doing this" (or running during heatwaves) last July.
Today I want to briefly explain why I mostly switched to trail running, and barely participate in road running anymore.
Vacation
The idea for this post came while I was enjoying vacation in Dordogne.
For my readers who live outside France, Dordogne is a region located in South
West of France, famous for its food and canoeing on Dordogne river.
It also happens to be a lot more hilly than where I live, so I took advantage of being there to line up some runs with proper elevation - which proved useful for the trail race I ran in Nice at the end of September (Nice by UTMB 50k).
Map of France with the red pin showing Dordogne - courtesy OpenStreetMap
Thoughts
I managed to do a few runs, but today's (as I'm writing this) 25k and 800m of elevation was really nice for a few reasons:
- I woke up early (7am) both to enjoy a fresh morning, and also not "ruin" the
whole morning for my family, as we had a few activities afterwards,
- it was great to run and avoid the afternoon's heat (forecast was 30+ degrees Celsius),
- and also meet a few field workers who had already started their day!
- the landscapes were beautiful and because it was still cool, I enjoyed them a lot more than what I would have been in the afternoon,
- I managed to screw up my plans for the run:
- I had drawn a 23k route from the Suunto app,
- but for some reason I started the wrong way, i.e. by the end, which I only noticed at half of the run, when I saw that I was in the wrong side of a village I knew I would cross,
- some gates were closed, so I had to find alternate routes, which added 2k to my run - but it was fun to roam a bit!
- it took me 3 hours to complete those 25k/800m of elevation, which means the last third of the route was a lot more sunny/hot, but fortunately a lot was spent under the trees!
- and more importantly, because I ran a long route, I discovered new places I didn't know yet - we've been going to this place for the 3rd time now, so I know my way around ;)
Wrap Up
A short article, but I wanted to reflect not only on "why I am running", but also what makes me happy/enjoying trail running.