Go to your happy place.....

Kids, part of the reason I run is to balance my mind and get perspective on all of the other stresses and strains that you face in life. When I started writing this to explain to you how I went from being a normal person, to being a person that runs, and finally How I Became a Runner, I realised that this was a huge part of it. One great piece of advice that I want to pass on would be find your happy place….

And I guess there are two strands to this, the actual happy place and the mental one. Let me explain….

1) The actual happy place. When I started running I ran on the roads. They’re the obvious place to start, well lit, flatter and drier than the trails; and initially less likely to cause you an injury. However the monotony of running on the same roads and the stresses that pavement running puts on my joints limited the lifespan of road running for me. So when I ran my first trail run, I knew that I had stumbled across something special. No more was I limited by the design of the roads or the condition of the pavement, suddenly my boundaries were set by how much time I had and how far I could run, I could choose to take each run to new places. I could take the steep incline, the grassy route, the gravel path or the muddy descent. I could make the run as scenic or as challenging as I wanted. I realised that the joy is in the journey to get somewhere and not just the destination.

I loved the sensation of travelling through the environment and being part of it, which can only come with running the trails.

Kids, my happy place is on the top of some local hills, we’ve been there dozens of times and I tell you that I love it most times. I love to be there because you can see to the horizon, you can see the roads and trails and paths on the earth below you, feel the enormity of the sky above you. From this place I feel like I have control to travel the earth by any route that I wish. Hugely empowering and totally humbling.

2) When I’m on the trails and in particular when I’m in the actual happy place, that’s when I get my brain straight. I never realised at first that running would have the mental health benefits that it has brought. It had started as a way of losing weight and then an interesting sport to see how I could improve over time. My moment of clarity came when I realised that for me running is about taking the road less travelled.

My “mental” happy place is the very beginning of a new trail, when you don’t know where it leads or where it comes out. It’s symbolic of the ability to start on a new path whenever you wish. Sometimes you know where you want to go and have specific goals. Other times your aims are shapeless and unclear, but in those first steps forward we understand the potential that we have.

So when I need to get my thoughts straight I know that running is there for me; like mobile counselling I guess. It takes me to my happy place and most importantly when I come home to you, I’m a happier and better person for having been there. Why do I need this help?Well, that’s a different story for another day, but we’ll get there.

I can go, either physically or mentally, to my happy place and recognise my place within the world. I get asked by a lot of people why I run. Maybe if I explained it like this, they would understand.

In writing this post I sought inspiration from others. When someone contacted me to say they had been through a similar realisation about trailrunning, the physical benefits they had found were amazing. The guy had found a real passion for running and seen massive improvements in their pace and distance. I think this person has a great attitude to running and the reasons he does it. Reading their account got me thinking about how trail running has benefited me.