Photo: Nick Muzik
Perhaps the title of this article is somewhat misleading in a way. You might be reading it thinking to yourself, “an escape from what?” A bear, a boss who just won’t stop nagging you for this months report… Megatron!?!
How about an escape from the often overwhelming distractions of life? Life in its comprehensive sense needs to be put into perspective from time to time, in an effort to find that ever elusive balance between absolute chaos and doing nothing. Nowadays, our daily life comprises of this mish-mash of unnecessary stimuli, little things that stack up — unhealthy diets, electronics, Facebook. There are so many things that are systematically undermining our journey along life’s proverbial slack-line. But it is in finding that balance that we begin to understand what it means and what it takes for us to be happy, both individually and collectively. Why should we compromise that?
Dreaming of the Trail
The experience of trail running begins long before you’ve even put your trail shoes on and set foot on the trail. The simple act of just imagining the ensuing run along a muddy, exposed mountain path is enough to ensure that your mind begins to rid itself of all that is pointless or unnecessary. The memory of your last run sticks to your frontal lobe like shit on a blanket. In some instance you may also get this little tingly feeling in your legs and groin area, plus I’ve known woman to shriek mildly at the prospect of a trot along their local trails.
Discovery
Lace up at the trail head of a new trail that you’ve never run before, and quite quickly you’re overwhelmed with this kind of Jacques Cousteau, Into The Abyss sense of adventure. Knowing that every step is going to present you with something virgin is exhilarating. And couple this with a camping road trip to a mountain range you’ve never run in before, with a bunch of fellow runners, and you’ll soon understand that life as you know it is all but a farce.
Photo: Nick Muzik
Retrospection
Running along a trail, especially one that is technical and requires your undivided attention, means you are in the moment. Present. Amazingly though, as you bound along the path like a Norwegian reindeer on heat, quick interludes of retrospection enter your psyche so fast they seem meaningless. However, by the time you are done with your run, you realize that these little deviations of thought were actually your brain, and to some extent body, letting go of the things that clutter our way of thinking. Trust me, you will think about things in the way you probably last did when you were a child.
Fun
As clichéd as this may sound, we constantly require and perform acts that are fun in order to remain grounded in our approach to life. Bounding down a steep single track, hopping from rock to rock and avoiding the dreaded “injury to the stabilizing lateral ligaments of the ankle joint” – or sprained ankle to the medically impaired – presents one with an immense sense of fun. Do it with a mate or two and you soon understand that the sense of fun is quickly compounded.
Health
The importance of being healthy, and keeping fit in today’s day and age, really highlights the escapism that trail running offers. You don’t need to run hundreds of miles to stay healthy. In fact some vigilante, uneducated communities may argue that running in general is not healthy at all. Moderation is the key, so my advice is don’t let this particular reason outweigh any of the others I present. It can quickly turn into an obsession or even an unattainable goal that may lead to injury and subsequent time away from the trail.
Photo: Nick Muzik
Real Life Community
Pitch up at a race, or a screening of Trails In Motion, and you soon understand the importance of belonging to a community. Make no bones about it, trail runners in general are just super cool people who all seem to share this common goal of simply wanting to enjoy what the trail has to offer them in any way, shape or form. Sharing stories about the sport, much like any sport, is inspirational to say the least. Whether you’re standing on the start line, or just enjoying a beer together, your mind is liberated. You’re encouraged by others to forget about the daily stresses and transcend into the understanding of why you actually do it [refer to reasons 1 through 5].
Returning Home
A great person once said: “In order to truly protect something, you have to love it first.” This rings so true when returning home from a trail run. You’re huffing and puffing, sweaty and dirty, craving for something with a cataclysmic protein to calorie ratio, and yet you’re free to think clearly. You remain in the moment while you untie your shoe laces and pry the mud-caked socks from your feet. It’s at that very point that you need to make the difference in your life and assume the outlook of remembering how the simple act of trail running can disentangle the web of your daily existence that little bit, and help you make changes to ease the impact of, well, life I guess. At least you can go to bed safe in the knowledge that, even in this crazy hectic world, you still have a little bitty connection to nature that is pure and meaningful.
All photos were courtesy of Nick Muzik. For more of his work, head on over to www.nickmuzik.com.
James Hallett is a South African surfer, trail runner and all round outdoor adventure enthusiast. He is the proprietor of Go Trail Media, a niche agency rooted in communicating all things trail and ultra running, along with the founder and tour director of the annual Trails In Motion international trail and ultra running film tour.
