He’s encountered everything from celestial bodies to the world’s best B&B! RTS explains why you should always expect the unexpected on every run.
Respect the Serendipity
Respect the Serendipity
The other evening, just after dusk on a calm, moonlit evening I was running through the woods when my head was turned by a captivating glinting out on the lake next to which I was running. As if mimicking nymphs dancing on a polished mirror, the moon’s reflection had caught my eye in a flash of surreal beauty.
At the same instant a bramble caught my foot in a flash of very real agony. I whacked the ground with a thud, then sat nursing a bruised knee, still staring at the enchanting sight of moon, lake and trees. An owl hooted its laughter nearby. Surprising beauty in the midst of discomfort!
And that, for me, is the essence of why we do it. We all probably have some expectations from our athletic efforts – maybe fun, fitness, weight loss or the challenge of a race. But the unexpected bonuses that running brings are often much greater than the expected results. I’m not just talking about transient moments that have the Wow factor, like my experience with celestial bodies reflected on mirror-calm lake, although these are reason enough to lace up the trainers. Many of running’s bonuses are physical, tangible and permanent.
A Pub of Beauty!
I have been fortunate to find myself running in some of the most beautiful places I’ve seen, like New Zealand’s oceanfront and The Alps. But even here at home, Borrowdale and Langstrath in the Lake District have a beauty that’s almost impossible to describe. Although Wordsworth, who spent a lot of time in the area, seemed to manage it!
Then there’s arguably the world’s best Bed and Breakfast (discovered again by accident on a running trip) which is owned by a ‘real character’ who likes to fill you with tea and cake and keep you entertained with tales of mountain madness and derring-do.
And also the best Pub food I’ve eaten, in a fantastic setting. I’ll tell you the name of this one – The Arncliffe Arms in Glaisdale, North Yorkshire. Go and eat there!
I never dreamed I’d be a published author. But running brought that opportunity to me as well. From there I somehow came to have the opportunity to vent these musings to you good people of the running community. Although I don’t know who’s daftest – me for writing it or you for reading it!
Friends and Nutters
But a lot of the discoveries I’ve made through running are far more profound.Like friendships, that have become deeply rooted through shared endeavour. Team RTS – myself, DaftB, Vin, Justin and Andy – will probably be forever mooching around hills and mountains, having fun and getting on each other’s nerves until we’re too old to do stupid things. The first one to lose the ability to walk will be dragged onto the hills in a wheelchair. Whether they like it or not! And we’d all end up trying to ride the chair down the mountain together. Not so much Last of the Summer Wine, more Last of the out-of-date Red Bull.
Then there’s the lucky find of The Running Bug itself, and friendships built through it. We should all thank Ian, JohnnyG and Sandman for their input and efforts. The Bug forum brings a lot of enjoyment and assistance to many people, and we all share in each other’s successes and problems. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few ‘Bug’ers’, and hope to meet many more soon.
When I began running I never set out to run Ultra’s. In fact, half marathons were ‘stupidly too far’! But I discovered I liked to go long.
There’s a perception that Ultra runners are all crazy, howl-at-the-moon, foam-at-the-mouth grade-A nutters. In actual fact I have found they are probably the most friendly and balanced bunch of people you could meet (but just a bit daft). In one way or another I’ve encountered Johnny, Gromit, Vin, CraigW, Running Bear and Roger. I’d trust any one of them to hold my rucksack while I went for a pee. (Except for Vin – he’d eat my sandwiches.)
Free your Mind (and the rest will follow)
I have found that my running provides a constant source of learning. Not just about the best way to train, or what gear to use, but also what goes on in my head (mostly it’s fluff, a gentle breeze and ‘what’s for tea?’).
If I have something on my mind, I like to run up a hill to visit the mystical guru who sits on top of it. He’s never there physically, of course, but his presence is always felt and he always puts some advice or a solution into my head. I learned that running clears the mind and unjumbles the madness of a crazy world.
Through running I have found what I can live without – toenails, Coronation Street and Eastenders, beer (mostly). And also what I can’t live without – Fresh air, a challenge, Vaseline, porridge. (OK, so I could probably go to rehab to kick the porridge habit.)
And running definitely induces a state of happiness. This may be endorphins or escapism but I return from a run chilled, and quite often ‘loved-up’ with the world and (nearly) everything in it. I seem to have ‘found myself’ in running. So much so that running is now part of the canvass upon which my life is painted. Who’d have thought it? So just think what running has brought you that you didn’t expect. (No not the blisters, shin splints and Physiotherapy bill, the GOOD stuff.)
A run, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery, and the more I run the more I discover. A small minority of it is bad, most of it is good, and every now and then there is glorious serendipity.
Respect the serendipity.
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If you enjoyed this then Check out more from RTS.
Also take a look at RTS's book "Life on the Run; Coast to Coast"
Rated 5* on Amazon, read the reviews
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