How you enjoy your running is such a personal thing but what
does it mean? It’s even harder to explain or define than why you run as you can
at least attribute something tangible to that question, “so I can eat cake”
or “to keep me sane”.
I have had it levelled at me that I
wasn’t enjoying my running even if I thought I was and that I need to get back
to that. Like I was doing it wrong somehow, how could I enjoy my running if I
was pushing hard all the time. How could I possibly enjoy running hard or long or both? What do I know!?
I heard a quote some time ago, I think it was attributed to
someone from the bike manufacturer Cervelo, it was, “fast enough to clear the
forest, slow enough to see the trees”. That really resonated with me at the
time and continues to do so, I take that into my running every time wherever I
am. That could be the streets around where I live, the hills in the area or a
trail or a different and new city or town. Being fit and able enough to cover a
distance that will see me able to take in sights and sounds and seeing things
that many won’t. Particularly early mornings when I tend to go out, you see a
very different city or trail first thing in the morning.
I have a couple of memories that really stand out for me and
my running. Moments where had I not been a runner I would never have experienced
them and are totally why I love running and what it gives me.
Majorca 2008
We were on a family holiday staying in Son Cutcut, nearby
was a hill at the top of which is the Santuari de Nostra Senyora de Cura, a
monastery that has since been converted to a hotel and restaurant. The views
across Majorca from the top are stunning. It is a beautiful spot. I had run up
there early one morning, no traffic on the roads and when I got there no-one
was around. Maybe a caretaker or gardener watering plants. Certainly there
were no tourists. Looking out across the land as the morning mist evaporated
under the rising sun was a beautiful moment. Whilst I am not a religious person,
looking out I found myself thinking that I could see why people did believe in
something other than what we know. It was just too perfect to have been an
accident of geology. I haven’t changed my views but I can see why people hold
them.
The Alps 2013
Staying in Abondance in France, a village towards the foot
of Morzine, one morning, again an early start, I ran to the top. Initially on
road then on trails and footpaths emerging at the top after seven-or-so miles of uphill
running (OK running and walking!). As I made my way up the mountain I was
looking across the valley and watching the sun peek through the gaps in the
peaks casting long shadows across the valley. At the top the views across the
valley were unquestionably and unsurprisingly stunning. The words do not do it
justice. But what made it all the more remarkable was there was no-one else
around. I was stood at the top of an Alp totally on my own. I am certain there
would have been other people in the area but where I was stood and as I looked
around there was no-one. Moments like this are why I run. To have that and be
able to experience in that way is just such a privilege.
Paris 2015
I had a similar experience a couple of years later on another
family holiday. On our way back from the Dordogne we stopped in Paris for a few
days. I had snuck out of the hotel leaving the family sleeping and gone for an
early morning run. I made my way towards the Champs Elysee going through the Louvre
on the way. As I got to the Louvre I found myself in the area where the raised
glass pyramids are that you can look through and see down the underground entrance
level. There was not another person there at all. I had it to myself. A place
normally swarming with bustle and tourism and I was the only person there. It
was eerily quiet, the sun was still low in the sky with the shadows long across
the concourse. It was remarkable to be in a city and there not be anyone else around.
I have had similar experiences to this in London on early Sunday morning runs.
Those are three moments that I can recall off the top of
my head and whilst they are abroad and in new and exciting places they are
still runs and let me tell you I really enjoyed them. I have had experiences
within half a mile from my front door that have been rewarding in totally
different ways. Coming down a hill very local to me a herd of cows galloped down behind me, past me and beyond. Not one of them coming closer
than a couple meters to me. They just wanted to play. Seeing deer through the
woods and making eye contact briefly until they disappear silently.
I’ve seen a family
of wild boar on the trails in the Forest of Dean, not something you see very
often and not as scary as I was expecting having always been told that they are
incredibly aggressive.
It doesn’t always have to be an external stimulus to make it
enjoyable either. Those moments when you get to or close to a flow state are
sublime. No sooner have you started that you’re done and feel great without
really much specific memory of the middle bit. Being totally immersed in the physical
sensation of running so much so that everything else just fades to a
background. The canvas on which you painted your run.
As I think more about what constitutes enjoyment I realise
that it’s completely personal and doesn’t actually need any explanation. Often it
will be beyond explanation. It’s a feeling, something deeply personal. I don’t think
it matters whether you are a 30minute 5km runner or a quicker than 15min 5km runner there is something that gets you out there doing it, it might be easier
to describe it as the why I run but if you don’t enjoy it you’re just not going
to do it.
How you enjoy it is entirely up to you and anyone telling you
otherwise is totally missing the point. It’s often said that when someone says something about you it is actually what they think of themselves and I’d suggest this is one of those
moments.
