Spotlight: trail running

Time in nature is powerful. It reconnects us to our environment, it is a place of self-discovery, it is healing, and gives us an opportunity to be our personal best. When the world around us is spinning out of control, a run in the woods is an escape to the simple pleasures of life. It is the crunch of the earth beneath you, the present moment of your two feet below you, and making sure you don’t trip on a rock or root that fills your mind. It feels as though the trail is absorbing everything else and bringing you back to who you are and what you are capable of.

So, why do an ultra trail run? Well, I blame the pandemic. If it were not for the many hours of hiking in the Fells to pass the days of sitting at home and going down the YouTube rabbit hole of ultra trail runners, this most likely never would have happened. The winter was shaping up to be long, cold, and very demotivating with no spring races to sign up for. After hearing about an ultra run around the Skyline trail in the Sheepfold side of the Fells, that sounded like the perfect framework to build a personal challenge around.

The dream of being a graceful trail runner who bounces up and down the hills and rocks quickly came to an end after a fall 2 miles into a test run around the Skyline trail, so it was time to find a more sensible route for my novice abilities. The Reservoir trail offered enough of a challenge to feel like a true trail runner with opportunities to jump on and off to the fire roads for a gentler pace. After a couple of trials, a 5-mile loop was mapped out with a 6 lap goal to get to 30 miles.

Training, preparations, and race day did not all go according to plan. There was a lot left on the table and only 5 laps and 27 miles were completed, but so many lessons were learned. I ran further than I ever have before and pushed myself outside of my comfort zone doing something that was hard and I did not think I was capable of. Now I am hooked and trail running is part of my training routine. I will be back out there, the third weekend in April crushing lap 6 next year and getting to 30 miles.