Why we run

Sunday morning Dartmoor run

Not everyone will feel the same as we do about running through nature but because you are here, we think you might!

We run in the wild because it is the most natural thing for us to do. It’s a meditative experience, almost. Finding a rhythm, your feet moving forward. It’s a journey. You are immersed, ensconced in nature. Sometimes you lose time. It could be hours, sometimes days later. But you rarely return the same as when you started out. More often than not, you feel reconnected; mind and body in unison, problems resolved or redefined. The hum drum, stop-start blurt of day-to-day life has become part of a vaster canopy now. The noise has dissolved.

When you are running through nature, you feel alive. Buzzing with energy. All of your senses heightened. But also you are relaxed, you’re where you want to be. You absorb the landscape, the big skies and the changing weather patterns, the days turning to night. You experience and embrace the pure essence of running. Just you and your body, unencumbered.

Ceri says:

“For me running is not about competing against the next man, nor about running a certain time, although everyone has their own goals. I am expressing my freedom and experiencing the gift of mind and body working together, something that is absent from much of modern life. The rhythm of movement can be like a dance or a trance but one where the horizons are perpetually changing. You may begin each run by being at the centre of this complex world with problems all around but by the time you return, more often than not, many of these seem to have miraculously dissolved. Also it reenergizes me. I never feel tired after a wild run, no matter how far I’ve run. ”

Mark says:

“When I race, I push until I reach the edge, then push again to see how far I can go. What matters to me is my response when I know I’m at my limit, when I’m at my outer edge. That’s when the voyage begins, that’s when I really get to know myself, to understand my strengths, and face my weaknesses. It can be emotional, and every emotion will find its time and place. But ultimately I know that if I give everything I have, then that’s all I can give, and I’m happy. It’s always a good time to run. It’s never too early and it’s never too late. It’s never too hot or too cold or too wet. I simply put on my shoes and run!”