Another Direction to Go

I’m on a rooftop in Athens, looking towards one of the nearby mountains. I can get there by train, followed by another half-hour hike to the top. I hadn’t planned it, but I’ve just decided I’m going up there.

That freedom is what I like about travelling alone. With an organised group, you’re limited by what the group wants to do, and you might spend only part of your time doing what you came there to do. On my own, I can ask myself what I want to do now, then go and do it.

Running has given me an excellent reason to explore. Sometimes you don’t know where you want to travel unless you have a reason to go. An event gives me something to train for, then the reward is being able to go somewhere new. It’s taken me from Western Australia to Maine, Wales, Greece, and Gozo. Even with the long plane trips, the world feels pretty small.

The Perth Hills

I grew up in Hovea in the Perth Hills, about half an hour from the city. There’s wonderful bushland to explore around there. In every direction, there’s a national park or a bushland reserve. That’s how I grew up doing it. It was just running for me, but it turns out it’s called trail running when you do it on trails.

As I got older, I explored farther afield on my bike. There was always another direction to go and another thing to see. It opened my eyes to how you can keep going farther.

We also went camping as a family three or four times a year, mostly in the southwest. I loved kayaking on the Deep River, where we started with whitewater rafting and eventually got our own solid kayaks.

As a family, we embrace the Hills lifestyle, thriving on the edge of city and country.

Energy to Use

From about 13 or 14, I always had a lot of energy and didn’t know what to do with it. My release was to go running. I kept that habit throughout high school. I could study on the bus, get home, go for a decent run, clear my head, then get on with homework and the rest of the day.

Whether you’re in a good or bad mood, running resets you and gives you time to think about how things are. You can do it wherever you are. You don’t need special equipment. You put on a pair of shoes and go.

I like cycling as well, but you can’t have a bike everywhere you go. Running is always there, both as a reset and a way to explore.

I found roads straight and boring. The excitement was in the bush, going up and down the hills and across the rocks. People at trail running events also tended to be much friendlier than those at road events. Both guided me in that direction.

A Reason to Travel

My first trip to the United States was with my mum. Wales was my first solo trip for a race, followed by Greece and Gozo, Malta. I like deciding how to use my time, but travelling alone doesn’t mean staying alone.

In Maine, we met people at the hotel who had come from places as far as Taiwan and as close as New Jersey. We spent those few days having dinner and exploring together. We were all a bit different, but happy to see the place together.

Wales brought more of those connections, and Gozo did too. I arrived on my own, but once I reached the event there were Australians I knew and people from around the world to meet. You’ve got something in common immediately because everyone is there to run.

That has made me realise that the world is pretty small. We have different cultures, but we are all quite similar, living our lives. Wherever you are, there is usually somewhere you can feel welcomed.

Running also changes how I see a new place. You can take a train through a city and go straight to your hotel, but it’s not until you get onto the streets and into the parklands that you see what local life is like. By running, you can go farther, leave the tourist areas, and see a perspective that a strict itinerary would miss.

More to See

I’m no stranger to the digital world. I’d love to explore nature all day, but sometimes I don’t have enough energy and end up on my phone watching things. A lot of my generation’s life is online, and it’s hard to move away from that completely.

Going into nature doesn’t automatically solve it. You can be outside and still end up on your phone. But being there helps you see what the world is actually like.

There’s more to see than just what the algorithm feeds you.

One Goal

When I’m running, my mind is active the whole time. I ask whether I can maintain the pace. If I can, I ask whether I can go a little faster. If not, I judge where my body is, take some water, and make sure I have enough energy.

I’m pretty good aerobically, so it’s usually my legs or knees that I feel first. As long as I’m not going to injure myself, I know I can keep going.

For the next hour and a half or two hours, there’s only one goal. I don’t have to worry about anything else. I’m not too bored or too busy. It’s the perfect balance.

“In a new place, I always want to see what’s around the next corner, and the best way to get there is to keep running quicker.”

Part of me wants to prove I can do what I said I’d do. If I tell everyone I’m entering an event, I need to show that I can hold up decently. But the real reason is that I enjoy exploring new places. The passion comes from wanting to keep going and do things.