Why is it so good?

Running this morning in the pouring rain and mud led me to contemplating… just WHY is it so good? I think it’s to do with total engagement: The primal, fundamental contact with air, wind, rain, mist, sun, warm, cold… The unrelenting and direct contact with the ground – treading every inch of the route – hard, uneven gritstone; squidgey moorland mud; forgiving feel of forest floor… And the strong sense of being there ‐ IN it (as opposed to looking at it). You see it, feel it, hear it, smell it and even taste the cool rain (or salt sweat). For me it’s also about developing an understanding of personal physical limits: Over the years I have learnt how it feels to be completely spent, to be running on less than empty but to still keep going. To find reserves I didn’t know were there. With that knowledge comes a confidence that when you need to dig deeper, there will be something to draw upon. (Good for those last minute late night pushes towards deadlines!) And, if it’s a solo run, it’s also a great time to sort out a head full of stuff: The rhythm of body and breathing seems to allow clarity of thought. Often problems tussled with for days, find solutions. But not always. And as we headed down from the soggy moor this morning, the tendrils of ethereal mist which hung around the pine trees in the valley, were slowly lit by a magical pinky glow as a shaft of winter sunlight forced it’s way through the greyed out sky. That’s why.