February 2021 – irunoffroad

Inspirational presenter Julia Bradbury recently asked the question “What is it about being outdoors ?” on her Cornwall and Devon Walking program. “It makes my heart sing” was the answer and Julia acknowledged a kindred spirit. I’m keen to try and describe what it means to me, not necessarily from a running point of view but more from a life long appreciation.

On a day to day basis the tasks that we set ourselves tend to be close at hand, for example, working from home on a laptop, the washing up, DIY and even more so, with us tied to the house due to the covid lockdowns. Therefore, your gaze can range from a meter, then increase to the end of the living room and at best finish with the end of the garden. I appreciate that many people are happy pottering around their house but I crave more !!

Being at home you inevitably connect with close at hand thoughts. The triggers to these thoughts might be the unfinished washing up or the letters that arrived in the post, more often than not you are thinking about a variety of tasks. When possible, I like to escape these four walls for some outdoor enrichment, even if it’s only for an hour.

The photo above is from half way up Butser Hill looking towards Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Being outdoors gives you a different outlook, the soil that you are standing on is a path, the South Downs Way to be precise and where the carpet at home links you to the house, the trail links you to the countryside. To use another sporting analogy you could say that “time out” was being applied in the basketball sense of stopping and regrouping as well as physically having “time out” – doors.

This different outlook is both visual and phycological so it allows you to focus on what’s in front of you but instead of a few meters worth in your house it’s the flowers off to your far right, it’s half a mile to the bottom of the hill, it’s a mile to the tree line and then the sky takes you to infinity and beyond !!

Every new view that you come across can be likened to meeting a new person, you pick out their distinguishing features, the colour of their eyes, facial expressions and their demeanor, in the same way when you are outdoors you see the colour of the wild flowers, the uneven trail where the wet mud has dried in the sun and the prospect of what’s over the next hill. All your senses are activated, you’ve left your living room and instead you are in the great outdoors, where there’s so much room, to live.

This next photo is again on the South Downs Way as you climb towards Old Winchester hill, for me it shows the contrasts of a view, the dappled sunlight from the overhanging trees can be compared with the cloudless sky, your eyesight is drawn from the complicated criss-cross patterns of the shade to the never ending canvas of blue above you. These far reaching views literally widen your horizons.

The more I’ve thought about the outdoors there’s one aspect that I hadn’t initially considered, the silence. At home or in town there are constant noises but out there you can be surrounded by silence. Saying that, the outdoors is always talking to you, the sheep, the wind, and even a tractor in the distance, however, whether you are running or walking the sound of the silence can actually take some getting used to.

Silence is peaceful, it lowers your blood pressure, it relaxes you, it’s like when you’re in the company of good friends and there are moments when nobody speaks but this is a comfortable silence. I guess I’m almost processing my surroundings while at the same time I’m not thinking about anything at all, just breathing it in. People often ask me do I listen to music when I’m on a long run and I reply that there’s no need.

Listening to the outdoors is definitely part of the enjoyment, it’s almost like the more you listen the more you take in. Many outdoor spaces have remained untouched for years whether that’s a park in the middle of town or the wild countryside. The phrase silence is golden certainly applies because you are feeding off the beauty that stretches out in every direction.

One final thought, I really like the phrase that The Great Outdoors website uses, “Find it – Share it – Live it” what great advice. The To come full circle it’s no surprise that Julia Bradbury is also linked with this site.

I hope I’ve answered the original question of “what is it about being outdoors” and hopefully planted some wild flower seeds in you, the readers mind, to get you out there and (safely) enjoy the great outdoors, locally at the moment and then further afield when lockdown is lifted.

And finally it would appear that I made a decent go of answering the question 😀

Thanks for reading and thanks for the feedback Julia 😀

Thanks also to HCC and their kind comment.

I recently watched the Ben Fogle series “New Lives in the Wild” which featured an Irish chap who had given up technology. One comment that he made specifically rang true with me. He suggested we need to connect more with people, to have actual conversations, eye contact and undivided attention. Television, emails, social media and most of all mobile phones are the route cause of our barriers to connecting.

This got me thinking and not for the first time running was the answer. I pondered when was the last time I had a long conversation with someone totally free from distraction, yes you guessed it, the last long run that I went on with my mate Paul. We covered all sorts of topics from catching up generally to what we had to look forward to, while remaining socially distanced which is easier in the countryside.

The photo from above was naturally taken when there were three of us (thanks Ros) but you get the general idea. Covid has restricted us to only running with one other person but that’s all you need. On our longer runs the pace lends it self to conversations and the beauty of exercise means you are focused on your breathing, the track in front of you and the company you are keeping.

We both had our phones on us but they stayed firmly in our backpacks. I genuinely believe that these one to one chats mean you aren’t just hearing what your friend is saying, you are actually listening because you are both tuned in. This type of focus ought to be easily achieved but as we know, on a day to day basis, it can get diluted.

Naturally we both have the common interest of running and everything that revolves around it, training, races etc etc and the fact that we’ve know each other a long time means we bounce of each other humour wise but it’s still refreshing to maintain a conversation for easily a couple of hours.

An alternative to the last paragraph would of course be to run with someone you don’t know that well. Your starting point would still be running and everything thing else would flow from there. I do run on my own but this blog is written from an accompanied point of view.

Having company on your run, regardless of its duration gives you a sense of support, belonging and extra purpose, while fully engaging with each other multiplies all of those original benefits.

Our only concession to technology would be taking the occasional photo but again this would be a shared decision after weighing up the options while we wind our way through the countryside.

Taking in your surroundings also gives you food for thought and new discussion topics to talk about. When you run through particularly scenic sections (hills) you don’t always have the breath to talk but again this is a meaningful silence.

Good connections can be achieved just as well on a pavement running through town or on a walk but from my point of view the aerobic activity of running has already heightened all your senses which definitely makes me want to share my thoughts more. All time away from the stress of life is quality time, adding the extra dimension of pointing things out and remarking on them while you are 100% in the moment enriches the whole experience.

At this stage it’s also worth mentioning the group dynamic for when we can go back to running with more than just one friend. The concept of undivided attention can be stretched simply by the added numbers but the extra humour, influences, energy and camaraderie all still function without the need for checking your phone or emails.

This photo is one of my favourite group training photos from a few years ago which was on a second wind running recce run. So many people to share your conversations with, a great buzz and everyone living in the moment while totally connecting with each other.

So in summary, take your mind for a run, free from all the influences and communications that can absorb us when we aren’t running. As well as the endorphins that you’d expect you’ll come away with the satisfaction of knowing you have spent some quality time connecting with your fellow runner / runners while escaping the technology trap that so often temps us not to listen properly.

Thanks for reading …. Rog