Kings of the Trail #175
- Luke Jarman
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Go Further & Explore More...
"Failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it."
Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron faced many challenges on his way to breaking Babe Ruth’s Major League Baseball home run record during 1973 and ‘74 and becoming one of the sport’s greatest ever players. While he was smashing the ball out of the park in stadiums across America, he was opening racist hate mail at home. Death threats against him and his family were part of the cost he had to pay in America at the time. “Failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it”, he said and he had earned the right to say it. He didn’t view such barriers as roadblocks, but treated every threat and setback as a chance to prove his worth and ability rather than a sign to stop. Aurélien Sanchez doesn’t have Aaron’s incredible sporting history and records, but he is making the same point. Attempting the Fastest Known Time (FKT) to complete the Pacific Crest Trail this month, he had a far from smooth run. During his time on the 2,650 mile trail from Mexico to Canada, he suffered ankle problems around the halfway point and later needed to stop for a hospital visit to treat an infected foot. These setbacks didn’t derail his attempt; he dealt with them and used the experiences and information to adjust, keep moving and finish, taking over 16 hours off the existing record. We may not all be chasing home run records and FKTs, but we face smaller scale frictions that conspire to stop us or slow us down: injuries derailing training blocks or DNFs that destroy months of hard work. These shouldn’t be read as signals that we must stop completely, but be reframed and treated as data to help us adapt, overcome and continue enjoying the freedom of the trails…
Until next week, be safe and enjoy the trails...
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📸 River Tagus, Lisbon, Portugal
Sweet, sweet, soulful bliss…this track is an absolute classic, so finding an extended album mix version was a wonderful surprise. Even though this is not an original Temptations song, they own it and quite rightly so, as this is an bona fide banger. A slow build, funky jams and heavenly strings complement the soulful singing and story telling beautifully…
Each week, I update the Kings of the Trail playlist with a new selection of music. Like trail runs or hikes, the playlist will be varied and eclectic, but hopefully, there will be something for everyone to enjoy…