Kings of the Trail #177
Go Further & Explore More...
"It's harder to stay on top than it is to make the climb. Continue to seek new goals.”
Pat Summitt
The aptly named Pat Summitt was no stranger to staying on top and continuing to seek new goals. Over the course of her career, both as a Basketball player and coach, she smashed records and surpassed expectations. She won a Silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and later won Gold as a Head Coach of the US Women’s National team at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. In her 38 years as a NCAA Basketball coach, she never had a losing season and when she retired, held the record for most career wins (an incredible 1,098). In today’s trail running scene, reaching the peak of a summit or achieving success in a particular race is rarely the end; there is a need to find new goals and aims and be continually evolving and growing. We need to identify what that means for us individually and develop a way of progressing towards these new aims. As you will read for Sophie Woods, success in large ultras developed into the desire to break the FKT for the Via Alpina; for Mina Guli, it is running the length of the Colorado River to raise awareness of the droughts blighting the world. Even for trail running as a sport, there is a need to evolve and adapt as new money, sponsors and competitors continue to pour in, risking the very thing that has made beautiful races special from the beginning. This process is unique and personal to each of us; we all have different aims and goals and are at different stages of our trail running journeys…so take time to redefine what your summit looks like and peek beyond the immediate future…
Until next week, be safe and enjoy the trails...
Running brands have long been associated with the bigger races in the trail running calendar, but as the sport grows what impact does this influx of money have on the smaller events around the world…
I mentioned Sophie Woods’ incredible achievement in smashing the Via Aplina FKT in last week’s introduction, so it’s only right that we look at the training, mindset and resilience that made it possible…
Mina Guli is running the entire length of the Colorado River in 100 days to bring attention to the severe drought affecting it and many other rivers around the world…
Women have been consistently been beating the men and setting new records in long distance events, but what does that mean for individual approaches to training...
📸 Rio Lizandro, Lisbon, Portugal
Sometimes, simple doesn’t mean basic and sparse doesn’t mean boring...this tune exemplifies that. It is a real change of pace from the high energy rock and roll of last week, but is not less enchanting or interesting. In his own words, Peter Broderick approaches music with a sense of openness and wonder and you can hear it in every note of this tune…
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…
Comments