During the famous Namaqualand flower season, in a remote and beautiful town called Springbok, I spent 3 days running a multi-day trail race. We caught the sun rise, traversed arid and sun drenched landscapes, dotted with bursts of colour, and finished each race with a refresher from a local craft brewery.
Having done a fair amount of road running, including local and international marathons (Barcelona being a top favourite), a few 2 Oceans Ultra marathons in Cape Town (probably the best run in the world), I can say this: fast and hard is great on the road, but trail offers the permission to take it a little slower, be more present, admire the views, to stop and literally smell the flowers.
Work is like this too.
We go hard and fast to achieve the seemingly impossible – I’d only completed one half marathon in the New Forest, UK, when I committed to running my first 56km Ultra. I was never convinced I could run that far, just as our work goals seem lofty at points. But you lean in and prepare the best way you know how, even when tired, with little puff left. When you cross a finish line, it’s all worth it.
But sometimes leaning back brings rewards too, slowing down to notice what’s around us, putting heads and hands together in a more present way. Effort is still required but the rush to ‘do’ shifts to a patience to consider what is normally unseen. When conditions change rapidly, we can never be fully prepared for what is ahead, because we don’t yet know what that is. The patience broadens your vision.
Let me be clear, part of the move towards trail running is without doubt about how enjoyable smaller, personally curated trail events can be. Fewer people mean less queues, no 02 30 am rises to get the the start line. There’s also the setting – beautiful landscapes with natural vegetation, you disconnect. Running is not so much about the finish as being out on the trail.
Permission to slow down and observe offers insight, connection, clarity. The facilitation spaces we create for teams and groups are about being on the trail – something we need more of as we navigate the future in distracted and pressured workplaces.
Road or trail?
Both have their place. Go fast, but don’t forget about going far.
The latter is best served up in ‘trail’ format, we’d say, personally curated facilitation experiences where the landscape comes into view.
What do you think?
