My Favourite Run
I was recently asked by someone what my favourite run has been.
I have discussed runs with people before, in more general terms of what was enjoyable or otherwise but this particular question brought me up short because it had never been posed quite so specifically before. Moreover, I didn’t have an answer.
As is often the case with such quandaries, my inability to answer this question prompted a round of introspection. I spent several days batting this around and still couldn’t come up with that one favourite run although I was starting to piece something of a short-list together.
I think we all know when we have had a shit run. Yes, I know some folks claim that there is no such thing as a bad run. Probably the same deluded daydreamers that think the glass is half full. Sometimes one factor alone can derail a run but more often it is a cocktail of causal factors.
Then I realised that I was probably going about it the wrong way in that I first had to understand what underlies the question itself. What makes a great run in the first place?
As ever when I get in about these things, I look to see what others think or have to offer on the subject. Ask the interweb the question, “What makes a great run?” and the search yields some quite interesting, if disappointing, returns. The first theme that emerges is one of performance. Quite simply, a great run is one where performance was at its best or you ran your fastest. Now I suppose that could be true.
Running a PB; reaching a goal time; beating a rival’s best time; having one or more of these on Strava for all the world to see.
I am sure these do rank right up there for many runners, particularly those obsessed with the eternal quest to run defined distances faster and faster, from elite track and road athletes to the dedicated Parkrun aficionado striving for one 5K PB after another. These achievements could achieve status as the greatest of runs. However, none of these things float my boat so my own answer isn’t going to be performance-driven or time-based although I can readily accept that performance might form part of the overall equation.
The other theme offered consistently by the web is the ‘runner’s high’. Now I was of course aware of this supposed phenomenon. What was illuminating however was the sheer amount of utter bollocks that has been written on the subject. Enough to give me a runner’s low!
Firstly, there are still a number of fairly recent web or magazine articles espousing exercise-related endorphin release as the cause of runner’s high. This was debunked by science as myth quite some time ago. There is ongoing debate that chemical reactions caused by release of endocannabinoids might be a more reliable explanation. Bottom line, no-one from boffins to runners themselves seems to be able to satisfactorily articulate what runner’s high really is, even after a good puff on cannabinoids of a different kind.
It seems many runners can’t even say that they have experienced it. I think I fall into that latter category, at least in terms of runner’s high as it is most commonly described. However, I can identify times on certain runs when I have experienced a form of euphoria. We’ll come back to that in due course.
When I search using a well-known search engine beginning with G, I now get an AI Overview on the subject of my search at the top of the results screen. When asked what makes a great run, AI had clearly had a slow day because it had obviously given it a lot of thought and offered the following as a definition.
‘A great run is characterized by a combination of feeling strong and light, adhering to proper technique and maintaining a sustainable pace. It involves a balanced approach to training, including rest, nutrition and recovery while also enjoying the experience and being mindful of your body.’
I nearly ignored this, having been blinded by all the horseshit about PBs and runner’s high. When I paused and looked again though, it occurred to me that this silicon-based sorcery might actually be onto something. Not in its entirety but what if we pick it apart a bit and develop some of the components a little more?
Strong and light is a good starting point. My favourite run is unlikely to have been one when I felt tired, heavy and slow even if slow pace was the intention. Therefore, a great run for me probably does entail a sensation of moving consistently well, high energy levels and feeling fleet of foot. It doesn’t mean to say that I ran my fastest or a quickest time but that I was moving exceptionally well, for me at least. This could for me be the performance element touched upon earlier.
Proper technique could also be part and parcel of that sensation of good movement. I will write separately at some point about foot striking, but I know I attain much running satisfaction when my foot strike is light and progressive, accompanied by an appropriate cadence. It just feels good. Sustainable pace could also be relevant. By that I mean the feeling that a pace seems comparatively effortless, even if it really isn’t a ‘run all day’ pace in reality. I think this combination is sometimes referred to in running as a ‘flow state’.
This brings me back to my earlier comment about a sensation of euphoria. I most readily associate this with short, sometimes fleeting periods during certain runs. An example would be running a fast downhill section of semi-technical trail. Fast enough for all those positive sensations of speed, lightness and cadence to kick in, enhanced by the thrill of fast-moving, co-ordinated feet over challenging trail or terrain. Difficult to quantify although I am far from convinced that this is the runner’s high people bang on about. It is something though, perhaps a bit of an adrenaline high but a rush of some kind nonetheless.
Talk of a balanced approach and rest, nutrition and recovery seems more like a holistic approach to running or training in general. That said, I think a great run will almost certainly have been accompanied by abundant energy and good hydration, although as I might conclude later, not necessarily preceded by full rest and recovery.
The last parts of AI’s wisdom on the subject are maybe the most important of all. Enjoyment and mindfulness of body.
I think someone who is solely performance-focused could register a great or a favourite run which they did not necessarily enjoy. The enjoyment might be derived from the outcome rather than the running experience itself. For me though, I think a great or favourite run must have been enjoyable in the moment, at least for significant parts of it. By that I mean a healthy dose of Type 1 fun backed by a strong element of Type 2 fun in the aftermath. Type 1 fun can be powerful but fleeting and sometimes it is the Type 2 aspect that lives longer in the memory because it is more reflective.
What about mindfulness of body? I think I have already touched on this to a large extent when talking about the positive sensations of good running. However, I think this goes a little further if we are talking about best or favourite runs. I believe that one of the key components of a great run is the overall experience. It might actually be the single-most important component of a great or favourite run. Our AI friend hasn’t really captured this I don’t think, so perhaps not ready to eradicate the human race and take over the world just yet.
I would also break experience down further to think about the internal and the external.
The internal experience relates strongly to enjoyment in addition to all of those other positive sensations we have already considered. There is another element of internal experience, at least for me, if I am to identify those truly memorable runs. It is the accompanying sense of appreciation, maybe even gratitude, that one is there running at that very place and time. One might even be consciously aware that there is nothing one would rather be doing than running in that place at that time.
For me, the external experience is about two things. Environment and sense of place and/or journey. I have touched upon this before but running a big city marathon would be the stuff of nightmares for me. However, for others it could be the most rewarding and uplifting experience of their running life. For some, a great run might be one that was experienced with others. Mine are almost always likely to be solitary experiences, although not without exception as we might find out.
Place is important as is sense of journey. I am sure I can identify that all my most memorable runs were strongly influenced by where I was running.
That could be the place itself. For me, any great run will always have been off road, in a landscape that both challenges and inspires. I just can’t think of any possible exception.
I also know that my experience is always enhanced by a variety of gradient, trail and surface.
Sense of journey sounds a bit wanky, but I suppose what I mean is that sense that it wasn’t just a run. You were going somewhere or travelling through that landscape, even if the route was a circuit, loop or an out-and-back. On reflection, I don’t think that distance really matters. In fact, it might be that short-medium distance runs (for me that is approximately five to 20 miles) might more readily qualify as there is less opportunity for some of the strains, pains and negativity of longer distance to detract from the experience.
I think the last factor in the external experience or environment is weather. It is difficult to discount this as an influencing factor. I have seen some scientific study which suggests that sunshine and rain, even extreme weather, can be equally stimulating for the runner. I can probably attest to positive experiences of both. Sun doesn’t necessarily mean hot either. For me, excessive heat is a negative factor, but I can think of some fantastic runs in winter sunshine. Overall, when I start to short-list my favourite runs, it is obvious to me that the weather conditions were a contributing factor.
Let’s jump back up the page then.
Once I thrashed all of this out, I ended up with a fairly comprehensive list of factors and variables which, for me, reflected all the key components of what a truly great run might be. When I started to use my list as a yardstick to assess my best runs against, it did become an easier task. There were many that came close, particularly some great runs here in Scotland, but they maybe lacked one or more of the key components. I felt that the real contenders had to have something of all the factors as well as the elusive ‘wow’ factor that makes them stand out so strongly in the memory.
So am I going to reveal, with much virtual fanfare, what my favourite run was? Sorry, but I just couldn’t whittle it down to only one stand-out winner. I can however offer three, each of which ticked off all of the components on my list, albeit in varying proportions.
As there is no clear winner, I’ll present them in chronological order. Here they are…..
12 March 2022 – Pico Torrecilla, Sierra de las Nieves, Spain
In March 2022 I went on a running trip to the Sierra de las Nieves, the range of mountains that sit near the coast of southern Spain, just west of Malaga.
The trip was affected slightly by what I learned was unseasonably cold and unsettled weather but latterly, there were a couple of great weather days, one of which I reserved for this run.
Pico Torrecilla is the highest summit in the range at 1,919 metres and the route I took was the established out and back route which is about 12 miles in overall distance.
Starting in the wooded lower slopes, the path steadily climbs, coming above the treeline onto an expansive rocky plateau amongst a huge variety of different plants and shrubs.
The path is single-track and mostly semi-technical until the final steep and rocky climb up to the summit of the peak itself.
Once in the open at altitude, the 360-degree views were simply stunning. I don’t use that word often. I remember standing at the summit in cold temperatures but bright sunshine, looking south over Gibraltar all the way to the North African coast which was visible on the horizon.
The climb up had been steady and mostly runnable, enhanced by the ever expanding landscape and vistas. The return was almost perfect running. It started with some twisty flat running, then some gradual downhill on non-technical track and ended with about a mile or so of windy, steeper downhill back down through the trees to the carpark.
It was one of those descents when it was impossible not to open the throttle and I found myself going faster and faster as I descended.
It was all of those exhilarating sensations and experiences that I described above. I saw no other person on the entire route that day and it felt like my own unique and personal experience. I felt genuinely privileged to have run there that day. I’m not sure what else to say so I’ll just leave it there.
16 October 2023 – Ilhara Valley, Ilhara, Central Turkey
This run took place in quite a different context from the first. It took place two days after I ran 35 miles to a DNF in the Cappadocia Ultra Trail. My legs were tired and sore and I was probably still on a bit of a low after the DNF.
I always intended to take this day trip, whatever the outcome of the race, and I had hired a car for the drive which was about 90 minutes from where I was based.
The Ilhara river gorge is a spectacular location situated in the plains of central Turkey. It does attract tourists but not on the scale of the main sites in nearby Cappadocia which I had already experienced. For a defined stretch of around eight miles, the river travels through a gorge with high cliff sides, carved rock dwellings and churches, lush plants and fauna and a very runnable path.
The route was about 15 miles, seven out and back. Starting alongside the river amongst the cliffs and tall trees, the path crosses a couple of bridges before opening out into a dustier, grander landscape with impressive rock formations and more open views.
I thought the run would be a hard plod. Certainly, my legs were stiff and sore, but they relaxed a little with time and I was motivated and energised by the surroundings. I had arrived fairly early so any other tourists were still absent and in the 15 miles I ran I think I saw less than ten other people. The weather was fantastic, cool in the shade and by the river and before the full heat of the day.
I rested a little at the turnaround and I did stop to take photos but otherwise I pushed my running because it felt natural and imperative to do so. It was superb running in a truly great setting.
As is ever the case, the photos can’t truly reflect the experience of being there, but it was another occasion when I felt privileged to be running there. Thousands of runners had experienced the landscapes of Cappadocia on the day of the ultra, but I was the only one experiencing Ilhara on that day. If ever there was an antidote to a DNF, that run was it.
3 December 2023 – Cheviot Goat Winter Ultra, Northumberland, England
When I eventually narrowed things down to a short-list, I really did not expect an ultra to make the cut. For me, ultras are a challenge and a source of immense satisfaction when they go right but it is rare, indeed unlikely, for one to tick all of the boxes I have identified for a truly great or favourite run. However, I simply couldn’t shift my mind away from this race. I also think I like the fact that the three runs I have chosen as my favourites were all quite different. For me, that is interesting. Although I am applying the same criteria in judging them, they all make the grade despite their diversity in type, location and circumstances.
As ultras go, this one is hard. I will never say brutal as that is possibly one of the most over-used words in ultra running.
In 2023, the course was modified and extended to 60 miles and it took place in the midst of an unusual winter freeze which provided true and challenging winter conditions. More than half of the race (mine anyway!) took place in the dark. The DNF rate was high, but I finished in a time of 18:29, in equal 34th place. For me this was a significant achievement and my best race finish to date, all things considered.
It is not included here because it was my best result although that is a significant factor. There were some moments of Type 1 fun but not many!
It was extremely hard. However, it was a race where everything went right, both physically and mentally.
I chose all the right kit from my shoes to my hat. I did not remove or change a single item of kit or clothing from start to finish.
Although there were only two aid stations in the entire distance, I got my nutrition and hydration right. I paced myself correctly and I was motivated throughout, something that is actually quite rare for me in an ultra, especially one of this challenge and distance. I never doubted that I would finish. I enjoyed the darkness, I enjoyed the cold and I enjoyed the bleak winter landscape despite its hostility in places. It was just a great and incredibly rewarding experience and will always be amongst my running highlights.
Can you identify your favourite run? Maybe you can’t or maybe you just can’t be bothered thinking about it. I can say that for me, I am glad I now have an answer at least. Moreover, it has been such a useful mental exercise in reflecting on my running experience and understanding what it is about running that I truly enjoy the most.
