Since I was about 14 I've run more days than not. I can't remember why I started running but I know that when did it brought me such an unparalleled feeling of freedom. 12 years, approximately 9 pairs of runners and thousands of kilometres down the track, that feeling still remains.
A tremendous sense of freedom isn't the only thing that running has given me. Striding over pavement or dirt has always brought me a feeling of calm and a thinking space like no other. And it is the beauty of that thinking space from which this humble blog spawns; for here I will document the what this space means to me and the thoughts, questions and feelings that emerge from it. To run and to think are two very splendid things and they deserve to be written about more often.
"And what is this 5 kilometres of paradise?" I hear you ask. "Is it a metaphor for this so-called 'thinking-space'?" Well perhaps it is that to me but more accurately it is a modest track that skirts the shoreline of 5 dock bay from Drummoyne to Chiswick, dissapears for a while (requiring a left hand turn up Hazel St and a right at Bortfield Drive), reappears at a little park on one's right hand side and continues along the shoreline of the Parammatta River before tamely petering out about 500 metres past Blackwell Park. As a round trip it is perhaps a little closer to 6ks but lets be honest; "6ks of paradise" doesn't sound as good. Nor does a worthy run ever exaggerate itself.
"And you run this one track over and over?" the voices persist. Well for the most part yes. Once every week or two I will jog over to Iron Cove bay and then do the fabled "Bayrun". However, for the most part, it is this simple, vastly less populated but equally pleasing track that I am content with. You probably won't find my 5ks of paradise when searching Sydney's most aesthetically pleasing runs, but I can't think of another I would trade it for.
"But why now?" the final question begs. "Why, after all these years ,share these thoughts and experiences so tied to the spring of your step?" Well if there is an honest answer to that, it is that in some months I will desert this run for greener pastures and I will miss it dearly. I've been fortunate to live near some beautiful tracks during my time. From the East Point track in Darwin to the Pinnicles in Canberra, I have enjoyed many hours of bliss, pain, hope, sadness, fear and well... quite a few things when I really think about it. And perhaps it is the knowledge that I may have very few runs left in this great land at all that pushed me over the edge into the realm of the blog.
So join me for a run and a think and a think about running, if you please.
A tremendous sense of freedom isn't the only thing that running has given me. Striding over pavement or dirt has always brought me a feeling of calm and a thinking space like no other. And it is the beauty of that thinking space from which this humble blog spawns; for here I will document the what this space means to me and the thoughts, questions and feelings that emerge from it. To run and to think are two very splendid things and they deserve to be written about more often.
"And what is this 5 kilometres of paradise?" I hear you ask. "Is it a metaphor for this so-called 'thinking-space'?" Well perhaps it is that to me but more accurately it is a modest track that skirts the shoreline of 5 dock bay from Drummoyne to Chiswick, dissapears for a while (requiring a left hand turn up Hazel St and a right at Bortfield Drive), reappears at a little park on one's right hand side and continues along the shoreline of the Parammatta River before tamely petering out about 500 metres past Blackwell Park. As a round trip it is perhaps a little closer to 6ks but lets be honest; "6ks of paradise" doesn't sound as good. Nor does a worthy run ever exaggerate itself.
"And you run this one track over and over?" the voices persist. Well for the most part yes. Once every week or two I will jog over to Iron Cove bay and then do the fabled "Bayrun". However, for the most part, it is this simple, vastly less populated but equally pleasing track that I am content with. You probably won't find my 5ks of paradise when searching Sydney's most aesthetically pleasing runs, but I can't think of another I would trade it for.
"But why now?" the final question begs. "Why, after all these years ,share these thoughts and experiences so tied to the spring of your step?" Well if there is an honest answer to that, it is that in some months I will desert this run for greener pastures and I will miss it dearly. I've been fortunate to live near some beautiful tracks during my time. From the East Point track in Darwin to the Pinnicles in Canberra, I have enjoyed many hours of bliss, pain, hope, sadness, fear and well... quite a few things when I really think about it. And perhaps it is the knowledge that I may have very few runs left in this great land at all that pushed me over the edge into the realm of the blog.
So join me for a run and a think and a think about running, if you please.
