Get out into the countryside
DAMIAN Hall has a New Year’s message to all runners in Bath – get out into the countryside in 2021.
The Box-based international ultra distance runner admits he feels most at home on the mud and trails and reckons that has soothed the worst effects of the pandemic that ravaged the sport in 2020.
While the road running, cross country and track and field disciplines have all been severely curtailed by COVID-19, with hundreds if not thousands of events cancelled locally and nationwide, Hall has found solace in the countryside.
“Without sounding too ‘hippyish’ I find running on trails more rewarding particularly on the mental side,” said Hall, the 2018 winner of the Running Bath/chronicle athlete of the year competition and a contender for the 2020 prize as well.
“To be honest it has kept me sane at times and I would urge runners in and around Bath or wherever to give it a go whether that is running or just going out for a walk.
“So many academic studies show that nature makes us calmer and happier and it certainly has been the right thing to do in 2020.”
Obviously not everyone living in big cities will have easy access to the big outdoors but runners living in or around Bath are blessed with superb countryside right on their doorsteps.
In addition, there are numerous events put on by local clubs like Team Bath AC and the Avon Valley Runners, plus commercial operations like Relish Running and DB Max, many of which have taken place recently.
Hall also stresses that opting for the trails frees a runner from the obsession with the stop watch and being ruled by splits.
“Times really don’t matter at all when you are racing trails because the terrain is so different and no two events are the same,” added Hall.
“It allows you to forget about what time you are running and to just try and relax and enjoy the moment. I find it so rewarding because running on the trails reminds you of why you started running in the first place; because you love it.
“That is what it is all about and after the year we have just had it is not a bad time to remind yourself of that fact. I would encourage everyone to get on the trails because there is so much fun to be had out there.
“Forget about split times and heartrate monitors. Just head for the hills and the bogs.”
Not that the trail running scene has escaped totally from the pandemic as some of the sport’s biggest events, like the Ultra-trail du Mont-blanc (UTMB), were cancelled while Hall is not hopeful that the Spine Race in early February – a winter ultra-marathon held over a distance of around 268 miles from Edale, England, to Kirk Yetholm, Scotland, along the Pennine Way – will go ahead.
“I guess 2020 was less about racing for me and more about record attempts,” explained Hall.
“Firstly, that was due to the current state of the world and events being cancelled and secondly, because I find it more rewarding.”
Three records – the Pennine Way, the Paddy Buckley Winter Round and the South Wales Traverse – suggests that Hall has flourished in the new normal and not surprisingly he has some big plans for 2021.
“I have two record attempts in mind for 2021 but I am keeping them under wraps for the moment,” said Hall.
“I would also like to race the UTMB again in August but we’ll have to see if it goes ahead.”
Until then one thing is for sure - Hall will be heading for the hills. Why not join him in 2021?
The athletics coverage in the Chron is sponsored by Running Bath