Connection through Running
A few weeks back I felt overwhelmed. I have been working on digging in to the Trail Roots mission and vision and the work had been going great. However, I looked at the training schedule, the weekend runs, and felt that things were stagnant. More people were traveling and the runs seemed less attended. The dog days of summer were upon us, and the runs were feeling a little flat. “What are people training for?” I asked myself. How can we drum up some fun? Last year we shifted our in person happy hours to Friday Zoom happy hours. It was great for a bit, and then when people started doing in-person events after Covid, less and less people showed up. I eventually canceled the virtual happy hours, but forgot to replace them with other opportunities to connect outside of the general group runs.
If you have run with us, you know that we are passionate about connection. We love running. We love trail running. But running is the avenue in which we are able to create connection. Run side by side with someone for one, two, or three hours and you will really get to know them. You may hear their life story, or some of their significant challenges, because you can only “shoot the shit” for so long until you want more. You want to know that person. Human connection is what we are most in need of, and this is what is at the core of our business.
So, as things felt a little flat, I remembered I had planned to do a run/taco/ river float trip and got it on the calendar. We decided to head to San Marcos for a run outside of Austin to get away with the group for an extended day of fun. We did our trail run at Purgatory Creek Preserve in the heart of San Marcos. We had a great turnout for an “out of town” run. Plus all of our runners that lived in Kyle or San Marcos had a much shorter drive than usual.
The run was awesome. Changing up the scene was fun for everyone (minus some wasp stings), but what was even more fun was the time after the run. Having the opportunity to sit down together for breakfast tacos and hear about what was going on with our runners was key. Then luckily for us it was a 100 degree day so floating the San Marcos river after a trail run was the perfect thing! The river is spring fed, clear, and chilly at first. All 25 of us linked up our tubes and told stories, learned more about each other, and drank a few beers or Topo Chicos together. I left that day feeling excited about the day, the awesome people we have to run with each week, and the opportunities we have this year to connect again, along with bringing in new folks to the circle.
If you are looking for connection and enjoy the outdoors, we hope you consider joining us. We take you as you are, and look forward to meeting you. Reach out to us if you have questions. You can run or hike! We’d love to hear from you.
