Back on the trail

Two days ago, John and I met once again to run the trail.  Dirt trail.  The trail that I've grown to love.  I wondered why do I like running that awful trail with exposed roots, mud puddles and hills and switchbacks that rip your lungs out.

The rewards of a trail well run.  Now, I'll just take the 

garden hose to shoes to wash them off, then an air

dry. Easy enough.

Then it dawned on me.  In my boyhood days in Greenwood (Mississippi), my family lived on a street that ran along the Yazoo River.  Our house faced a levee with a quarter mile of land stretching out to the river banks.  On this land was a wooded area right by the river where we would play for hours on end.  When we were old enough, we rode our bikes through the woods and created wonderful bike trails with jumps and dips that would rival today's BMX competitions.

We would call it over the levee.

Similarly, the dirt trail I run today is a little smaller than my the trails of my youth but they are just like over the levee.  I think that's why I like the trail so much.

And, there's always something new to see out there on the trail.  This week's run was full of mud, pine cone needles and water puddles.  Just the right thing to run through and be a boy again.

And that's why I run... especially on dirt trails.... to be a boy again.

Gotta run,
Chuck
The Vagabond Runner