About a year ago, I took a once in a lifetime road trip with my roommates. We traveled 1,760 miles from San Diego to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Arches National Park in Utah, Zion National Park (also in Utah) and a weekend stay in Las Vegas, Nevada. During our adventures, I made some amazing memories that I will hold dearly for the rest of my life. One of them happens to be some runs I took during our stay in Moab, Utah. I've run thousands of times (not trying to sound arrogant) and there are not many runs I can honestly say were anything special. Trust me, I'm blessed to have run as many times as I have, but most of my runs have been what I consider any 'normal' run (if that makes sense).
There's just something about those runs in Utah that, to me, were unforgettable. It's no secret for anyone that knows me well about how much I obsess over running. It does not matter the time, place or weather; I'm always ready to lace up. So after all the hiking, sightseeing and endless walking on the trip, I was still crazy enough to go for my runs. By the time we returned to the campsite, it was just about sunset and nightfall was ready to make its presence known. There was this wide, large highway cutting down the center of the campground where I ran every day. About a 1/2 mile into my run, my entire surroundings would turn pitch black.
The nice thing about Moab is that it was a small town isolated from what any mainstream city is like. So there wasn't much light pollution and during my runs, the moon was my source of illumination. The run itself was nice but it honestly felt like I was running for my life. I had this heightened sense of running at a faster pace maybe because of the darkness. I guess it was human nature to feel that way when a person who is used to the city all of a sudden gets placed in the wilderness. It was almost that feeling you get when something or someone is chasing you. Like I was being hunted down by something I could not see.
I'm pretty sure anyone else would be freaked out but I was embracing the moment. The scenery was jaw-dropping with the canyons and overcasting cliff-sides. I was so intrigued with the experience of what it was like to literally run in the wild. I'd never seen anything like this before. I found myself craving that type of run every night since. I cherished those three days spent in Arches National Park. It's like when the opportunity presented itself I seized it and did not hesitate. I think what I liked about those runs the most was the courage I had to find within myself to keep going. Some people run for goals but I sometimes feel like I run for sanity. This is my time of prayer and absolute comfort zone.
There's that saying about every journey leading to a destination, I wonder where mine will end in my running career. I hope that one day I get to sightsee and come across more runs like the one I went through in Utah.
