I'd never heard of trail running before. With not an iota of idea about the hardship of trail run, I joined one few years ago. That afternoon, I brought nothing – not even a water bottle. It had never crossed my mind to wear special shoes. Ask any experienced trail runner, and they'll tell you I'm an idiot.
I suppose, looking back on it now, I was simply lucky to have finished the trail run without getting injury circumnavigating the terrain.
Not anymore. Fast-forward to this weekend. I managed to join my second trail run, this time with a new pair of shoes. When race day arrived, I was nervous but felt ready to enjoy the experience as much as possible. This is the first time I brought along water in a running vest. I didn't know how to use the bite valve, and ended up opening the lid to drink. I didn't prepare too much but tried to soak up the experience after taking off from the start line. Pretty soon, I came to realise that I didn't descend fast enough when the stair spacing is too narrow for me to place the whole foot on the step. My cadence, on the other hand, can be high to go downhill with rugged landscape. I fetched bananas twice for replenishment, my face aglow in the sunlight and my heart rate quickening above 170 beats per minute.
If you're new to trail running and wondering whether you can do it, let me reassure you even an idiot like me can do that. Call me an idiot if you want, but it's okay to make rookie errors. What brings me the most joy is being able to explore the nature and my body. There's nothing better than a trail run to just forget about life for a few hours and enjoy the fresh air and scenery.
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