Moments

There are moments, amongst the hours, weeks and days, that we may spend doing all these activities that we do, that stick out. Those brief instances that for some reason you remember for years to come. I had such a moment today.  Having puffed up a very steep hill, I reached an inviting stream, where I paused to take a drink. It was early, before 8am, and I was alone on the edge of a cleugh, looking down over the woods and the river.  As the chilled Drum and Bass played through the one earphone that still works, the sun began to shine through the mist clinging to the top of the moors. In that moment, I wanted to be no where else.  It was perfection.

Not as flat as it might appear!

New to trail running and not yet wholly au fait with the local area, I had requested off-road suggestions from The One Who Runs.  He directed me to Harcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge. Setting off before most people had even got out of bed, every corner I turned was met with anticipation, an opportunity to discover something new with each passing kilometre. The rocky, undulating riverside path giving way to a solid track, into a muddy path through the woods, a steep drop across the moor and back to the river, an old tramway high above the water, the steep climb to the edge of the cleugh, a muddy track, slipping and sliding through the beech wood.  As I toiled uphill and bounced downwards, completely alone in the woods, my joy at the experience grew with every stride.

As recommendations go, I think it was a pretty good one! 

Happy feet