I’m here for the magic…

The descent through the forest was wild. I’ve never experienced anything like it, and I’m not sure I ever want to again. It was the dead of night and we were following each other’s head-torches through the trees. Flattish sections gave way to sudden steep drops that could only be managed by clinging onto tree trunks while the trail disintegrated beneath your feet.

Emerging from the tree line a reflective arrow glinted in the head torches and pointed us left onto a road. A full moon hung in the sky ahead of us, illuminating the ribbon of asphalt as it carved its way through the alps. I increased my stride length a little to put some space between me and the guys I was near and turned off my head-torch to run by moonlight.

It was as close to perfect as a running moment can be. The night was calm and still. I was in great headspace and my legs were moving well. I’d been fighting a chest infection, had taken a fall, limped hours to get first aid, everything that could go wrong had went wrong and somehow I was not only on my feet but feeling good. I felt invincible, infinite even.

As I’ve written about previously, I decided to go all in this year and aim for the Bob Graham Round and TDS, at the expense of other opportunities. There’s a sense therefore that everything was a failure. Injury and illness undermined both. While I think I’d have completed the BGR if not for that – you can never fully know.

But there are so many good things that the running year held too. In some ways it was measurably bad, immeasurably good. My metrics weren’t where I wanted them, I didn’t hit the targets I set, but I did accumulate some wonderful experiences I’d otherwise not have had.

So instead of rambling about the missed goals, I’m headed into 2024 thinking about the magic. The cloud inversions, the sunrises and sunsets, the places I’ve been and the people I’ve been privileged enough to run alongside.

Heading up to Lac Blanc on my first trip to Chamonix, scrambling the Brevent ridge, gazing on Les Drus in rapture, seeing the sunrise over the central lakes during the Bob, running all day in the snow and ice at Ben Lawers.

Those are the moments that make trail running magical. The wonders you see and the people you meet along the way.

So next year, I’ll be chasing more magic.