Speed isn’t everything.
Slow running is about deliberating embracing a slower pace to enjoy more enriching journey-based runs. An unhurried way to get from A-B that brings with it many mental health benefits, unexpected joys, and opportunities for connection.
It’s a zeitgeist shift away from the feeling you need to be constantly rushing around – both in life and the pressure to be constantly optimising your runs.
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I’m a big slow running advocate, having made the conscious decision to embark on more soulful runs many years ago. My own fork in the road moment was finding myself in marginal gains territory and enjoying running less. I’d lost sight of why I fell in love with running in the first place. This meant swapping the monotony of road running in search for more inspiring routes, the permission to stop and soak up interesting sights, and embrace scenic detours and pit stops. I found the small pleasures en route brought me a lot of joy, which in turn led to Joy Runs to help others to do the same.
This article is an invitation to embrace a different pace, combined with some helpful tips for slow running. We’ll also explore its links to the slow travel moment and how slowing down can rekindle our childlike need for unstructured play outdoors and make our soul hum.
Learning from Slow Travel: Staying Longer & Leaving Tiny Footprints
The slow travel movement is about two things: connection and sustainability. It’s about taking your time to travel through – not over – somewhere, immersing yourself in local culture and way of life, and going off-the-beaten-track to lesser-known destinations. All while minimising the environmental impact of your trip, usually by seeking out alternative modes of transport to flying.
As such, slow travel normally involves multiple stops on a longer trip.
Think of slow tourism as being in the same bracket as authentic travel experiences, such as homestays, cooking classes, running tours, and soaking up local cultural activities. Similarly off-grid adventures, such as wild swimming, sleeping on hills, or staying in a remote cabin.
It’s a more relaxed way to travel that allows you to peel back layers to a country (or countries) and get under their skin. A proper escape, as oppose to a superficial ticking off of a destination.
As somebody who loves slow travel by train, I can vouch for the spontaneity, freedom and intimacy it adds to any trip. It’s an infinitely more satisfying way to arrive and then exist somewhere, as you take the time to appreciate the beauty of your new surroundings and the journey itself.
The joy of running is this can be achieved on your doorstep too. By applying the slow travel philosophy to your runs you turn them into what Alastair Humphreys calls ‘Micro Adventures’ – short, local adventures that are every bit as exotic and exciting as a trip abroad.
“As the world’s population becomes increasingly urbanised, busy, and stuck in front of a screen, microadventures offer a realistic escape to wilderness, simplicity and the great outdoors, without the need to ski to the South Pole or go live in a cabin in Patagonia..”
Alastair Humphreys
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7 Benefits of Slow Running: Add More Meaning to Your Runs
Joy 1: Rediscover Your Sense of Adventure
Slower, more free range runs are much more fun than sticking to a rigid itinerary.
By being open to more uncertainty and exploration, we add texture to our running experiences.
Bestselling author and former long-distance runner, Alex Hutchinson, talks about this in relation to the explore-exploit dilemma. Do you stick to the same path and predictable outcomes or embrace the unknown? Should you choose what you know and get what you expect (‘exploit’) or choose a different way and possibly learn more (‘explore’)?
True meaning arises from taking the road less travelled and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Slow running facilitates new adventures by giving you permission to take a more intuitive approach to routes.
Joy 2: Fully Appreciate Your Surroundings
Joy Runs is about slowing down to see more.
You’ll be primed to pick up on small joys on your route, such as architectural details, changes in the terrain, and the beauty of the natural world. You’ll tune into the unique soundtrack of where you’re running and be able to tap into local culture. At some stage, we all experience that epiphany when you realise that it’s small things that are really the big things in life.
By turning your attention outward you can transform wander into wonder.
Joy 3: Add More Variation to Your Runs
Running at the same speed not only limits your overall progress, it also leads to boredom.
We all know runners who have had a short-lived obsession with the sport only to hang up their boots for good.
Putting one foot in front of the other involves a lot of repetition, so pays to turn it into soul-nourishing fun.
I find slow running to be more inquisitive and rewarding. By taking a more organic, go-with-the-flow approach to running, I maintain the motivation to run almost daily. The weekly Joy Runs themes add an element of challenge too, turning every run into a treasure hunt for the good things in life.
My advice: don’t over plan your route, be open to wonder.
Joy 4: Slow Running is Great for Mental Health
Just as slow travel allows you to go at your own pace and replenish your energy supplies, so too a soulful run.
Need a recovery run or rest day? Take one.
Want to be inspired? Run in nature.
Need to unwind? Rawdog a run.
The joy of slow running is that isn’t not just great for your body, it’s also kind on your mind.
Being cocooned in nature on a no-pressure run takes you to an otherwise unreachable place of happiness. It is proven to reduce stress, quash depression, enhance cognitive function and boost resilience. I find slow runs to be a wonderful coping mechanism for tough days. It’s also a great way to keep running burnout at bay.
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Joy 5: The Calm of Off-Peak & Off-the-Beaten-Track
A growing trend in travel is to hard avoid peak tourist seasons like Summer, instead opting for the shoulder seasons of Spring and Autumn for pleasant weather and fewer crowds.
Running off-the-beaten-track and at off-peak times is also often a more peaceful and joyous experience too. I’m a huge fun of golden hour runs in the countryside, which is why a lot of people start trail running.
That’s not to say cities are totally out of bounds. I love urban running as much as anybody, but try to go very first thing in the morning to have the streets to myself.
Joy 6: The Excuse to Sample Local Food
With your run times taking a back seat, you can enjoy the local food scene.
For me, I run to enjoy more of what I love. Good food is a large part of that.
Being kind to yourself on a run is about not passing up opportunities like stumbling upon a new bakery or tempting coffee shop. Life is too short not too.
We explore this a lot in the ‘Reward’ Joy Run theme. Fueling your runs with food and fun.
Rewards are also really important to forming good habits such as running. The positive experience of the reward reinforces the behaviour just performed. By making runs more satisfying it motivates you to do it again.
Joy 7: Slow Running Builds Endurance
The paradox of slow-and-steady running is the more often you do it, the more energy you have.
Embracing a slower pace can be both restorative and build resilience. It releases ‘feel good’ chemicals whilst helping your body to adapt to sustained effort and build a strong aerobic base, without the extreme discomfort of some other exercises. Slow running also improves your running economy that’s needed for distance running, meaning you can run longer and faster with less effort.
Stamina and endurance might not be the primary reason to slow down, but once you’re hooked on slow running it allows you to do it for longer.
So, there you have it. Embrace a slower pace and let the journey unfold one step at a time.