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Making the Rounds
In his book Keep Going, Austin Kleon references the US Postal Service’s unofficial slogan in describing his family’s morning walk routine. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” This morning, on a day where the Canada Post has been delayed or…
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Pouring Milk
VermeerSo long as that woman from the Rijksmuseum in painted quiet and concentration keeps pouring milk day after day from the pitcher to the bowl the World hasn’t earned the world’s end. Wisława Szymborska trans. Clare Cavanagh & Stanisław Barańczak Most of life, as you’ve probably also learned by now, is ordinary. The extraordinary highs (as…
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Prayers and Blessings
The North Face recently released a documentary called The Invisible Wall, featuring ultrarunners Mike Foote (American), Mauricio Carvajal (Mexican), Mario Mendoza Jr. (Mexican-American) as they run along the Mexico-US border. You should check it out (here). Ever since learning about the running traditions of the Tarahumara people of Mexico and the Navajo of southern US,…
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The Oxbow
One year ago, in the midst of training for my first marathon, I heard about some crazy people who’d run 50KM – 8KM longer than a marathon! – in the Spruce Woods on the first weekend of May. At the time, a marathon was an impossibility in my mind, what did these folks think they…
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Conversing with the Land
What’s the difference between a trail and a road? Trails, our original routes of travel across the land, follow the contours of the landscape. Along the winding stream, around rocks and trees, weaving up the side of a hill. Roads, on the other hand, cut through a landscape. They carve the most direct path from…
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The Old Tamarack
There’s a small green space near our house, in what has been called “the last piece of original bush” in our town. This is one of my favourite places to go for a morning run, or a walk with the family. Care to join me on a little walk? We wander out of town on…
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The Minimalism of Winter
Last week while eating lunch and gazing out the window at the -30° cold, we noticed a small bird in the cedar by our deck. A pine siskin or similar sparrow, its gray, brown, and yellow-hinted feathers puffed out to capture each bit of warmth. Our kids jumped to the window to salute this brave…
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Running is Prayer
In the Navajo tradition, kids grow up learning about running as a part of their culture. They run east in the morning to meet the sun, and to meet the Creator. For the Navajo, running isn’t simply a way to stay physically fit, it’s a spiritual practice. Running is a form or prayer. The ancient…