Welcome to Traildreamer

This is a blog for amazing trails, great running, and getting the best out of life.  If you’re into any of that, I’m sure you’ll find something you like.  If you’re into all of that, hey I wanna meet you!

Who Am I and What’s My Story?

I’m Katie, a Scottish 30-something running addict and travelling junkie, with a slightly unconventional (not very, just slightly) perspective on life.  I managed to spend a lot of my early 20s travelling, spending extended periods of time in Romania, Spain, Portugal, Hawaii and Japan.  Wherever I went, my running shoes were the first things I packed, and the last thing I’d choose to lose in the great baggage-handling gamble that is Heathrow.

So far so good, but somewhere along the line I seemed to lose my way a bit, and before I knew it I found myself doing a proper job in our National Health Service, and right on track for another 40 odd years of the same job, to pay off a mortgage I really didn’t want, just looking forward to the day I could claim my pension so that I stop going to work and start doing the things I really wanted to do.  Now, at 20-odd, that’s pretty damn sad.

So in the summer of 2007, I got fed up with pretending to like the way my life was going, and I opted out.   I pulled together some savings (supposedly meant as the deposit on that house) and took a Career Break. I went travelling, to see what’d happen… And do you know what? The only things that happened were wonderful. What I’d thought was going to be horrendously risky – career suicide, the end of my chances of ever getting on the property ladder, frighteningly lonely – turned out to be no big deal. In fact, it’s the best thing I ever did.

• I made new friends who had similarly irresponsible priorities.

• I rediscovered that hey, I really like being creative!  Writing, painting, drawing, textiles, I dabble in them all.

• I got seriously healthy, like bubbling with energy, never ever ill, looking good (even if I do say so myself), and feeling great.

• And I upped my running from a burl round the park to ease out work stresses, to long heavenly explorations of some of the most beautiful places in the world. And that was what really rocked my world and gave me the direction for everything I’ve been doing since.

Of course, I never thought to blog about any of this at the time (doh!).   And a Career Break only lasts so long (less than a year, usually.  It’s a gap year for grown ups).  So now I’m back, caught up in the daily grind, like as if I’d never been away.

Except, it is different this time. Direct experimentation proved to me that there is more to life, and that it is realistic to pursue it. I now have a pretty good idea of what I want out of life, and I know that there are lots of other people with similar ideas.  Hopefully you might be one of them, in which case, you know: subscribe, or email me, or comment on anything that grabs your fancy.  I’d love to hear from you.

The Core Principals of Traildreamer

I thought, just to keep it super simple, I’d draw up a list of what I think is most important to Traildreamer.  Sure, I go off on tangents, but the following priorities and principals are at the core of what this blog is all about.

Running in magnificent places.

Running on a daily basis.

Wilderness, countryside, the natural world, the great outdoors.

Creativity, writing, art and thought.

Community, family and friends.

Minimal financial entrapment.

Voluntary simplicity

Autonomous self-directed work.

An independent and sustainable income.

Time and energy for all of the above.

That’s the ‘all about me’ page done and out the way (whew!).  What I’m really looking forward to, is getting to know a bit more about you.  What’s your take on running, travelling, and living your life the best way you can?  See you in the blog posts…