At first sight, it may seem strange that a site devoted to encouraging the exploration of new areas for running including those further afield and with more adventure, seeks to promote the benefits of running local to where you live. But this in fact is where it all starts, where exploration combines with experience to broaden new horizons.
The lockdowns and travel restrictions of 2020 and early 2021 forced runners of all stripes to focus their recreational and training runs on their local areas, be that urban or street based or in the case of those off-road runners positively allergic to man made hard surfaces, parkland or nearby open country. A lucky few living in upland or mountain areas were able to get out in their chosen trail and fell environments, but often limited the scope of their adventures for fear of an unplanned call on local rescue and health services.
Like many, I was forced to find pleasant places to run (off-road of course) from my own front door. And this process of exploration of individual trails and small areas within a close radius led me to the discovery of whole micro areas, new trails and new habitats that sustained those long weeks where the areas I had previously travelled to on a consistent basis remained off limits. Poring over local maps as well as simply following new paths and trails on the ground sustained me during that whole strange period.
In these post pandemic years, these newly discovered trails and areas have remained with me and have become a staple part of my running, interspersed with much cherished trips to wilder mountain areas or other trail running venues. Whether you chose to explore locally or further afield, the joy is in the exploration itself and forms the basis for the whole Mud & Fell philosophy - mud, maps, fells, fun.
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