Daniel Gittelman- Running on The Noland Trail (Natural Setting)

 We were only able to visit one place during the semester, so I chose to revisit that place to experience the natural setting again. To make this trip different from our class visit to the Lion’s Bridge and the Noland Trail, I chose to run rather than walk. This morning, I decided to run a segment of the Noland Trail during my six-mile run.

I began the run by listening to Bryson Tiller. Once I got onto the trail though, I took my headphones out and focused on the nature around me. I did not experience flow as much as I would’ve liked due to my conscious and active reflection on my surroundings, but it was a great experience nonetheless because of my connection with nature. There were birds chirping, and at one point a few of them crossed the trail in front of me. 


After seeing that, I began to run faster, hoping to see more fascinating events. Due to this, I ran a 6:07 mile as I crossed the Lion’s Bridge. It was quite cold, but it gave me something to reflect upon. While my ears and head remained warm, I became well aware of the feeling of the wind picking at my skin. I focused on this, trying to both define and resist it.


I then reflected upon the things we’d looked at previously. Perhaps it was impacted by the fact that I was running, but I was now unable to see the tree fruits. The dying tree remained but was less obvious due to there being fewer leaves on many of the trees The regrowing pine trees remained, however, looking healthy and strong. I felt as if I was having a continuous conversation with the trees surrounding me. Despite their tired appearance, they seemed to be encouraging me as I ran past them. Overall, I still felt that I was struggling far more with the beginning of winter than nature seems to be.

This time on the Noland trail surrounded by peaceful nature also allowed me to reflect upon the events of this week. I have had a lot of struggles with my living situation, so I was glad to have this time to myself to revisit that. This run was overall very exciting and useful, and I intend to do this again many times next semester.

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