Depression's Cure: Training for a 50K trail race

Training for a 50K is grueling: Forcing me out for a 2-hour run in the dark after an 8 hour work day and now sucking up the majority of my Saturdays as I've taken the time to find and complete a visually inspiring 15 mile + run (next Saturday, 18 miles!) Not to mention how tired I feel most of the time; my muscles thankful, but achey.

To many of you, the above sounds dreamy. In a world where we are increasingly "running out of time" - who has time, you may ask, to go and run for 3 hours!

Well, right now, I do. But that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.

Yesterday I decided to start dedicating each of my long training runs to a cause, a person or a situation I care about. Inspired by the following video of a runner in the Grand Canyon and recently posted on Outside Online, I decided that yesterday's run was for depression. Irrefutably, medication and therapy are beneficial in treating depression, but evidence has shown that strong social relationships and EXERCISE are paramount to keeping the mind healthy.

Lacing up the shoes now. Today, I run with awareness for the blue, perfect, sun-filled Seattle skies.

http://vimeo.com/105194950