“I started running in high school, in Coos Bay, Oregon (USA). I was about 16 and I had given up volleyball due to some coach drama and antics that just took the fun out of it. So I started running as a workout to keep fit. Then I just started running more and more and more, until my high school cross country coach approached me and said “you run a lot, why aren’t you part of our team?”
From there I ran competitively in 5k, 3k and 1000 metres races for about 2 ½ years, but I lost the love for it through a coaching methodology that didn’t align with me, and so stopped it for a few years.
I moved to New Zealand in 2023 and once here I accidentally joined a group running the Routeburn. One weekend my friend just said they were joining a group going for a run in Fiordland and had an extra seat in the car. I enthusiastically agreed to go along. At the time, I had no idea the scale of the Routeburn. We got to the start and I was like “um, how long are we running?” And they replied 33km!!! I just about lost it. But it was actually an amazing day out.
I was really nervous that I wasn’t gonna be able to do it, but the guy who had organised the trip was so cool and supportive and just gave me the confidence I needed. It ended up being one of the best days I’ve had – it was such a good group and I surprised myself by keeping up. I still had my fitness, even if I hadn’t been doing a ton of running. That just sparked a new love for trail running and ever since then it’s just become a mental escape for me, a gateway to feeling good. If you have things on your mind, or you’re not feeling so hot, you just go on a run and it tends to make everything better. Stressors will still be there, but getting out and escaping for a bit tends to lessen their size in your mind.
I guess part of it for me too is I don’t like being told that I can’t do things. So it’s really cool to go out and do things that most people wouldn’t do, or things that people consider not-doable. And just being able to be out there; in the elements of snow or wind, or just in the middle of a mountain with a group of cool people, experiencing something that you have to go a bit out of your way for; it’s not everyday you get to do that. And being able to run trails and then look back and celebrate like “oh my goodness, I did that!” It’s just a really cool feeling.
It’s so different to when I ran competitively. That took the love out of it for me. I’m really big on listening to your body; if you set out to do a 15k route and you find you’re not feeling well, to not push yourself to do it anyway. There will always be a next day. And that’s a lot different than how I started and how things were when I ran competitively, because you have this training programme and you have to stick to it, and you have to do it this fast. And that just leads to a lot of injuries. Plus it makes you lose the love for it. So a big part of how I approach it now is just doing what feels good. If that’s doing more, or if that stopping short, it’s just listening to your body.
A goal of mine, and it will take some time, is to run all of the Great Walks of New Zealand. And to eventually call this place my home.”
Kaitlin @kaitlin_walll
(Wanaka)
Photo taken on the Kepler Track
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