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A Trail Running Retreat for Every Runner

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Is a trail running retreat right for you? What should you expect? Will everyone be pro’s and is it only for experienced trail runners?

All things that were running through my mind as I plunked down the change to attend yet another running camp…because well I LOVE RUNNING. And I’ve learned over the years that running itself is uncomfortable, so I might as well find ways to do it with others.

Run Mindful Retreat Review

As the small group gathered clad in spandex, hand held water bottles ready to go, it looks like any other running group you might find visiting a new city.

Except the run is being lead by an Ultrarunning elite, his ultrarunning wife and father-in-law…and yet with that impressive line up, the feeling of calm and belonging is heavier than the smell of sweat.Adventure Mindful Running Retreat ReviewInstead of standing around trying to remember names, the group heads out on a get to know you run along the waters of the stunning Malibu coastline.

There’s a 15 year-old who says this retreat changed his life last year, a number of runners from Japan who are endurance runners, newbies to trails like myself, people recovering from injuries, super fast runners and others who would spend more of the time hiking.Running in MalibuUnlike a previous retreat, these differences aren’t acknowledged as much as they just are.

Guides are available at every pace, the group pauses at intersections to keep everyone together, different distances are offered and everyone can be proud of whatever they accomplish.

Who cares what your speed is, if this is your first time meditating, trying yoga or eating beets; we’re here to smile.

Per normal, I have so much to say about my experience that this will cover a few posts!

I wanted to share the experience not only because I loved it, but because I think many of you are looking for active getaways but have no idea what to expect and since they are all different I hope this review helps.

Let Nothing Stop You

Adventure Mindful excited me both for the location and because I was toying with the idea of an Ultra.

Spoiler – I finally did it. Solo. You can get all my Beginner 50K Training Tips here >>

I wasn’t anticipating a 2 month knee injury leading up to it, which had me concerned I’d be unable to run at all. And for all my “see running is bad for knees folks,” this wasn’t a running injury, but likely a step in a hole and twist your leg wrong injury.

My nerves were on edge, until I met this group and immediately realized they wouldn’t care if I needed to walk the whole thing or had to cut it short.TO my immense relief, after much YouTubing I found a taping method designed to support a torn meniscus and minus a few cringe worthy searing pain moments of bad steps, it worked like a charm!

I’ll be getting an MRI this week to figure out a long term solution…though I’d consider just living with the tape.Knee taping for torn meniscusAll right, now I’ve set the scene, so what the heck was this retreat?

Why was it so appealing to me? Why was I driving everyone crazy with IG stories and Instagram posts that shouted of joy simply bubbling forth uncontrolled?!

Need a break from your brain? How about #running retreat like this one @runtothefinish attended #runchat Click To Tweet

Run Mindful Retreats

A few years ago, meditation and mindfulness started to become more mainstream.

Dr’s were prescribing it, Dan Harris wrote the incredible book 10% Happier, we heard about Oprah, Steve Jobs and other mega-superstars crediting mediation for their success.

Meanwhile, runners have known for years that our solo time is a great chance to clear the head. But there is a more focused practice which can indeed make us better runners.

Timothy Olson is a two-time winner of the Western States 100, an endurance runner who travels the world racing year round and yes  a man with younger years that would never have foreshadowed such a healthy lifestyle and mindset. Running came first, but he believes has been greatly enhanced by his meditation practice. And more importantly, simply learning what it means to live more mindfully. After watching the impacts on those around him, he enlisted the help of his wife and in-laws to create a space where other runners could learn about this journey.

Enter Adventure Mindful – Run Mindful Retreats.

Where you could for a moment step out of the craziness, discover what it means to breathe and maybe just find out that you can do so much more with your life and runs.

Krista Olson, not to simply be written off as the side-note of wife, you need to know her story too!

Next time you have a little ache or pain, consider this…Krista has had Rheumatoid Arthritis since the age of 4, which has meant periods of agonizing pain that made it difficult to get out of bed, years of meds and Dr’s who pretty much told her it was a manage it, not beat it scenario.

In short, as an adult Krista began looking to alternative therapies for help. She found major relief through changing her diet, acupuncture and finally to her surprise (and to Tim’s complete understanding) through meditation. All of that allowed her to continue pushing her own love of active living, until she too was running Ultra’s!

That’s not something you hear of those with any type of Arthritis, let alone Rheumatoid which is in every joint.Pictured above is Krista and her father finishing a 100 mile race together! That’s right, Bob one of our trail leaders, is 60 and happily running injury free for miles and miles! He knows all about running as you age without injury!

The contentment radiates off this family.
It’s not that life is perfect; they simply know how to deal with it.

Because Bob and his wife Debbie help to run the retreats, along with trail leaders who are great friends the entire atmosphere is one of being a close knit family. Not a single person feels left out or as though they’re missing out on some inside joke, they just feel welcomed in to the hug.

On the Mindful side of things, I’ll touch more on those lessons, but the short of it is don’t worry no one will be trying to convince you of any certain spiritual leaning or forcing you to sit in silence for hours.

Need to Know

In the next post, I’ll break down the day by day with lots of photos, but here are a few other things to know before you go!

  • There are 4 back to back days of running, so you need to be prepared to be on your feet.
  • Different distances are offered daily, so you can do what suits you, but the avg will be a total of 25-40 miles.
  • Expect it to be cooler for the morning yoga and evening sessions, that’s just the wind off the ocean which you can see from the Inn. Then plan for it to be nice and toasty 60-70’s during your runs.Malibu Country Inn Sunset
  • For the Ambiverts like me, have no fear you’ll have plenty of time to be alone or with the group.
  • This is not meditation running! You’ll be chatting and laughing away the miles.
  • You won’t feel pressured to do anything you aren’t comfortable with, but you will feel supported to push yourself.
  • A yoga mat will be provided for your sessions.
  • Everything is outside, so plan to enjoy the fresh air.
  • It’s definitely easiest to stay at the recommended Malibu Country Inn, but you could probably find cheaper options.
  • Don’t expect great WiFi at the hotel and ENJOY being disconnected.
  • Real Athlete Diets of Boulder will provide all the meals, which eliminates wasted time traveling to restaurants AND more importantly can be a great way to get you focused on fueling with whole foods. They always provide a 100% plant based option, which could show you some new foods and all meals are dairy/gluten free.Real Athlete Diets of Boulder Meals

Gear Talk

On the gear side of things, for once I over packed!!

I’m usually the one freezing or missing something, but I had it down this time. I’m glad I anticipated a variety of temps and activities.

  • Under Armour Fat Tire Trail Shoe – Everyone asked about these and loved them because the wide base provides more stability, the grip prevents slipping and that big Michelin footing is comfy too. No feeling sharp rocks through my shoes.  (Now I have a few other favorite trail running shoes.)
  • Hydration pack – I have used the heck out of my CamelBak because I can put my phone in a front pocket for easy picture snapping, but can also grab some jerky from the back when my tummy grumbles.
  • Gloves and hat for those morning sessions.
  • Trail socks to keep the dirt and pebbles out of your sock
  • Bring sunglasses, sunscreen, band-aids, body glide or tape for potential blisters
  • Favorite fuel for hours on the trails! I went with Perky Jerky and Blue Diamond almonds since I’m trying so hard to up my protein intake.
  • Everything is very casual, so unless you want to get cute don’t feel the need for any outfits
  • Swim suit because you gotta walk the few feet over to the beach at some point!
Checkout Part 2 for a breakdown of each day and pictures of the trails!

Past retreats:
Ultrarunning at High Altitude for the Ready to Improve
Costa Rica Adventure Retreat for the Ready to Rough It and Well Trained
WellFit Malibu for the Weight Loss seeker

Do you think your running is like meditation?

Ever done a running retreat?

Other ways to connect with Amanda
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Facebook: RunToTheFinishRunning_motivation_thumb

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Posted by amanda Categories: Active Travel, san diego, trail running, travel, ultrarunning

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie says

    April 4, 2017 at 5:04 am

    What a cool experience! I can’t wait to hear more! Running is definitely a form of meditation for me, though truthfully, I really love the more widely known version of sitting my butt on the ground, legs crossed and sitting in silence, but after not being able to run for the last 3 weeks, my 2 mile run last night was a glorious meditation.

  2. Nicole says

    April 4, 2017 at 9:23 am

    this looks so freaking awesome.

    http://cuckoolemon.com

  3. JODI A TIVEY says

    April 4, 2017 at 11:03 am

    Oh so cool. I am so glad you got to go, that your knee cooperated and that you ENJOYED IT!!!! You so deserve it.

    yes, running is definitely a meditation!!!!! And No I have never done a retreat but would so love to some day!

  4. Lindsay Cotter says

    April 6, 2017 at 1:47 pm

    I totally like this style of running. 4 days.. like whoa though. For me. I could hike some, right? But the mindfulness and running in nature is soooo therapeutic. Love that food focus as fuel too. Um, ya, I’d go for that. ;-)

  5. Jessica @Nutritioulicious says

    April 6, 2017 at 5:42 pm

    This sounds like such an unbelievable experience! Love your tips at the end too! Those would definitely come in handy.

  6. Maria says

    April 6, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    This looks beautiful! And I love all the yummy food at the end!

  7. Jason George says

    April 7, 2017 at 9:25 am

    This is absolutely mesmerising.. Would love to experience this, a runners delight.. This is definitely going to me the runner’s high. Thanks for the awesome tips and guides :)

  8. Kristina @ Love & Zest says

    April 7, 2017 at 10:05 am

    This retreat sounds like an amazing experience. Such a great idea and the bond that you share with others on these trips is unbeatable! Thanks for sharing your experience!

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Hello runners! I’m Amanda Brooks, a certified personal trainer and running coach. I’ve been coaching over a decade and distance running since 2002. My philosophy is that running isn’t about your pace or the distance or your body. It’s about showing up for yourself, loving the process and doing it injury free!

 

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Amanda Brooks is a Certified Running Coach, Certified Personal Trainer and long time distance runner with a passion for every facet of running, which leads her to do more reading, research and running than necessary. Find all the tips, tricks and tools you need from this running coach for your best injury free running. Read More…

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Amanda Brooks : Run Coach
FACT. If you’re doing the work, then CELEBRATE Y FACT. If you’re doing the work, then CELEBRATE YOUR PROGRESS.🔥
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Too often I see us qualify our achievements...”I know it’s no big deal for some of you, but I...”
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I’ve done that and it takes the WOHOO out of what we just did.
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🥳🥳Celebration is what will keep you going when it’s cold or hard or boring...because sometimes getting to the goal is just doing the work even if it’s not exciting (cough WARM UP, drills, foam rolling).
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👊FACT. We don’t all progress at the same rate.
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👊FACT. We don’t all need to look the same or run the same or even enjoy the same workouts.
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👊FACT. Many of the biggest wins of our workouts aren’t visible to others.
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👇👇👇👇
Dismounting my high horse 🐎— tell me one bit of progress you’ve made recently????
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#forwardisapace #runtothefinish #runningcoach #runchat
STRESS IS NECESSARY FOR GROWTH - The🔑 is enough STRESS IS NECESSARY FOR GROWTH - The🔑 is enough to improve, but not so much that you throw your body out of whack.
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Your body doesn’t understand the difference between the stress of a sprint workout or watching the news, so athletes have to really pay attention to TOTAL STRESS LEVELS.
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⏩SWIPE for the bell curve, we want to stay on the left side. But how do we do that?
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🚫Don’t train for a marathon in the middle of BIG LIFE stresses.
🚫Don’t skip rest and recovery days.
🚫Don’t do every run at the same pace (easy vs hard)
✅Do make the majority of your runs easy
✅Do fuel your body well and ENOUGH
✅Do follow a smart training plan
✅Do utilizes tools to destress (sleep, meditation, CBD, ashwaghanda)
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👉KNOW YOUR STRESS
I’m probably more conscious of overloading on stress than many because I saw it wreck my health and I don’t want that for others!
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One way I have stayed on top of things over the last 5 years is @insidetracker testing.
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👍Tracking cortisol levels, which are a marker of stress. Mine have gotten back on track since moving to LHR training and yet, I’m still getting fitter.
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👊C-reactive Protein levels which are a marker of inflammation. (note you don’t want to do a hard workout the day before a blood test!)
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💪Testosterone levels also often drop when stress is too high, so another easy one to watch.
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Our goal in training is to find the appropriate volume of stress to create growth all the way up to the point where we are peaking for a race and then we REST AND RECOVER. If you just keep going, you’ll tip past the good stress into Chronic stress, swipe for the signs.
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Do you pay attention to total stress levels? Do you change training based on life stressors?
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#insidetrackerpartner
5 RUN COACHES 😱When I started RTTF in 2007 and 5 RUN COACHES 😱When I started RTTF in 2007 and went full time, including coaching in 2012, I didn’t even have the dream I’d grow to a team of 5 running coaches.
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Crazier to know we’ll add 1-2 more coaches this year🥳🥳 It thrills me to my core that we’re helping runners:
👍Train smarter
🥳Enjoy their running
💪Get stronger
🤩Hit PRs
🤕Comeback from injuries
🤗Keep running healthy long after 40!
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These coaches all care as deeply as I do about who they work with and have different experiences which mean we all learn from each other to be better coaches!
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Beyond coaching certifications:
@lexilynne was a collegiate runner with a passion for women running healthy.
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@_kvfit trains people in person at a gym, she knows form!
🏃🏽‍♂️
@swensurfers has done more ultras than most of us have done normal races.
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@eatwell.runbetter is a registered dietitian with a focus on runners!
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A large portion of my time is spent inside the Virtual Run Club, which makes this team so important to give runners that 1-1 personalized guidance.
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Have you ever worked with a coach or personal trainer?
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3️⃣HIP MOBILITY MOVES - I love that mobility i 3️⃣HIP MOBILITY MOVES - I love that mobility is a word we’re hearing A LOT because it’s so much more useful than the static stretching most grew up with.
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In mobility we are working on the end range of motion.
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🤗As a runner that means ensuring your hips can fully extend through the push off and pull up the knee in front of you for a powerful stride.
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😢Lack of mobility can place strain on other muscles and joints and we all know we don’t want that.
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HIP FLOW
2 rounds of 10 reps per side (or just do them once and I’ll dance for joy!)
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1️⃣Elevated Twist - Put something soft below your bottom knee. You can also do this standing by putting your leg in a pigeon pose on the counter.
2️⃣Kneeling Rock - what you do with your arms is optional, but I love the goal post arms for a chest stretch too.
3️⃣Angeled Bird Dog- After extending arm and leg, try bringing both to 90 degrees without dropping. You can definitely see where I’m working on that full opening of my hip.
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Let me know how this one goes!!
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#hipmobility #mobilitywork #runcoach #runningcoach #runtothefinish #womensrunning #runnergirl #runningwoman #halfmarathontraining #hipstretch #runforlife #runrunrun #teamwr #shapesquad #popsugarfitness
PICK A SUPERMARKET SWEEP STORE?? If you could run PICK A SUPERMARKET SWEEP STORE?? If you could run through any fitness type store for 90 seconds and get to keep what you grab, what store???
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Do you go @lululemon crazy? Remember you can only get 5 of one item? But mmm all my favorite run shorts are there...
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Do you think big at @rei? Though I imagine it might take all 90 seconds to get that SUP back to the counter.
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Me? I’d head in to @runnersroost! I mean running shoes are priority one, then tops and maybe a watch ya know!
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Ok your turn!! Pick a store! #dreamreallyfreakingbig #supermarketsweep
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