I'm not sure how this happened, but I am now apparently a subscriber to Trail Runner magazine. About a month ago, the October issue of Trail Runner arrived in the mail, which I disregarded as a promotional issue sent to me for some reason, as if I might subscribe to a magazine about running on trails. If you know me, you know I'm not much of a runner. I mean, I used to be a trail runner back in the 1970s, sort of. I'd borrow my dad's car and drive up to Mount Rainier or somewhere on a Saturday and run or at least walk briskly up this trail or that, making short work of 20-mile loops and the like, but trail running wasn't a "thing" back then, at least not a thing worthy of an entire magazine's devotion. That was back in the day I put in six miles every day and sometimes ran a half-marathon just for fun. But that was a long time ago, before I got into rock climbing. Nowadays, I have absolutely no interest in trail running. If I have to be on a trail, I prefer hiking, thank you.
Still, I found it interesting to look through the magazine and see how it differs from the climbing magazines. The main thing I notice is, it isn't flashy. The cover photo is of some anonymous young woman running down a fern-lined forest trail. The articles are about people running, up trails, down trails, through meadows, over rocky terrain, some racing, some not. The ads are focused on shoes, lightweight clothing, headlamps. The profiles are of young tigers and old masters alike. The photos are soft, of solitary runners or two or three at most (except for the ultra races which are like herds of wildebeest trampling the tundra) running through varied landscapes, spectacular mountain ridges, tranquil alpine meadows, lush forest floors. There's very little hero worship going on. Sure, there are articles about record breakers and competition superstars, but in general these people, even the stars, are just runners. They run. On trails. Religiously. It's almost Zen-like in its simplicity.
In a word, Trail Runner magazine is boring, but in a good way. I kind of wish the climbing magazines were more like this. Maybe they are and I'm just not paying attention. In any case, if I was a runner, I would probably subscribe to Trail Runner, but I'm not, so I won't be subscribing. Although the December issue just arrived, so it may be too late.