I Do This for Fun

Not-anymore-so-warm September morning at Lake Iso-Antias.

'Do you need help Sir?', a woman's friendly voice coming from the top echoed in my ears. I was climbing up a steep boulder and she must have heard my huffing and puffing - possibly even some bad language thrown at the rock.

'What? No thanks, I'm ok!', I shouted back while struggling in agony to get my eyes above the edge. It was a young lady with a phone in her hand.

'You look like you can't get out of there, are you sure you don't want me to call for help?', she continued, clearly not understanding what I was doing.

'No no no, I'm a trailrunner, it's meant to be challenging, I do this all the time for fun!', I shouted, getting a bit frustrated both at her helpfulness and my unability to explain the situation.

She left me alone, rolling her eyes as she walked away.

Swim or climb? A problem at Iso-Antias.

This left me thinking, what was I doing exactly? Trailrunning does not seem to make a whole lot of sense. What's the purpose of all this useless activity? Why is this random playing outdoors so enjoyable?

My best educated guess is that trailrunning is a bit like quantum mechanics. Nobody can really figure it out completely. Maybe it's like Physicist Richard Feynman put it: If you think you understand it, you don't get it.

Sunrise in Nuuksio National Park.

An image speaks more than a thousand words, so maybe I just keep this post short and add a few photos from my latest fabulous adventure in Nuuksio National Park.

Yes I did it just for fun - and to pick chanterelles. Despite getting lost again, being chased by those unnerving deer flies and twisting my ankle (ouch!), I was having a full day of fun!

On the top of the high cliffs at Lake Syvä-Antias.

One of the best sunny days this summer at Lake Suolikas.

Lake Suolikas view from high boulders.

Lake Suolikas famous from the Nuuksio Classic Trail Marathon course.

Pretty awesome scenery at Lake Suolikas.

I do this for fun.

At the end of the day, time to go home.