Like The Wind #30

A serious commitment to finding joy in running

When you’re in the midst of a training block or pushing towards a new target PB, running is – rightly – a serious endeavour. As athletes around the world strive for ever longer runs or more challenging landscapes in which to race – and following fatal incidents in China and elsewhere – in issue 30 of Like the Wind we investigate whether modern ultra distance trail running is becoming dangerous, especially for non-professional competitors.

We’ve also spoken to Canadian human rights activist Stephanie Case, whose Free to Run programme – which introduced so many Afghan women to a world of running, outdoor exercise and confidence-boosting experiences – has inevitably been axed now the Taliban has resumed political control in Afghanistan. Stephanie, and Free to Run alumni now living outside Afghanistan, explain the life-enhancing benefits of the programme and the challenges Afghan women are facing today.

However, to mark Like the Wind reaching its thirtieth issue, we also wanted to look at the absolute joy that running can bring. After all, we wouldn’t be so passionate about sharing running stories and images if we didn’t love it. Editor Simon Freeman has been researching the reasons why we get our kicks from lacing up and putting one foot in front of the other – from the positive vibes of pushing your body to a new goal, to the out-and-out, shameless pursuit of happiness.

Fell running, arguably, north-west England’s best-kept secret, is a branch of running that always seems to have made people happy, whether they’ve just pelted down a scree slope as fast as they can, or they’re enjoying a pie and a pint afterwards. We look more closely at fell running, discovering an amazing community around the sport that (unusually) spans all age groups. (Oh, and we’re not ignoring areas outside north-west England where fell running is popular… in fact, our contributor Colin Kirk-Potter makes a strong case for fell running on Dartmoor).

One thing we at Like the Wind definitely take seriously is collecting and curating stories and visuals from across the globe. In issue 30 you can discover words and opinions from Kenya, Canada, Belgium, the United States, Australia… and even a fantasy land where an epic fictional adventure follows a pair of running messengers.

Like The Wind is a collection of running stories. There are personal anecdotes, inspirational tales, reportage, beautiful illustrations and stunning photography.