 |
| Sea: often flat. Trail up side of the hill: always there |
And if everything goes
right, after the period where you are poised in the middle of the
vortex, where time stands still – which is in reality a matter of a
few seconds in all but the best spots – then you emerge a changed
person.
But tube-riding is a
rarity for most surfers, which in turn makes it even more elusive for
those who are not lucky enough to experience riding waves.
It's a good thing that
surfing can fun even when there are no tubes - when the wind is onshore, the rain is pelting
down and the waves are barely waist-high, a session can still be rewarding. Like the old cliché goes,
a bad day on the waves is better than a good day in the office.
Sometimes, the riding of a wave can be the icing on the cake, after fighting mountains of whitewater and chop. I remember even
if there were no tubes and I dug a rail on every wave - the ones that didn't close out - there was
often a sense of satisfaction when walking back up the beach towards
home.
Battling through the
shorebreak taking one paddle forwards then five paddles back, only to
sit outside waiting for a wave that never comes, staring at the
horizon for a lump – these are all aspects of wave-riding that
surfers love. Or at least reminisce fondly about, especially when
they are living hundreds of miles from a decent beach.
Having growing up three
minutes walk from the beach, I now live a long way from the sea. But
I am happy to say I can still get that same satisfaction I used to
get from being pounded by whitewater or managing a decent carve on a wave.
I get it by running on trails for a couple of hours or more. Not
training – that comes under the category of tiresome preparation –
but just running.
And by definition, the
sense of well-being is easier to get from running than it is from
surfing. Heck, all you need to do is put on a pair of shoes and head
to somewhere there aren't any people. Unless you are incredibly lucky
or rich, it is next-to impossible to duck out down to the beach and
score perfect uncrowded waves on a daily basis.
I have never met
anybody who equates running with surfing – after all, when I was a
kid, surfers were work-shy bongheads, while runners (or joggers, as
they were then) were career people who huffed and puffed in their
garish shoes and sport-specific tank-tops training for various races.
But just as I never
entered a surfing competition, I don't have much desire to enter many
races. I have done a few – I first got into running because I
signed up for the London Marathon – but the idea of joining
thousands of people in the hunt for a personal best is the furthest
thing from my mind when I head out for a run.
I just like getting out on my own, in my own head. The deserted trails and hills are my tubes. And if I
want, I can ride them every day.
