Running + Creativity

About this episode

Trail running has always been a part of my life, a gesture of the soul that helps me connect to something greater. But I didn’t always see it that way. For years, I pushed myself beyond my limits—driven by a desire for excellence, for speed, for perfection. Until one day, I broke.

As I moved deeper into recovery, I began to experiment with the power of the imaginal—a practice inspired by speculative hunting. Hunters project their minds into the future, stepping into the instincts of their prey. It’s an ancient, intuitive process, and I realized it was no different from the mental engineering we use in creative work today.

I learned that running is rooted in our collective imagination, and our imagination is rooted in running. Language, art, science—all of it was born from the same power that once pushed us to run. Rediscovering this connection, I felt the threads of my creativity strengthen with every step.