Olympus Mythical Trail, 100km | +6400m | Greece

running-coach.jpeg

Crying without consideration for who is watching, I'm alone. Almost at the top of Greece's highest mountain "Mount Olympus". I know what it feels like to be alone, no-one to share with, no-one to talk to, just the dark sky above me and the towering peak of sinister Mount Olympus.

Tormented by crazy thoughts about good and evil, my mind takes its own direction. Is life real or is this entire journey just a misguided dream. I look down at my legs as I move forward, my body is holding up fine but my mind has had enough and is about to break. I can't give up even if I want to because I'm miles away from any civilisation, to quit now would mean to die. This is a metaphor for my mental state.

I think about my mother, warm feelings of nostalgia attached. I love her dearly, just the though of my mother brings me feelings of company. I ask myself the question why am I up a mountain alone in the dark, its a question I do not have the answer to. As if I knew all along but had been avoiding it a realisation grips me... Children, I do not have any, I'm 41 years old and do not have a family. Suddenly I'm awakened by the stength of love, the love a family and only a family can provide.

My mind now calm, I feel enlightened, all that matters in life is family and the love for them. I must have children, I must bring life into this dark world and it will no longer seem dark. I reach the top of the mountain, I'm no longer crying but instead I feel I know my true purpose.