The Pants of Perspective: One Woman's 3,000 Kilometre Running Adventure through the Wilds of New Zealand

by Anna McNuff

A shocking life lesson was beginning to dawn on me – if you work hard for something, you don’t always get what you want. And that’s okay, but it stings like a bitch.

I ran to eat cake. I ran to be free. I ran to freely eat cake. I ran to remind myself what it was like to be a kid – exhilarated and entirely immersed in the moment.

‘You’re in danger of being remembered as a caricature.’ ‘A what?!’ ‘A car-i-cat-ure. As someone who always appears 100% okay. Someone who can do things without any struggle…’

I pondered on the shame of not being able to fully immerse myself in something so pure and go for a wild swim. The look-but-don’t-touch rule in many natural places around the world was a sad truth, but I also realised that if we imposed this rule on beautiful and unspoilt locations, perhaps they would remain beautiful and unspoilt for longer. Should beauty be preserved or enjoyed, I wondered?

What a muppet I was.