You value being productive and get great satisfaction out of getting more done, whether it's completing a to-do list or hitting a mileage goal in your training log. And yet, no matter how much you accomplish, it never feels like you're doing enough.
If you cringe when people tell you to "slow down, you're doing too much," or that you should just "take a break," you'll be glad to know that mindful running isn't about going slow or having no goals, rather, it helps you cultivate better awareness of where your energy goes and free up more energy for what matter most.
Your retreat leader will show you how to run more efficiently so that as you relax and find flow, you're able to run longer, more challenging trails with less effort. In our mindful pacing run clinic, you'll combine mindful breathing, posture and form to truly embody the concept of performing your best without having to force or push yourself to exhaustion.
You’ll cruise along soft, sandy trails that meander through gently rolling hills. The time on trail ranges from about one to 3.5 hours, including photo stops, water breaks and such. The pace is relaxed and social, so you don’t have to be fast!
Highlights:
Heal your runner's body through healing spa treatments.
Learn the essentials of mindful running for better flow and efficiency on trails.
Find connection and camaraderie with like-minded women.
Experience the power of mindful running for stress reduction.
Have space for quiet reflection and self care.
Reset your nervous system in the serenity of the Sonoran Desert.
Relax knowing we handle all the logistics and planning so you can be present.
This retreat is Level II. It's for you if you:
Can run each day around 4 to 8 miles on singletrack trails.
We recommend you have a base fitness level that allows you to run up to 8 miles at a time on roads.
Two guides accompany the group to support the different pace groups, so there’s no pressure to run faster than you’re comfortable.
Trail running experience isn’t necessary. Your retreat leader provides trail-running tips for running in this terrain.
You’ll encounter trails with loose rocks, and some exposure to heights. You can walk/hike trail sections as you need.
The trail surfaces are a mix of loose sand, sandstone rock and dirt trail. None of the trails are truly flat--you have to focus on your footing, which is why we stop often to take photos and soak up the views.
Trail running shoes and a hydration pack that can carry at least 1 Liter of water are required.
This retreat is not recommended if you only want to hike or walk.
The total distance for this retreat will be between approximately 28 and 32 miles, as represented in this itinerary by time on trail rather than mileage. These run times include breaks to enjoy the views, take photos, eat and drink. The precise route, trails and distances run may change due to changes to trail modifications, weather conditions, guide recommendations and other safety considerations.
Lower Stress + Find Flow with Mindful Running
Travel Mindfully to Truly Unwind
This retreat can be the kind of vacation that truly transforms your state of mind and body, if you're open to it. Our retreats are designed to support you as a whole woman, not just a runner. That means you can expect free time to yourself, away from the group. It means that there are wellness experiences included in your retreat package to support your nervous system reset. This is your chance to heal from the effects of stress and focus on doing the things that energize you, inspire you and feed your soul.
About
Gallery
About The Host
The host specializes in trail running- and wellness-based travel experiences that support women’s overall health and well-being. Our programs feature mindful running techniques that help women run better while maximizing running’s stress-reducing effects on the body and mind. Set in some of the world’s most inspiring natural destinations known to runners, each itinerary is an immersion in nature and wellness experiences such as yoga, hot springs, or spa.
We include the specific elements you need to have a wonderful retreat and leave out anything that doesn’t support that mission.
Why Choose Us
We are about experiencing running as a means to cultivate mental and physical health and well-being. While our purpose is to provide transformational travel experiences for runners like you, our mission is to offer you the time and space to clear your mind and focus on breathing deeply, connect with nature, dial down stress, and release endorphins so that you can relish in the joy and inspiration running brings.
No one succeeds in isolation, which is why the empowering community and connections that women find through our retreats are such a gift. Time after time, we hear the most heartwarming stories of the friendships that were made on our retreats, and why so many women come back year after year (sometimes even multiple times a year!) to run with us in a new location and often with women they’d met before.
When you travel with us, you are choosing to:
🏃♀️ connect deeper with yourself because no matter how long you’ve been on this planet, there’s always more to discover about who you truly are. We offer things like travel journals for writing and sharing circles during the retreat that support your inner as well as outer journey.
🏃♀️ experiment with mindful running principles that make you a better, more playful runner because there’s nothing like taking yourself too seriously to stifle motivation. Our retreat leaders provide mindful running exercises and tips you can use on an off the trail to run and live more mindfully.
🏃♀️ be open to connecting with other like-minded women because meeting new people is less scary than you might think. You’ll meet women who value running as part of a health lifestyle as we all as a sport. It’s amazing how quickly retreat groups bond after the very first run together!
🏃♀️ receive support, even when you don’t necessarily think you need it, but are so grateful you did when you realize how great it feels. In addition to the company of our professional running guides and expert retreat leaders, we highly encourage peer support to give you what to need to feel comfortable in this group.
🏃♀️ experience the mental health benefits to running that having nothing to do with your last race result or next goal. Our retreat leaders help you replace expectations and performance pressure with intentions and a focus on simply having fun.
🏃♀️ be intentional with the words you choose to express yourself, promising to be authentic and forget about trying to be anything you’re not. Intentions are rooted in values, and there’s no better opportunity to reflect on your values than when you’re traveling.
🏃♀️ make peace with the runner you are today, knowing that you belong here because runners come in all shapes and sizes and that’s okay. Since this isn’t a training camp, we’re not focused on where the future, but rather, rooted in the present moment, since that’s where the magic happens.
🏃♀️ give up the need to control everything going on around you because that’s the only way to find peace, restore your energy and find true joy. Our expert travel planners have worked out the logistics, and our professional guides scouted the routes, which means you can relax and let go.
🏃♀️ trust us to take you on a journey that has the potential to be deeply transformational and profoundly meaningful in a way that is entirely unique to you. Our retreat leaders understand that getting vulnerable can be scary, so they’re prepared to hold the space you need to have your experience at your own pace.
🏃♀️ forget about comparing yourself to others, either in terms of pace, speed, accomplishments, age or any other way, and focus instead on what you share in common. This is what we mean by community; you don’t have to “qualify” to be here, you show that you belong here by simply being you.
. . . and so much more.
Itinerary
Location
Things to keep in mind
Why we created a technology policy for our running and wellness retreats
A runner at the Iceland Trail Running + Wellness Retreat pauses mid-run to savor the view of one of the country’s largest active volcano glaciers.
The sound of running shoes crunching the soft pine needles lining the loamy trail lulls the runners into a relaxed rhythm. A forest thick with conifer tress hugs the trail, so all they can see is the well-worn trail ahead. There’s no sound of cars or traffic of any kind. Their inhalation and exhalation breath cycles fall into a similar rhythm. They’re not all running at the same pace, yet somehow are in a shared state of flow.
That is, until, a digital female voice says “workout paused.” “Workout resumed” the voice followed up.
“Ping” goes another watch from the back of the pack. “Beep, beep beep!” goes another device, its exact location indeterminate.
The group slows to a fast hike as the trail’s pitch kicks up a few notches. “Workout paused,” a sharp digital female voice declares.
The group stops at point where the trees open to reveal a view of the valley below. Runners pull out their phones to take photos of a waterfall, while many also press the “pause” button on their GPS watches. A few reply to text messages flooding in thanks to the 4G connection randomly available on the (what had seemed like a remote) mountain trail.
The technology seems radically out of place in this serene natural environment. More than half their time standing at the lookout is spent looking at glowing screens. Not only are these runners seeing and experiencing less than they would without their devices, they are checking their time, mileage and pace-per-mile, even though, it could be argued, such metrics detract from their actual experience.
A More Mindful Way to Run
Runners who chose to run without their devices reported feeling “liberated” and more relaxed throughout the retreat.
A running and wellness retreat is not only a journey to a beautiful new destination, one that offers scenery and cultural experiences you can savor and enjoy. It also offers space to be more mindful and present, if you make space for it. And our devices (watches, GPS, phones) don’t help that process in this setting.
So how does this enhance running as a mindful experience?
1. When you don’t know your pace per mile, you are better at noticing the body’s natural feedback system to gauge your effort level. Feeling tired, you slow down. Feeling charged up, you speed up.
2. When you no longer hear a “ping” for each mile completed, you are better able to focus on the process of running rather than the progress from start to finish. Knowing that your running guide is keeping you on track, you are more open to taking in your surroundings, your fellow runners and notice how your body is feeling.
3. Replacing digital cues and alarms with the sounds of nature and your own body’s movement is a powerful experience. When you pay attention, you can hear your breath (is it soft and even, or shallow and ragged?) and the sound of your feet on the ground (are they pounding or tapping lightly?). These sounds are key indicators to the quality of your running form. And you can only improve your form if you develop a high level of body awareness.
4. Metrics have nothing to do with the quality of the running experience. On retreat, we encourage another type of success measurement: your degree of joy. And joy has everything to do with how running makes you feel, and nothing to do with how far or fast you ran.
Science Supports that Ditching Devices Can Help you Run Better
Fitness writer and author of the book, Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success, Brad Stulberg, who experimented with gadget-less training, reported that he had some performance breakthroughs when he ran by feel (slowing when he felt tired, and speeding up when he felt strong) rather than by pace-per mile.
But more important, in my opinion, was what Noel Brick, a sports psychologist at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, told Stulberg in an interview: “Relying on a watch excessively can promote unhelpful thoughts and emotions, such as anxiety.” This anxiety can even occur on a subconscious level, fueling negative self-talk or judgement without you even realizing it’s happening.”
Another side effect of metrics-driven anxiety is physical tension. “In a recent study, Brick and his colleagues found that runners were a whopping 10 percent faster when they were focused on relaxing or the act of running itself versus external metrics like pace,” reports Stulberg.
Even though running faster isn’t a focus of the retreats, running more relaxed is in essence a mindful running practice that lowers stress as well as increases performance. This is why posture is the focus of the first mindful running clinic our retreat leaders offer at the start of each retreat. Practice the postural cues she offers and you may notice more flow and ease throughout each run.
Enter: the Presence Policy
With that in mind, we introduced a Presence Policy for all its retreats that is designed to enhance runners’ personal experience, on and off the trails. We share this policy with all of our retreat participants prior to the retreat, and review as a group at the opening meeting.
This policy states:
• When on the trails, keep your phone in Airplane Mode. This way, you can use as much as you like to take photos (which we strongly encourage!), but aren’t distracted by incoming messages or phone calls.
• Turn off all audible sounds from your watch or GPS devices. If you have an electronic device that is making sounds, your retreat leader will ask you turn it off.
• Don’t use your device to listen to music or podcasts during retreat runs.
• Even better: leave your watch behind! There’s no need to log, map, measure or time your runs while on the retreat. You will have a richer retreat experience if you forego all forms of measurement and focus on the purpose of each day’s run: to practice mindful presence.
• Turn off your phone (or leave it in your hotel room) during Wellness Workshops, retreat meetings and during group meals. There is plenty of time in the day, while traveling from place to place or free time, during which you can catch up with friends and family, post photos to social media, etc. We simply ask that you don’t do this during group time.