Adventures in consistency
To run the same old route yet again, or to go on an adventure? That is the question
When Strava first introduced their Local Legend feature, my initial reaction was that it was a bad idea. For those who don’t know, a Local Legend “crown” is awarded to anyone who runs the same “segment” the most times in a 90-day period (a segment can be anywhere that someone has labelled on the app as a segment, from a 50-metre section of footpath, to a 100-mile loop around some mountains).
“The thing is,” I thought, “it’s simply rewarding monotony.” I would be out running my usual route and thinking: “Oh, I know, I could follow that path, I haven’t been down there before.” Or: “Maybe I’ll loop back a different way today.” But then the thought would come in: “Ah, but if you run the same old way you usually run you might pick up a Local Legend crown.”
I instantly rebelled at that thought, and even took pride in getting as few Local Legend crowns as possible. I was a maverick, someone who chose adventure over routine, spontaneity over monotony. No boring Local Legend crowns for me!
And yet, there was something satisfying about it when I did get one. “Local legend,” had a nice ring to it for a start. It also carried some sense that I was really getting into the grind of training when these started popping up. They were rewarding consistency too.
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