Running Home Retreat

Retreat includes: Food, lodging, transportation during retreat, writing and flow exercises, foot massage, goody bag

​Join me for a 5 day, 4 night running and writing flow workshop in the beautiful landscape of southwestern Utah. Based on my memoir, Running Home Flow retreat will explore how to come home to our true selves and wake up to the world around us. Our time together is all about finding our flow, whether in our running, our creativity, our work, or our families. Flow is that elusive state of effortless possibility, when we feel most alive and tap into our unlimited potential. We can’t force flow, but we can prime ourselves for it, by developing daily practices and habits that generate energy and momentum, awaken our senses, unlock our imaginations, and put us in the mindset for growth and creativity. 

This workshop will explore the connection between our bodies and our minds, the link between movement and imagination, nature and creativity. At the heart of our daily flow practice will be a trail run along desert trails, to waterfalls, and stunning red-rock canyons just outside Zion National Park. These will range in distance from five to 15 miles. We encourage you to choose your daily distance and pace based on how you feel and what feeds your body and spirit and will have local guides to accompany each group, so that no one will be left alone on the trails! Hiking is always an option each day!

While movement is essential to flow, so is stillness and silence. Each day will include short periods of sitting meditation and mindfulness, as well as group writing sessions and discussions. Because time in nature feeds our flow, some of these will be outside on the trails, weather depending. The key to being in flow is tapping into our intuition to discover what inspires and moves us, what stirs our souls and our ideas. There will also be time each day for solitude and reflection, both of which are fundamental to the flow state, as well as free time to find the pace, rhythm and form of movement that works best for you. 

You don’t need to be an elite athlete or speedster trail runner to attend this retreat. Nor do you need to be a writer. Everyone has a story to tell! You do not need any experience in meditation or mindfulness! All you need is the desire to move and the curiosity to see what happens when you do, a willingness to explore stillness and silence (if I can learn to sit, I promise you can, too!), and a hunger to tap into an energy greater than your own. 

 If you’ve attended other writing workshops in the past, but found yourself antsy to move as a way to generate ideas and energy, this retreat is for you. If you’ve gone to other running camps but wished to deepen the experience with a mindfulness and creativity practice, you’ll love  Running Home. 

Our emphasis is never on speed or time or performance, but being “in time” with yourself and your surroundings, and at home in your body, mind, and spirit. Our intention is to help you discover practices that will help you cultivate more flow, ease, freedom and joy in your daily life. 

These are just some of the ideas from Running Home that we will explore:

how to “steal time” from the edges of your day for your flow practice 
sitting meditation as a way to quiet the mind and listen to your intuition; even restless runners can develop stamina for sitting!
letting go of results and being present to the process; results will naturally follow
letting go of time and external expectations to run and write “from within”
walking meditation as a way to awaken our senses in nature 
writing practice, using prompts, that taps into our essential creativity, our “first thoughts” below our critical mind, our true voice
how creating structure in our lives allows for greater freedom 
learning to be nimble and shift with the seasons and our own rhythms, and to be alert and ready when intuition and inspiration strike
moving outside as a way to practice paying attention 
seeing the inevitable eddies in our lives as generative periods; you need to ebb in order to flow!
the benefits of finding our  own “thin edge,” where we push past perceived limits and feel invigorated and alive. Everyone will have their own!

Our awesome base in Hurricane, Utah, set at 3,000 feet above sea level (and heading up to 6,000 feet at times) in the high desert. Early March could bring brilliant sunshine, wind, snow, or warmth! We have access to a fantastic range of trails at various elevations that will enable us to find dry, runnable terrain no matter the weather, and we’ve tailored the packing list to make sure you’re comfortable in all conditions. Adventure is a conduit to flow and we will have plenty in our five days together!

 To get the most out of it, you should plan to arrive fit and healthy for running (or hiking if you choose), with an adventurous spirit and an open mind. If you have any questions about whether this retreat is right for you, please email me. We want everyone to feel welcome!

 We will supply trail nutrition from GU, a Moleskine writing notebook for each participant; pens, and plenty of other goodies to be announced! Upon registration, you will receive a short but inspiring reading list to (ideally) read in advance of the retreat. 

Details
Fly into Las Vegas (LAS) or St. George, UT (SGU) on the morning of or night before first day. You are responsible for your own travel to St. George on the way to the retreat. We have found it’s too hard to coordinate all of the different times on the way in. For the return, we will take all of you to Vegas (or St. George if you are flying out of there) Ivia our van on March 3rd.

Book a shuttle on St. George Express or St. George Shuttle. This will take you into St. George where we will pick you up. Let us know your time that you have booked. There are many deals on booking this shuttle so wait until you get closer to the date. I will also send out discount codes.

Once you arrive at retreat all food, lodging, transportation and training is included.

Cost for retreat:

Solo room and own bathroom $2250

Shared room with a friend $1650

Shared bunk room $1650

Deposit only now option (final payment due December 15, 2019) $500

Can't make this retreat? Check out Katie's other retreat.