New perk! Get after it with local recommendations just for you. Discover nearby events, routes out your door, and hidden gems when you sign up for the Local Running Drop.
Run Mindful App by Timothy Olson and Adventure Mindful Retreats
Price: $3.99/month, $3.65 for 6 months or $3.16 for 12 months
If you haven’t yet gotten to one of Timothy Olson’s Adventure Mindful retreats, you can now bring the retreat to you. The Run Mindful app features a series of guided meditations, to use on the trails and off. Meditations are guided by Tim Olson and a few others and have topics ranging from Gratitude to Motivation to Body Scanning to Anxiety.
This reviewer prefers to not have sound in her ears during runs, yet the meditations weren’t overbearing; several provide long moments of silence, encouraging the runner to body scan, breathe, find the moment and practice patience.
Even for those who practice meditation and mindfulness at home, it can be helpful to be constantly reminded while running. It’s so easy to get caught up in the body’s aches and pains, negative self-talk or to simply lose the mind to the circus of daily nonsense—having a bug in your ear, or a Tim Olson, can help keep things on track and reduce stress and negativity.
As someone who sits in front of a computer all day, I’m not ashamed to admit I sometimes throw the app on while at my desk for a quick respite and check in.
The app is only available for iOS and is somewhat costly if you subscribe at the monthly rate, but it’s certainly less expensive than heading to a retreat: $3.99/month, $3.65 for 6 months or $3.16 for 12 months.
—Megan Janssen is the Assistant Editor of Trail Runner Magazine.