We protect what we love 

FRIDAY . 12 . 02 . 21 .

Nice to meet you! I’m Tim Siegenbeek van Heukelom, one of the co-founders of For Wild Places. I love running, especially trails -- no big surprise here.

But why?

Imagine rating everyone by three constants: their amount of strangeness, charm, and spin. 

Strangeness and charm speak for themselves; but spin is intriguing. Think about it as the revolutions per minute one spins on the inside. Like atoms or car engines spinning fast or slow. I’m always spinning, millions of revolutions per minute. A state of motionless is my ultimate challenge; I can’t sit still until everything is done -- which never happens. To slow down I go out and run. Running slows down my internal RPM; it functions for me like ‘active meditation’. That’s why I love running, to slow down, find silence, celebrate nature, and pursue an inner state of motionless mindfulness.

MEET THE TEAM

Tim Siegenbeek van Heukelom

To read more about Tim and his journey into ultra running, check out

this blog post on the FWP website.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO

On Being Podcast

'On Being' is a podcast created by Krista Tippett taking up the great questions of meaning in 21st-century lives and at the intersection of spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and the arts. What does it mean to be human, how do we want to live, and who will we be to each other?

In 2014, President Obama awarded Krista Tippett the National Humanities Medal for “thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence [by inviting] people of every background to join her conversations about faith, ethics, and moral wisdom.”

This has been my favourite podcast for years now. I keep coming back to On Being for new -- and old -- interviews with people I’m familiar with or get introduced to fascinating new people with their stories, dreams and experiences.

My favourite conversations include:

Pico Iyer on The Urgency of Slowing Down (also watch his TED Talk The art of stillness)

John O'Donohue on The Inner Landscape of Beauty

Brené Brown on The Courage to be Vulnerable

Stuart Brown on Play, Spirit, and Character

David Whyte on The Conversational Nature of Reality

WHAT I'M READING

Kim Stanley Robinson, The Ministry for the Future

To be honest, I’d never heard of KSR (as they call this acclaimed author) until my fellow Seacliff Coaster Mat Wall-Smith recommended his new book “Ministry for the Future”; claiming it to be a blend of science fiction and climate action (a category some call “cli-fi”). If you want to think about our current climate crisis from a visionary optimist point of view, this might be worth a read.

The Guardian summarises the book’s storyline as “an international taskforce tackling global heating in a chilling yet hopeful vision of how the next few decades might unfold.” It’s certainly a harrowing story of our world in the near future with heatwaves killing millions and grave acts of eco-terrorism, but also one in which credible collective choices ultimately tip the scales toward more sustainable options to effectively solve the problem of climate change.

Check out more on the book here.

WHAT I'M WEARING

Topo Athletic Shoes

ioMerino shirts

Aftershokz Headphones

Ciele Caps

The gear you use when you’re out on the trails is important. Far more important than I initially thought. Fitting the right shoes, experiencing the difference between synthetic and merino shirts, and finding a running cap that sits well and stays on -- comfort goes a long way on a long run.

This is some of the gear I love and wear daily. I really love my Ciele caps and I’m building up a nice collection...

And finally, did you see the exciting news about our first event launching this week? We'd love to see you up in the beautiful Pilliga forest in May 2021 for the Gasbag Ultra. For more info, pre-register today.

As always, thank you for taking the time for wild places and have a great weekend!

Tim & the For Wild Places crew

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We acknowledge the the First Nations people who have been custodians of land, waters and culture for tens of thousands of years. We pay respects to First Nations Elders past, present and emerging. This email was created on Pyemmairrener land. Always was, always will be.

By For Wild Places

We're a group of adventurers who love to

protect wild places we run on

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