“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life” – Robin Sharma

My love for obstacle racing started in August 2012 after doing an 8k mud run with friends in my hometown of Perth, Western Australia. I loved the mud and the atmosphere at the event, but the feeling of accomplishment after completing each obstacle was what left me wanting more. Obstacle racing helped me combat the stresses of my office job as it gave me an outlet to release my frustrations.

Over the next two years, I did every obstacle race available in Perth, but there weren’t enough events to satisfy me, so in 2015 I started traveling to interstate races. Eventually, my colleagues grew accustomed to seeing me at work on Friday with a suitcase in tow. It was my desire to get multiple Spartan Trifectas in 2015 that led me to the US and Spain for races. Read about that trip here.

Being at international races was like being in a whole new world. While the races in Australia ranged from several hundred to a few thousand participants, the international races were drawing in tens of thousands of people. The atmosphere at these races was nothing short of electric, and the obstacles were often bigger and better than those in Australia. After my first international race I walked away with so many amazing new friends that I wanted nothing more than to stay in the US and race. Luckily the opportunity to do so came after I was informed of my impending redundancy from work in August 2015.

It was Christmas Eve 2015 when I shut down my work computer for the last time. Amidst the feeling of worry and uncertainty was a feeling of excitement.

Whilst some of us can only dream about leaving the corporate world behind and running the globe, I was about to make that dream my reality. I’d saved up money and was ready to hit the ground running, and that’s how the Nomadic Runner was born.

In February 2016 I packed my suitcase and said goodbye to my friends and family before boarding the plane for a three-month trip to the USA and China. After 89 days abroad I returned home for a few weeks to say a quick hello and goodbye to friends and family before leaving for another five months.

One question people often asked me is “what to you do [for work]?” and I just look around and say “this”. We all face obstacles on a daily basis, both tangible and intangible, and through this journey I am learning how to overcome all types of obstacles.

Life on the road was tough at times, but I’m grateful to have so many people in the OCR community supporting me as it makes this journey that much more special.

You can read more about story in my post The Story Behind The Nomadic Runner.

2017 update: I have since returned ‘home’ for the time being. I’m spending time with my family and friends as I plan the next stage of my journey.