@Jen: lol!
@srnickolas: That's awesome.
@Mosey: What a creative use of both!
When I was really young, I avoided sports, to the point it was worrying to some of the adults in my life. A physiotherapist concluded there was nothing wrong with my motor skills, I was just way too anxious. If anyone knows the song "It's a Jungle Out There", by Randy Newman - that was me. The truth is the 20% chance of that ball hitting another kid in the face means there's an 80% chance it won't. That's a lesson for life. Sports are also a good way of getting out of your head - which is where I'm at most of the time.
Good for adventure games, not always great for navigating the world at large. When I'm riding my longboard, my entire body is connected to the motion, it's very liberating.
@srnickolas: That's awesome.
@Mosey: What a creative use of both!
When I was really young, I avoided sports, to the point it was worrying to some of the adults in my life. A physiotherapist concluded there was nothing wrong with my motor skills, I was just way too anxious. If anyone knows the song "It's a Jungle Out There", by Randy Newman - that was me. The truth is the 20% chance of that ball hitting another kid in the face means there's an 80% chance it won't. That's a lesson for life. Sports are also a good way of getting out of your head - which is where I'm at most of the time.
Good for adventure games, not always great for navigating the world at large. When I'm riding my longboard, my entire body is connected to the motion, it's very liberating.
This post was last modified: 03-16-2026, 10:00 AM by BobVP.
For me, I used to be a runner (mostly 10k) starting from age 6 until 17. I loved it because I was the only kid in the under 10 category, so I always got first place no matter what ;-) Then I stopped running until age 36.
I'm American, but I've been living in Japan for a long time and I saw a poster for a 10K run and decided to get back into it. Since then I've really gotten into trail running, hiking, camping and mountain climbing (I live at the base of the Northern Japanese Alps).
If you want to meet people, trail running is absolutely the way to go. I felt shy at first because there aren't a lot of foreigners in my area, but man oh man has the trail running community made me feel at home. Win, lose, or dead last, the comradery is so heartwarming. If you live anywhere near mountains, or even just forest trails, I recommend giving it a shot.
It's also different from running because sometimes you push all out, other times slow recovery walking, then stopping to rest, take in the view, etc. It's just so nice
I'm American, but I've been living in Japan for a long time and I saw a poster for a 10K run and decided to get back into it. Since then I've really gotten into trail running, hiking, camping and mountain climbing (I live at the base of the Northern Japanese Alps).
If you want to meet people, trail running is absolutely the way to go. I felt shy at first because there aren't a lot of foreigners in my area, but man oh man has the trail running community made me feel at home. Win, lose, or dead last, the comradery is so heartwarming. If you live anywhere near mountains, or even just forest trails, I recommend giving it a shot.
It's also different from running because sometimes you push all out, other times slow recovery walking, then stopping to rest, take in the view, etc. It's just so nice
As a youth and into my very early 20's, I was hopelessly addicted to basketball. I even quit my job one summer just so I could drive around to all the local playgrounds and play all day. I still love the game, but I'm 39 and have been active all my life and hit by cars a few too many times to do much more than shoot around these days. The biggest little regret of my life is that I have never dunked on a 10 foot hoop, although I came pretty close in my prime. Hope I don't sound too much like Uncle Rico there. Actually, I hope I do, I love Uncle Rico.
Speaking of getting hit by cars, that happened while doing what I've been obsessively doing for the last 15 or so years: Cycling. Mostly road or gravel (like road cycling but the bikes can have wider tires for moderate off-road/dirt road use), but sometimes mountain biking (tentatively, poorly)too. 6ish years ago I moved somewhere much more rural , on the doorstep of a national park with 105 miles of mountainous 35mph speed limit roads, where there are much fewer cars, so it's a lot safer and more beautiful and enjoyable now. I typically ride 800-1000+ hours, 14-18,000 miles a year, and climb over 1 million feet. My job revolves around bikes, which helps.
I also love walking (give me good music and good shoes and I can walk forever), hiking and paddling (kayak and canoe) on the river that's down the street from my house. I usually listen to adventure game podcasts on a little speaker on long river trips.
I don't do these nearly as often as I'd love to, but I *love* playing frisbee, disc golf, and indoor rock climbing and bouldering.
Was very into horseback riding for a little while, taking lessons twice a week for 6 months, but at the farm where I took lessons the owner overworked her employees and her old horses. I felt bad for the horses, they just wanted to relax, drink from the creek, eat the leaves. The last thing they wanted was my rookie posterior trollomping up and down on their back for a couple of hours a week at this point in their lives. So I quit that, but will probably get back into it one day if I find a better place as well as more time and money.
This post was last modified: 03-25-2026, 04:15 PM by Baron Blubba.
Interesting to read what you all do. I'm a runner too, have been most of my adult life and can still easily knock out 10k a few times week. However, Berlin (where I live) is fairly flat and it's a different story when hills are involved! I always run alone mostly because it's a meditation for me also and I don't like the idea of having to communicate with other runners.
@Piero, I agree with you about running. It's definitely my quiet time, especially for long runs, but trail running is different. If I'm just practicing by myself it's pretty introspective and meditative, but during an event you can't help but bond with the other runners. Because you go fast/slow/stop and rest/push hard/etc, you always end up talking to the people around you, and you feel like you're all on a team rather than competing against each other. In the last one I did, a total stranger and I ended up holding hands as we crossed the finish together. It's so nice!