Wild Developments
Wild Developments
Embracing Nature on the Run
Join us on the next episode of Wild Developments as Julia Manning shares her inspiring journey of resilience and discovery across all 50 states. From the serene landscapes of Arizona, where she grew up, to the unexpected beauty she found in places like Massachusetts and North Dakota, Julia's story reminds us to "bloom where you're planted." Discover how running became her window to explore nature and find peace, forging deep connections with landscapes and communities along the way. Don't miss this insightful conversation about finding joy and embracing change in the great outdoors.
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Kind of my mantra has been bloom where you're planted.
And I look at some of the places that I've lived that maybe I didn't want to move there.
I didn't have a great attitude.
And it came to be a place that I really enjoyed and came to love.
And by having a mindset that you're looking for the good or you're looking for the ways that you can grow,
your life can change in unexpected ways and it can still be beautiful.
Welcome to Wild Development Studio.
Join us as we venture into the breathtaking realm of wildlife arts and untamed adventures.
With captivating stories from the field and ideas to dive into the visual arts,
we'll ignite your passion for conservation.
Get ready to develop something wild.
Welcome to Wild Developments, where we bridge the gap between the confines of your office to the freedom of the great outdoors.
I'm your guide Lauren and today we're discussing the topic of running with Julia Manning.
She is a passionate explorer who has driven through all 50states, uncovering the beauty of America one road at a time.
With a love for nature that began with running, Julia has created countless memories exploring the great outdoors with her kids.
From birding in North Dakota to camping in the heart of California, embracing the full experience of nature.
We explore the profound impact of being outdoors, discover how how nature offers peace and brings gratitude through the eyes of someone who has lived and breathed these experiences across the country.
Julia, thank you so much for being here today.
Oh, I was so excited to talk with you today.
It's such a pleasure to be here. Thank you.
Thank you. And we met through the Mic Drop Workshop and took that class.
That was a great class.
I highly recommend anybody sign up for that VIP because that's really helped me connect with so many amazing women like yourself.
Can you tell me a little bit about your background?
Yeah. So I have, I've managed to live a whole lot of places all over the country,
mostly traveling for graduate school with my husband at the time and just life took us all over the place and we have been able to do some amazing things.
And I feel like I've had to develop a lot of resilience and my kids as well.
We've had to just learn to adjust to new surroundings and get used to new places and really take advantage of wherever we move to make the most of it.
So I see you've been to all 50states.
Yes, we have.
What was the, what was your favorite state to be in that just felt like home and then what is the on the total opposite of that what was kind of the hardest for you to adjust to okay um you know I would say well I grew up in Arizona so Arizona really is still home for me I live in California now um but when I think of home I still think of Arizona just because I love it there um.
The hardest place for me to adjust to though, was when we moved to Massachusetts and it was just kind of a volatile time in our lives.
And I had just had my third baby.
He was like not even a month old when we moved there.
There and it was the dead of winter and it was like one of the coldest days on record that year so it was just so many things that all came together and I really didn't want to move there but actually it turns out that that is where I have really left a piece of my heart I loved.
New England so much and just really embraced this magical, enchanting feeling over there in New England.
And I just loved it.
It sounds like you are a warm body, you know, having lived in Arizona and now you're in California.
So I feel New England would be quite a shift for you.
It it was yeah and uh we later on lived in North Dakota for a couple years so I have done the cold um I know how to do it but no I really don't enjoy it that I would be happy to be in sunshine for the rest of my life do you find it's harder to be more resilient in colder places is?
Oh, that's a good question.
I think that it can be.
It's always hard to move to somewhere or to be somewhere that you're not happy about or you don't want to be there.
And it takes some serious mental strength to overcome that and to decide that you're going to make the most of it.
What goes through your head to help you stay positive and overcome those challenges um I think probably just recognizing if I allow myself to just stay miserable or choose shoes,
that I'm not going to enjoy it, then I won't.
And it just feels like a waste.
And so I just try to turn things around and gratitude and try to get to know the place.
The sooner I can get to know the place or get out and explore and kind of put my boots on the ground,
the easier it is to adjust.
And getting to know people, I think that it has really helped to find some good good friends or friends for my kids has been a huge thing,
um, to really help you get, feel settled and feel like this place has some merit or,
you know, maybe I don't want to be here.
Um, forever, but I can enjoy what experiences living here will give me now.
That's great advice.
What are some ways that you like to explore in a new area?
Um actually the number one way that I explore is through running um that I've been a runner for several years and I just get out and I run and having my feet on the ground and just kind of being able to pick whatever road I want to go on um really solidifies that for me that I can can see well what way what will where will this take me and what can I find going this way or I find a path and just see where it goes um and see how far I can run um especially like when I'm training for marathons it's like well I need to find some way to run 20miles and I'm not going going to do a five mile loop four times.
So how far can I run from where I'm at?
That's probably the biggest way that I learn a place and really make it feel like home is by getting to know it through running.
I find I'm the same way as you.
I cannot run the same loop over and over.
I have to find like something interesting to look at.
Otherwise I am like, no, this is no fun at all.
Um what is easier for you hills or flat oh um well I guess flat is easier but the last place I was living um in California we were there for about four years the entire place was hills like there was not you could not even leave my neighborhood without running hills and there there was something that was really satisfying in having to run some of those hard hills and getting to the top and just having a great view.
Um, like being able to watch the sunrise was just amazing.
And so I had my favorite spots that I would kind of try to time when I knew there would be a really good sunrise and be able to see,
um, have a great vantage point or have a great view or just enjoy that.
Um, and you don't get that with flat land where where I'm at right now is really flat.
And as I've been kind of going around lately, I've been reminiscing.
It's like, oh, you know, this kind of looks like North Dakota.
This is so flat here.
And I feel a fondness.
So I don't know.
I like the challenge of hills, but it's always easier to run a flat ride.
Well, sometimes for me, the flat can be really difficult the uh flying pig marathon the first half is very hilly like very hilly okay the you know when you're going downhill that I'm like a big kid I'm going and then the last half you know it takes me several hours to do a marathon so by the time I get to the flat part it is the middle of the day there are no trees and it's just like oh and you can see the city in the background and.
And you're like, I know I have to get there.
And it looks so far away.
So that flat has always been really difficult for me.
But that's at the Flying Pig Marathon.
Well, I'm sure it's just because there's no trees or whatever.
Do you have a favorite marathon that you've done?
I have done the Mesa Marathon in Arizona.
I think I've done it four or five times now.
And I mean, partially just because it's home.
And so it's a nice excuse to go home.
And I run through neighborhoods that I grew up in and see people from growing up and that it makes it extra special to me.
But I do also believe it is such a good marathon.
It's so well put together.
And the crowd really comes out and supports you.
And having people cheer you on when you are at your lowest, there is just nothing like that feeling of just like random people are cheering for me.
Like, and I'm going to cry because I'm just so low and this is so hard,
you know, when you're at your lowest.
So I love the Mesa marathon.
The community of people that come out and cheer runners on, like, first of all,
if you're one of of those people listening, you guys are saints.
And the running community in general is just an amazing group of people.
I had one, it was a half marathon that I did and my leg was hurting me and I was limping.
I was crying.
I thought in the last mile, I was going to have to tap out.
There was a woman that grabbed me by the arm and put my arm around her shoulder and walked me to the finish line.
And then as soon as I crossed the finish line and found my family,
she disappeared.
She it's just the most amazing group of people because everybody, it's not really,
I mean, it can be competitive, but a lot of times everybody's cheering each other on and helping each other out.
Do you have a running group or anything that you practice with?
You know, I don't right now.
I moved to where I'm at just about, it's about been nine months and I have not found my running group yet.
And sometimes places I've lived, I've had running groups and I have have done lots and lots of miles running on my own too.
So I can do both.
It's always nice to have a group because I won't run at night,
like just safety reasons or in the dark in the early in the morning.
And so I, when I don't have a group, I feel very limited,
um, just cause I want to be safe.
And so I would like to find a group because it opens up my,
I love the the conversations and I love the community of runners.
Um, and they're really wonderful.
I just haven't found it yet.
So you will, I'll get there.
Yes. Do you have a favorite piece of running equipment?
Um, favorite piece, my Garmin watch, just a runner's watch.
That's what I use and I um have become pretty bare bones there was a few marathons ago that I overheard some women talking that looked like they were pretty dang fast runners and they're like oh yeah you can always pick out the slower runners because they have all of this gear on them and I look down at myself as like oh like I have my running belt and I have my you know.
My hydration belt with all my, my own water and things like that.
And I felt very self -conscious.
Um, and after that, it was like, you know what, maybe I'm going to,
I'm still not a super fast runner.
Um, but it was like, maybe I really can run with a little bit less stuff on me.
And so it kind of, it impacted me, um, to hear them say that.
So now like my best friend is my my watch okay I did not know that about I'm gonna have to rethink all of my things that I have on me because I'm like I have to have my waterproof jacket and I owe my hat is my go -to okay because I don't like sunglasses because they bounce around so the hat keeps out the sun it also keeps out the rain if it's raining um but yeah and I got my running belt and my you know my pack with my my water so yeah I'm gonna have to try and pair it I don't know I guess it depends on whether you care about someone's opinion or not and I'd like to think I don't but in that moment I did yeah that's interesting and you find it's been fine without all the stuff it has especially like when you're doing a really good race that has good water stations it really is enough half um and I'm trying to think I think maybe this last race maybe I didn't run with my water um but like if I'm running a 20miler by myself and there's not going to be water stations yeah of course I'm going to put my I'm going to have to run with my hydration belt just so I have what I need otherwise it's like where am I going to get water where am I going to I need my nutrition so.
So, um, you know, I still have stuff that I keep on me kind of depending on the day.
Yeah.
Uh, I always take for granted that, oh, you know, they're going to have water stations.
We did a, me and my friend, a half marathon in Nashville and it was the first one of its kind and they didn't have enough support.
And there was just a table with a bunch of jugs and the cups weren't even set out.
And people are like, what do we do?
This is like a mile three so I'm like screw it I grabbed a jug and I opened it up and I'm drinking from it because I'm like I have to drink something and then yeah higher rest of the race there was no water I mean there was one woman that fell out and had to be taken away in an ambulance because it was in September in Nashville it was hot so water is definitely important and you can't always count on on the race unfortunately and I don't want to like end it on a negative point uh my.
My favorite race is the run the bluegrass in Lexington.
Okay.
That is along a bunch of, uh, farms with horses and they're running right alongside you.
And it's just, it is absolutely beautiful.
Do you have a, a dream location that you would love to do a marathon at?
Oh, uh, well, I guess naturally, probably the Boston.
Boston. Since I lived in Boston, and I did get to go cheer them on while we were there.
You know, a big group of friends would go and cheer on every year.
And that was just so inspiring.
Maybe someday I can run hard enough or fast enough to be able to make it to the Boston.
But even just the energy that was there was so incredible as a,
you know, a person, what what is the word i want a spectator thank you as a spectator you got that one cool i yeah i am familiar with what happened a few years ago um and i've kind of been keeping up with it but i've never been to the boston marathon that would be really cool to see yeah you have to be pretty fast or get a special ticket from someone who has an in um to be able to run it so maybe someday day I'll get there.
Cool. Now you talked a lot about resilience is that, and I didn't even ask you what your speech would be when you finally get up on stage after doing the mic drop workshop,
what is your topic going to be?
What are you passionate about getting the word out there to people?
So for my, my topic or kind of my motivation idea, I really am passionate about.
We talked about resilience.
And I think that that is such an important thing, learning to find joy and to pick yourself back up and to just be grateful or find things that you can be positive to adjust to anything,
any surrounding or any situation you're in.
Um I've kind of started working on you know just the sketchings of a book and just last fall I was visiting some friends we all met together in Montana and had an amazing weekend we've been friends for about 10or 12years and live all over the country now but we met together in Montana at a friend's ranch and we were having a conversation around the campfire one night and just saying what is something like you have learned in the last 10years or you know what's the way that you've grown or changed and I didn't really have an answer um and then later you know it kind of came to me that night and it was like kind of my mantra has been bloom where you're planted that you can live anywhere there's so many times that it's like I can do anything for so long or I I can do this for.
You know, so much time.
And I look at some of the places that I've lived that maybe I didn't want to move there.
I didn't have a great attitude.
And it came to be a place that I really enjoyed and came to love.
And by having a mindset that you're looking for the good or or you're looking for the ways that you can grow,
um, there's really beautiful things and your life can change in unexpected ways and it can still be beautiful.
Well, sign me up.
I want to go to this talk.
That sounds amazing.
That's really inspiring.
Um, and you're right.
And I love that idea of always looking for ways ways to grow and continuing to bloom and not just kind of accepting your fate and being miserable in it,
that you can do something to change your outcome and you can find the joy no matter where you are.
Because a lot of us, I know, go through really difficult times and we have to learn to enjoy the journey.
Otherwise we're going to miss our entire lives.
Lives so yeah yeah you know I had an experience just um it was actually just about a year ago I've um was going through some really difficult personal challenges and I really needed to mentally ground myself that I decided to go out for a hike um it's like I just need to go like be one with nature and really like reset my mental state um and so I left and I went on this hike that ended up being way longer than I planned on because I got a little bit lost at the end.
But anyway, I thought I'm going to go hike up to this top of this hill and I'm going to take my journal and just spend some time kind of resetting my mindset or kind of writing things out for myself,
trying to make sense and find a little bit of inner peace.
And it was like I'm going to do it right around sunset this will be great um and there's supposed to be a swing at the top of this hill um that I'd heard about that I wanted to go see and so I had this whole plan like laid out um and then as I hiked it and I got to the top the swing was broken and I was crushed it was so hard it was like oh like I came all this way to find this swing this is what I really needed right now and then you know just kind of meandered a little bit hiked a little further um and it's like well at least I have the sunset but it was it had been a kind of a cloudy day and it was one of those days that you didn't know whether the clouds were going to make this sunset like amazing or whether they were going to totally like ruin the sunset and of of course.
It was one of those days that the sunset really wasn't that great.
And so I just felt so crushed because I hear I had this amazing plan and these good things were going to happen and it all fell to pieces.
And as I sat there, like I still had my journal and kind of wrote some things out of my journal.
And I just had this thought come to me and I am a very spiritual person and just had this idea that there are beautiful sunsets all the time and there are beautiful moments in our life.
Today just isn't yours, but yours will come.
And I've had so much peace from that, that how could I have this really frustrating moment of feeling like everything all.
And that happens in our lives that things can all fall apart and yet to still feel that inner peace and that moment of feeling like your moment will come,
but it's not today.
And that's okay.
Pay. And so I've really had to carry that with me.
And that has been so helpful to me as I have continued to work through some of the personal challenges I've had to kind of figure things out and reset my life and kind of my course and know good things are still yet to come.
That sunset that just hasn't that, you know, I'm still waiting for that good sunset and I know it will come and I can see other good things along the way.
That is super inspirational.
I'm in a season of my life right now where it's like all the doors seem to be closing and it's like,
I'm sitting here, I'm ready, I'm waiting.
And it just, it hasn't come yet.
And to know it will come, you just got to be, be patient is very helpful.
Would you say that was one of your favorite experiences out in nature I would yeah just because it was so impactful to me and I think it's going to stay with me for a really long time do you often get outside in nature with your kids oh I try to they really put up a fight sometimes um but I have tried to get out as much as we can and they once they're out there they enjoy it sometimes it's a fight to get them there and we have come to I have four boys um and I got to the point that I realized my boys need outdoor experiences and if I don't give it to them or you know help them to have those then they're not going to have those opportunities and so we have started to go camping and just exploring the beautiful place that california is um that we went camping in the redwoods and we just went camping last month um kind of along the coast and to be able to spend time there to enjoy it rather than just drive by it's not the same experience and once you know we get on the way home from the camping trip direct mom that was the best thing in the whole world that was so fun we loved it so that is the best isn't it when they put up such a fight to get outside and then you're like come on just i know once you get it there you're gonna love it and then they finally they're like wow that was actually really cool mom thanks so i always love when my son's like oh actually that was fun uh there is a podcast that you guys might be interested in it's a golden in state naturalist and she talks all about stuff in california and she had an episode on beavers and um but it's all california based so that might be something that you guys are really interested in and can explore some of the things that she's explored oh i haven't heard of that one i'll definitely look into that that sounds fun yeah uh do you guys have a bucket list experience that you want to see in nature oh a bucket list i'd say there's still a few things yet that we want to see or do um as silly as it is we have not yet seen a bear on any of our adventures and we were camping with some friends last fall and someone on the hike we were on then they said oh there's a bear just ahead several people have reported seeing a bear today or you know it was actually two or three and we're like yes like this is so exciting we don't want to like have a bear encounter but just to even see one in the wild my boys have really wanted to do that and we didn't get to see it they were really disappointed so that's kind of still on our list maybe some point we'll find a bear um but it's that's something silly that we have that we want to do we've got Gatlinburg close to us and they're known for their black bears and we've been so many times and it wasn't until last year that I finally saw a bear out in the wild so I'm thinking of you guys and hoping you get your experience because that'll be really cool for you what got you interested in nature sure um it probably started with um running just because it got me out in nature and really feeling that high and enjoying the beautiful things that i couldn't see any other way um and one way that i kind of got my my kids into it when we were living in North Dakota there was about 15minutes from where we lived to the Air Force Base and we would head we would went up there often um because we were there for the Air Force and I started seeing these um I started seeing these birds on our drives and it's like I wonder what kind of bird that is and so I finally looked it up and I found this app it was was a bird it was a bird watching app and downloaded it and started identifying the birds as we would drive to and from the air force base and my board was like oh that's kind of cool mom can I look at that mom can I can I just look at what birds are on here you know and so it kind of became a thing for a couple years that we would look at birds and identify them or sometimes they would just steal my phone and look at the app and just kind of peruse and like oh isn't this bird bird cool or mom listen to this bird sound and um so it's kind of been a fun kind of little silly way that my kids briefly embraced nature you know for a few years we moved to south korea after that and it kind of fell apart because we didn't have the bird app didn't work there anymore um but for that you know for those few years that was something really fun that we did it's funny how birding brings people together and the older i get the more i love birding like we've got so many feeders in our backyard um you guys have a feeder or anything like that now in california um i've wanted to get one i haven't yet i i would love to i know that my boys would enjoy it too we just saw pheasant last week when we were out and about and they're like mom look that's so cool what is that um and it was beautiful but no we i don't have a feeder in my backyard right now i have a really small backyard um it's just concrete so the birds that would come would have to go a little ways to come find me yeah that's fair uh what do you feel is the biggest thing that you gain from being out in nature.
Um probably gratitude for the beautiful place that we live in and that there is beauty everywhere and we're so blessed to be out and to find it um and just the sense of peace it really I think mentally can ground you spending time in nature and just giving your mind space when you're out in space you know that natural space um I think that it opens up and clears your mind as well and that's been really rejuvenating now do you have a website or.
Or some place where people can find you?
I do.
They can find me online.
I have my Instagram.
And probably on LinkedIn.
Probably the best places to find me.
I don't have my.
Well, the website I have right now is really just for more personal.
It's just for work, writing related things.
So it would be pretty boring.
But, uh, probably my Instagram or LinkedIn would be the best.
Cool. And I will tag all of those places, um, Instagram and, and LinkedIn in the show notes.
So people can find you and keep up to date and see if,
and when you do your public speaking.
And before we go, do you have a tip for somebody that would like to connect or maybe reconnect with nature?
Um, my tip for reconnecting with nature, I would say, don't take your phone with you.
Just enjoy the time and don't go with an agenda.
Sometimes just let your mind run free and allow it to, um, take everything in.
This is great advice.
Thank you so much.
Yeah. Thank you so much.
I really appreciate being on here today yes and until next time get outside and see what develops thanks for joining wild development studio we hope this exploration into the world of wildlife arts and adventure has sparked a desire to get outside and connect with something wild if you have an adventure that's awe -inspiring don't hesitate to share click the link in the description to submit your story to have it featured on our show or be a guest until next time keep connecting to the wild and see what develops the views opinions and statements expressed by individuals during wild development studio productions do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of wild development studio or its affiliates participation in any activities expeditions or adventures discussed or promoted during our content may involve inherent risks it is strongly.
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