My name is Julia Chi…
I have been running all of my life – it feels I was born to run.
In the running step I experienced freedom and my true expression.
I came to see that I needed to ‘get out of the way of myself’ and let my energy flow through the running step; allow it to express itself in the dance and the motion of running.
I have lived from a belief that all that is required is that I know myself, and that I am true to myself, and seek to become the master of my body and my mind… That from this place I allow my true nature to shine and reflect in my creative endeavours and within my relationships.
An ongoing journey…!
I knew from when I was young that all I needed to do was to ‘run free’. To let the running take me where it wanted to. To stay in the step. To be in the moment and so to experience running as a meditation on the move.
I ran for England and GB for some years. My first international was in 1979, a three mile cross country race; and I continued to run at international level until 1993. Two of my best results were first place in the Dublin City Marathon in 1985 and 7th place woman, 3rd British woman in the 1986 London Marathon in a time of 2.36.31, which gained me selection for the Commonwealth Games.
ByJulia Chi
Following making my vlog in the pouring rain, I was reflecting on all I said as I ran in the bright sunshine today… Blue skies, skudding clouds, bouncy green grass under my feet… Yesterday I ran fifteen miles on the same ground – the feel more of cold wetness and hard acorns! Today the warmth…
ByJulia Chi
I had a dream last night that I was running… It was a long run and I was enjoying it, when I realised I was inadvertently wearing running shoes… I was suddenly confused as to how that could have happened… But as Anadi and I have been exploring, the dream is likely because ‘barefoot’ is…
ByJulia Chi
I love running around Richmond Park, three times now I have set off to this new training ground, rather than the beach… I love the feeling of the grass, the wet patches, the slightly uneven earthy patches – and then the smooth road, the bumpy road… Instead of the beach, the sand, the cobbles… My…
ByJulia Chi
We left Richmond on Saturday evening with lots of time to spare… Four years ago we had tickets for this same show ‘Elixir’ written by my old friend Christy Hawkins… It had a run then, in Camden… Anadi and I were still living in Eastbourne, and so we left hours to get there… But, we…
ByJulia Chi
We have just arrived in Richmond, with the feel of a bank holiday weekend all about… The temperature is giving an impression of being warmer than Essaouira with the absence of a lively Atlantic coast wind whipping its way across the shores… People are gathered outside pubs and coffee shops, sipping on wine, lattes and…
ByJulia Chi
I am sitting writing in Costa Coffee and I have just witnessed one of those ‘things that happen’ between human beings… A lady was sitting waiting; she had been there some time and had the air of someone waiting for someone. She sat with her suitcase beside her, she didn’t order a drink, she just…
ByJulia Chi
I rose just after 6am and set off into the nearly light uneven streets that are now familiar to my feet… Cats strolled about – I crossed the vast emptiness of the big square, with the feel of a day starting to roar into life – and ran towards the mosque. Most of my route…
ByJulia Chi
We arrived to the familiar energy of Marrakech at about 3pm yesterday afternoon; and as we pulled up to Douar Graoua square we felt a sense of ‘homecoming’… Our friend Jamal was there to greet us at the door of Riad Saba and we sat together enjoying mint tea and catching up… Anadi had work…
ByJulia Chi
I have always lived a total lifestyle, one that feels like I am always on holiday… One that therefore I don’t need a break or a ‘holiday’ from… I have always worked and played at the same time, so play can be called work, and work can be play… There is no separation… I have always…
ByJulia Chi
Yesterday Anadi and I set off early to run; the tide was low and the beach was empty. We had planned a long run and so to deal with the wind, we did two ‘out and backs’! Four miles out, four back into the head wind; three more out finishing with three into the wind……
ByJulia Chi
We wandered in the dark through the Medina, throngs of people wandered too; the selling and bartering reaching new heights in the nighttime hours; silken bright vibrant cloth, shirts dresses and trousers, a mass of colour, carpets hung on the walls, sparkling jewellery, restaurants and food stalls spilling out into the cobbled streets… And we…
ByJulia Chi
I have just been caught in a strange position on the floor by Fatima our dueña! I am writing in the riad, with luscious plants and a solid, sandy coloured, font like water feature in front of me… It is very tranquil – I am sitting on a velvety golden chair, surrounded by more beautiful…
