An epic adventure doesn’t require a plane ticket—just the curiosity to take a different path and a pair of running shoes.
- Micro-adventures are short, affordable, local experiences that break the daily routine without needing time off.
- The concept, made famous by Alastair Humphreys, transforms your “5 to 9” time (before or after work) into an opportunity for exploration.
- Idea 1: The one-way run. Run straight away from home and enjoy the train ride back as a mini-trip.
- Idea 2: Sunrise hunting. Head up the nearest hill in the dark, drink a coffee, and descend before your colleagues have even clocked in.
- Idea 3: Explore the black holes on your map. Visit those areas of your city or county that you’ve always ignored.
- You don’t need technical gear; you just need a change of perspective: sometimes it’s as simple as turning left instead of right the moment you leave the house.
Dreaming of Patagonia but Stuck at the Office on Monday? The Micro-Adventure Is the Solution
Your desktop background probably features a high-res photo of a Norwegian fjord, a Himalayan peak, or that deserted road in Arizona that seems to scream “freedom.” Then you look up, and in front of you is the usual Excel sheet, a coffee machine dispensing something resembling tractor fuel, and the prospect of a week identical to the last one.
We tend to think of Adventure with a capital A. The kind that requires visa stamps, weeks of vacation, a national-budget-sized bank account, and technical gear that makes us look ready for a Mars landing. But what if adventure wasn’t a geographical location, but a state of mind?
This is where the concept of the Micro-adventure comes in. And it’s not about settling for less.
What Is a Micro-Adventure: Small, Nearby, but Memorable
The term was popularized by British explorer Alastair Humphreys (someone who cycled around the world, for context). After years of extreme expeditions, he realized that the essence of exploration could also be found in one’s own backyard. A micro-adventure is short, simple, local, and cheap. Yet, it possesses the same DNA as an epic journey: uncertainty, novelty, nature, and challenge.
The idea is to leverage the “5 to 9.” Not the 9 to 5 office hours, but the other 16 hours of the day that we often waste on the couch or in traffic. For those of us who run, this translates into turning a workout into an exploration. Here are three ways to do it right now, without having to ask your boss for permission.
Idea 1: The One-Way Run (Take the Train Back)
We are creatures of habit. Our running routes are almost always circular: we head out, do a loop (often the same one), and return to the starting point. It’s convenient, but psychologically predictable.
Here’s the pitch: take a map, draw a straight line starting from your house to a train station or bus stop 6, 10, or 12 miles away. Pack a credit card, a dry shirt, and a train ticket in your pack (or your shorts pockets). And run. Running “toward” something, rather than “around” something, radically changes your perception of distance and landscape. You’ll see the world change beneath your feet. And when you sit on the train for the return trip, tired and disheveled, watching the scenery slide past the window, you’ll have that sweet, satisfying feeling of being on a journey, even if you’re only two stops from home.
Idea 2: Sunrise Hunters (Breakfast with a View)
Sleeping is wonderful, we can all agree on that. But seeing the world while everyone else is asleep gives you a sense of omnipotence (or madness, the line is thin) that is priceless. Choose a scenic spot near your house. A hill, a high riverbank, the roof of a multi-story parking garage if you live in a dense metropolis. Set your alarm much earlier than necessary. Head out in the dark with your headlamp on. Run toward that spot to arrive exactly when the sun starts to peek over the horizon.
Bring a small thermos with hot coffee. Drink it up there. In that moment, while the city below you is still rubbing its eyes and bracing for the frenzy, you’ve already lived an experience. You’ve already “claimed” your day. When you get to the office, you’ll have that secret little smirk of someone who has seen things the others can’t even imagine.
Idea 3: Explore the “Black Hole” of Your Local Map
We all have a mental map of where we live. There are the “lit up” zones (where we always go: home, work, supermarket, favorite park) and then there are the “black holes.” Those areas of your county or neighborhood that you know exist, but where you’ve never set foot.
Open Google Maps. Look for a green patch, a side road, or a nearby village you’ve always ignored because “there’s nothing there.” Well, go there. Plan a run that cuts right through that unknown territory. You might end up in a dead end, you might have to navigate a patch of nettles (it’s part of the game), or you might discover a gorgeous trail that was there all along, hidden in plain sight. The unknown isn’t just in the Amazon; it’s often right around the corner from the supermarket.
Step Out Your Front Door and Turn Left Instead of Right
The biggest obstacle to micro-adventures isn’t time, nor is it fitness. It’s inertia. It’s the gravitational pull of the couch and the reassuring routine of the “usual loop.” You don’t need to plan an expedition. The next time you go out for a run, simply do one thing you never do: turn the opposite way at the intersection. Take that hill you always avoid. Stop to watch a sunset instead of staring at your pace per mile on your watch.
Adventure is a muscle, and like all muscles, it must be trained. Start small. The Norwegian fjord can wait; your sense of discovery cannot.