Both Feet on the Ground: Reflections from the Outside

You’re stressed, tired of answering the beeps on your phone and computer. Your kids get too much screen time. You don’t know where your next meal was grown or raised. One of the best forms of therapy is simple: get out and stay out—as often and for as long as you can. In Both Feet on the Ground, Marshall Ulrich champions “disconnecting to reconnect,” urging you to spend time unplugged, eat food whose origins you understand, and push yourself to try something bold and personally compelling. He takes you back to bailing hay on the dairy farm of his youth, gasping for air at the top of Mount Everest, running through the searing heat of the Gobi desert, and riding the crest of huge ocean waves off Morocco. He’s learned that physical connections to the natural world are vital to health of body and soul. That only these outdoor experiences will put you through trials by fire, cleanse you in water, take your breath away, and ground you to the earth. Your adventures in natural places—from walking in the park or camping, to the more extreme isolation of a jungle or remote river—can put you back in touch with who you are; how resilient, resourceful, and hardy you can be.Marshall Ulrich has appeared in: Running America, The Distance of Truth, and Running on the Sun documentaries; is a member of the Colorado Running Hall of Fame, alongside Olympians Frank Shorter, Kara Goucher, and Jenny Simpson; and has been a rich subject for scientists and authors studying and writing about endurance sports, including work by the University of Essex, exercise physiologists, cardiologists, and psychologists. He has also been featured in Born to Run by Christopher McDougal, To the Edge by Kirk Johnson, Explorers of the Infinite by Maria Coffey, and others.