Rock ‘n Roll originated and evolved in the US during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was ostensibly a hot melting pot of gospel, jump blues, jazz, rhythm & blues and country music. It was pre-hard rock, and was generally lead by either a saxophone or a piano, and a personality. The beat usually featured a dance rhythm that was less structured than the genres that went before it, and its followers were rebels; referred to as instigators or, by traditionalists, the heathens of music.
There are many comparisons that can be drawn between the rock ‘n roll movement, and the renegade rock hoppers of trail running.
The history of trail and mountain running is uncannily similar to that of rock ‘n roll. It came about as an alternative to mainstream running, and a break-away sport for athletes seeking a less structured, but no less challenging, sporting discipline. While rock ‘n roll was busy getting the non-conformist feet tapping in the late 40s, the Salomon family opened a wood saw workshop for making ski edges in downtown Annecy, France in 1947. They went on to become… well that’s no secret.
Historians claim that trail running was, in fact, birthed in the US in November 1905 when some San Francisco runners made a bet. The Dipsea Inn had recently opened its doors at the Stinson Beach, and they challenged patrons to see who could run the fastest over the Mount Tamalpais trails. The outing was so enjoyable that they formed the Dipsea Indians and the following year a formal, and first annual, Championship Cross Country Run was held; Mill Valley to Dipsea by the Sea. It’s original “cross country” title was something of a misnomer, as it was more in keeping with the old “fell races”. The terrain was rugged, participants chose their own routes, much of which was forested, root-infested and featured jarring flights of stairs. Winners in the Dipsea record book range in age from 8 to 70, and women featured in the field of participants long before they were permitted to line up in any other American (or global) distance races. Women ran regularly in the event from 1950, though the first women to participate date back to 1918.
Memphis Minnie would probably have enjoyed the company of the women of Dipsea. Rock ‘n Roll has its roots in the Blues, and singer / guitarist Minnie (predominantly active in the 1920s to 1950s) was one of its stars. Legend Bill Broonzy said she could “pick a guitar and sing as good as any man I’ve ever heard” and her songs have gone on to be covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin.
The definition of trail running has, over time, had some attempts at documentation and legislation by the powers that be. Much like the rock ‘n roll genre, it has escaped the confines of specific labels and remains an eclectic mix of its origins. Some gravel, forest escape, single track bliss and mountainous meandering combine happily with inclines that cause calf muscles to curl up and escape behind knee caps, or descents that simply defy the rules of gravity, and logical self-care. Trail running is a full body, multiple sensory experience. It is freedom, and an escape akin to a secret dance floor.
Rock ‘n roll has had it’s labels, too. One of the groundbreaking, historical and original arenas of interracial connection, it is often referred to as the amalgam of black rhythm & blues and white country music. In as much as the conservatives feared the jukebox of the 1950s, perhaps the same could be said for the governing bodies of athletics in the year 2020, when it comes to trail running.
Truth be told, trail and rock ‘n roll is where its at, for anyone who cares to beat a drum to the likes of lyrics such as “a new day will dawn, for those who stand strong, and the forests will echo with laughter” – Led Zeppelin
Trail, Rock ‘n Roll, it never dies.
Words by Kim Stephens