There was a time when Adam Fitz-Henry looked out the window each morning and saw people running, thinking they were “mad psychopaths” for being out before the sun was up, especially on weekends.

“I’m one of those psychopaths now,” he said.

The path to his new life has been the undulating and narrow roads of Queensland’s Lockyer Valley.

While he might spend a lot of hours in traffic as a weekday commuter, he relishes getting back on the road on the weekend.

“Running along these country roads has absolutely changed my life.

“It’s my time to forget all about the hustle and bustle and everything else going on in the world for a couple of hours.

“I just get out here between the hills and the valleys and away I go.”

Mr Fitz-Henry is a member of the local running group Lockyer Legends.

“They’ve become like a second family to me,” he said.

“It’s a bunch of like-minded people, from college students to grandparents — we’re all different people with different paces and goals, and nothing beats running with them.”
 

But running along country roads presented some challenges, he said.

“There’s no footpaths or streetlights, so when you’re starting early in the morning, you’re running by head torch … or by feel.

“They’re all 100kph country roads, and the farmers are often up before dawn on their tractors with their wide loads moving hay around, so there are some extra hazards to deal with here than in the city.

“But I wouldn’t change it; you don’t have to worry about tripping on gutters or watching for cars coming out of driveways.”

Source
Peter Gunders
ABC News