From Banker to Trail Runner: How Lisa Changed Her Life

It wasn’t a dramatic moment that pushed Lisa to leave banking—it was a slow accumulation of fatigue and the growing sense that life was happening somewhere else. She spent years climbing the corporate ladder, working twelve-hour days under fluorescent lights, telling herself that someday, when things calmed down, she’d find time for the outdoors she loved as a child. But someday kept slipping further away. Everything changed during a rare vacation to the Swiss Alps. Standing at the foot of a trail winding into the mountains, she realized how much she missed the feeling of moving freely through nature. “It hit me that I couldn’t remember the last time I had done something just for the joy of it,” Lisa recalls. Returning home, she decided it was time for a change. The first steps were small. She started running in the mornings before work, exploring urban parks and waterfront trails. Weekends were spent hiking in nearby mountains. Gradually, her priorities shifted. Instead of working late for promotions, she protected her outdoor time fiercely. “It was the only part of my week that felt truly mine,” she says. Within a year, Lisa left her banking job. She took a sabbatical, traveling through Europe to run iconic trails in the Dolomites, the Pyrenees, and the Scottish Highlands. It wasn’t easy—adjusting to a slower, less structured life brought its own challenges—but it felt right. Trail running gave her back her energy, her curiosity, and her sense of connection to the world around her. Today, Lisa lives near a mountain town where she works remotely as a financial consultant, choosing projects that align with her lifestyle. Most mornings, she’s on the trail before breakfast, logging miles through forests, over ridgelines, and along riverbanks. She’s completed several ultra-distance trail races, but insists that competition isn’t the point. “It’s about the process,” she says. “The movement, the landscapes, the simplicity of it all.” Lisa also volunteers with local outdoor organizations, helping introduce young people to trail running and sustainable outdoor practices. She credits much of her success to the mentors and supportive community she found along the way—connections she often made through outdoor networks like Crion.org, where she first discovered local trail running guides during her travels. Her advice to others feeling stuck in life? Start small, but start. “You don’t have to quit your job tomorrow. Go for a run. Spend an hour outside. Let yourself remember what makes you feel alive. If you keep following that feeling, it will lead you somewhere amazing.” Lisa’s journey isn’t just about leaving one life behind—it’s about building a new one step by step, trail by trail. It’s about choosing freedom, resilience, and joy every day, and finding that sometimes, the wildest paths lead exactly where you need to go.