I think Alaska gets some bad rep. I mean it’s definitely not entirely safe but let’s be real, that’s how the frontier works. Sure you risk your neck being clawed out by a giant bear but it sure is stunning.

It’s a beautiful place – full of untouched wilderness and untamed nature. In 2014 I actually had the amazing experience of traveling to Alaska for a couple weeks on a cruise. There was one instance during that trip that was particularly wild, I really got to test my ability to run.

It all began one sunny Alaskan morning: my cousins and I were roaming the different decks of the ship, trying to occupy ourselves as we were sailing to a little known Alaskan city called Juneau. The trouble didn’t really begin until we reached the mini-golf course which was hidden away in a box-shaped area at the very top of the ship. The golf course was pretty small, spotted with lumps and hills that were meant to keep the game interesting as you putt the ball around the course
We began playing the game seriously for what was probably little more than 45 minutes, this slowly began to degrade into a prison-rule, full-contact, hockey game which lasted another 30 minutes. It was in the heat of the mayhem where I found myself suddenly having the urge to wind up for a full-on swing of my putter and take a crack at the ball which stood innocently by my feet.

With my putter wound up all the way back behind me, I couldn’t help but yell “Fore!” as I swung and hit the previously still ball. The ball zoomed across the turf where it met a considerably large lump in the middle of the course. It flew straight up into the sky like it was a space shuttle and my cousins and I stared at it with wide eyes as it sped off past the wall into the cold oblivion that is the Gulf of Alaska.

Seconds later we hear a staff member begin to climb the steps into the course and my instincts kicked in. I felt like a wild animal, like a fox caught in a hen house; I had to react. I had never dropped something and ran so fast in my life. We scrambled for the exit, pushing each other over as we made our mad dash to the exit.

If I had known how much running I’d be doing that day I would have put on some more athletic clothing, because skinny jeans and casual dress shoes don’t hold up when someone is running like Usain Bolt. Moral of the story? If you’re up to no good, pay attention in track and field in gym class and don’t come wearing some skinny jeans and casual dress shoes.