“I used to think running was like meditation. But the more I do it, the more I realize it's actually the other way around. It's less about emptying your mind and more like having a conversation with yourself.”
Trail runner Dean Aizawa shared these thoughts during a recent trail running pilgrimage to the island of Shikoku in Japan. There, he joined runners Krissy Moehl and Mileshka Cortes Bernard as they made their way through sacred peaks, magical gorges, torii gates, and their own internal thoughts – running in the footsteps of Shikoku pilgrims who have been coming here for thousands of years.
The 5-minute film above, The Way Through, is an ode to the journey. For our fall/winter '26 trail running shoot, we brought our Seek, Roam, and Wander trail runners to the less-traveled Ehime prefecture to discover new terrain, new perspectives, and new reasons to lace up our shoes and get out there.
“Japan never really runs out of places to surprise you. I've been here long enough, and there's still so much I haven't seen,” Dean says.
