“Something came alive that day when I was out there.” - Joni Cottam

Welcome to the outlet in the outdoors project, where we share the stories behind people finding their outlet in the outdoors.

We share their stories in hopes of encouraging and inspiring people to get outside. We hope you enjoy.

Joni is a mother, wife and all around beautiful human that has become fully dedicated to trail running and finding herself outdoors! Her time outside started with a feeling of there being something inside of her that needed to grow. During her morning workouts she would look out the window gazing at the sunrise on the mountains and quickly and realized that’s where she wanted to be.

Joni is not someone who grew up enjoying the outdoors, which makes her finding her outlet in the outdoors that much more intriguing.

This journey started on a trail called Malans peak in Utah with a pair of adidas and a backpack. A once nervous feeling for being outdoors has become a known comfort for Joni, igniting the fire to step out of her 1 trail routine and into adventuring new trails.

For Joni the comfort lies within being present in the moment, there is a sense of peace with things when in nature “ a way to work through things that may not come up otherwise.”

Since tuning into her intuition while allowing herself to take new leaps within the outdoors she has faced challenges that in turn taught her how to slow down and work through them, giving her lessons and findings that she can bring into her everyday life!

“Giving myself that challenge, if you can overcome that when something else comes up in life, you can overcome that much easier.”

Joni’s story is inspiring because she shows us all that we have to start somewhere. She shows us that it’s just about taking the first step to finding your Outlet In The Outdoors.

Photo Credit: Lily Paige Photography.