368 ‘Like Going Outdoors on a Rainy Day:’ The Power of Nature for Moving Grief and Trauma (Denali Strabel, semi-pro mountain runner)

Humans Outside

When life comes at you hard -- pain, trauma, injury, loss, grief -- the outdoors is there just waiting for you to use it for healing. You just have to go outside.

That’s what Denali Strabel, a semi-professional mountain runner and life-long Alaskan has found as she navigates the wide variety of victories and challenges life has thrown at her. From addiction to the loss of her identical twin sister, Rubye, Denali knows that by keeping the mountains a part of her, she can move through pain.

In this episode Denali gifts us a rare window into what it’s like to actively move through grief after loss while still in the thick of it as she's daily making the decision to heal and move.

Hear Denali share how the mountains, ocean and running have been key in helping her with this challenge and so many others -- and learn how you, too, can lean on heading into nature to get through the hard stuff.

Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Follow Denali Strabel on Instagram

Follow Rubye Blake (Denali’s identical twin) on Instagram

In honor of Denali’s nephew, Gunnar

Visit Denali’s website

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

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Some of the good stuff:

[3:20] Denali Strabel’s favorite outdoor space

[5:45] Denali’s outdoor story

[8:35] What it’s like to grow up in Seward

[12:31] About Mount Marathon

[16:05] Using nature to recover

[22:25] The importance of reconnecting with the outdoors

[29:53] All about Rubye Blake, Denali’s identical twin sister

[35:44] What it’s like to lose a twin

[44:22] Advice for dealing with grief when you’re in the thick of it

[53:44] Denali’s favorite outdoor memory