Finding the “Why” Behind My Love of Dirt

Mat Coker
Mar 25
2 min read

Then the question is, why?

I was sifting through photos from last year’s Fat Ass race, and I saw a runner come through with dirt on their knee. I just stopped and thought, yes—that.

My Universal Love of Mud and Dirt

I like mud and dirt.

Even as a family photographer, that was always in the back of my mind - oh, it'd be so great to have a family do a mud fight.

When I do candid sessions, if a kid trips and falls and gets grass stains on their knees, or the family ends up in the water at the beach and ruins their clothes, I love those photos.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a country song, a family session, or a trail runner. Heck, even on road trips, I bring dirt home. I’ve even kept an unwashed Green Day shirt from a concert because of the dirt on it.

So how come if I’m photographing a family and a kid gets dirt on their knees, I want that shot?

A runner races through a sunny forest trail, smiling and in stride, wearing a cap and athletic gear.

The Contradiction Between Nice Clothes and Dirt

Maybe it’s not this, but there’s a contradiction there—nice clothes and dirt on the knee.

You’re not supposed to have dirt on those clothes during a photo session. But the kid doesn’t care. Not one bit. Mom does—but not the kid.

So maybe it points to childhood. Playfulness. Not really caring.

I mean, I don’t want to ruin my nice clothes either—but why? Well, it’s not socially acceptable. It doesn’t look right. But if a kid does it, it’s fine. If an athlete does it, it’s fine.

Connecting Child's Play to Adult Running

Dirt on a runner’s knee usually means they wiped out—just like the kid did.

So what’s the connection I’m seeing?

Play? Childhood? Maybe. Maybe not.

But there is something about play.

For kids, it’s natural. They run around, fall down, ruin their clothes; it just happens.

But for adults, it’s no longer natural. It’s almost like inertia; we come to a rest.

We flop on the couch, Netflix and chill. But it's natural for a kid to run around and ruin their nice clothes.

Adult Running as Defying Inertia

So when I see a runner with dirt on their knee, I think, cool.

Here’s an adult running around, defying inertia.

Because for an adult, play (especially something like trail running) isn’t easy. Not for most people. It’s effort. It’s grit.

What was natural in childhood becomes something you have to choose in adulthood.

And yet, the adult chooses it.

They bring themselves under control and say, I’m going to do this. It’s going to be difficult. It’s going to be gritty. But this is my form of play.

And maybe that’s where the play is found.

You wiped out.

Isn’t it something, to be a kid again?