It always seems to arrive so very quickly and almost overnight.  

What am I talking about? Autumn of course. 

Just like that, my early morning runs of watching a warm sunrise with everything looking so fresh and green has now changed to leaving home with that damp smell in the air and mist hovering above the ground when running through the countryside near to my home. I have even had the gloves out for two weeks now as the one thing I do hate is cold fingers. 

However, nothing new of course as I have been doing it for years and whilst there are times when I have grumbled about it either being too hot or too cold and icy underfoot, all in all and whatever the season there is always something to marvel at whatever the time of year. 

Autumn running might mean adding a few extra layers before heading out, but there is still so much to enjoy about running at this time of the year.  

The differing colours when running through the woods is something to stop and look at. Or in my case take a quick pic. Seeing all the deer herded up too whilst hearing their calls during what is rutting season. I love wildlife so I find this extra special. 

Of course, and away from just those pleasurable autumn morning runs, this time of year also signifies for many an athlete – cross country season and of course winter work.  

A time to get the miles in whilst building up further endurance. Cross country running is a great way to do this and a form of competitive running where middle-distance athletes toe the line with marathon runners. 

As a senior athlete whilst I did compete over the country several times, the truth is that I never really did enough cross-country racing, something I very much now regret. Particularly as I love running off road with the variation in terrain.  

I also used to love it as a kid and even won area and Norfolk county titles during my schooldays. In fact, my last ever race as a schoolboy was when representing Norfolk at what would now be called the Anglian Schools Cross Championships where I lost one of my shoes in a ditch after just a couple of hundred metres.  

My initial response was to stop but when seeing runners charging off ahead of me, I gave chase with just the one shoe on. If anything, it took my mind off everything other than just running hard without hurting my foot. There was even a deep ploughed section. I finished second in the race, which was even more pleasing by the fact that I was running in the intermediate age group among all the seniors too for which I finished ahead of all the latter. 

Going forward, this is also a time of year where I will be doing some Saturday morning sessions with Callum Bowen-Jones and a few others using the many loops of varying distances and hills around the woodland and countryside where I live.  

The one thing guaranteed to give you a buzz is when completing one of those tough sessions on a cold morning when looking around and seeing everyone just standing there with smiles on their faces and steam rising from their bodies (heat of vaporisation). 

Yes, autumn is here so here’s looking forward to it….. 

Footnote – A huge thank you to all at Norfolk Road Running, clubs, athletes, marshals, volunteers, etc, etc, for helping to make The Sportlink Grand Prix Series for 2024 so very successful. Thank you also go out to all my staff at Sportlink – instore, outside events team, PR & social media, and the guys at Sportlink TV.