There’s a lot to love about running in fall.
Bursting with visceral stimulation, it exposes you to ever-changing landscapes, smells and nature’s fun obstacles. Leaves providing on all three fronts.
Running in fall also reminds me about the type of life I want to live. Watching summer drift away we’re well within our rights to retreat indoors and bunker down. But that would be cheating yourself out of a fresh set of joys.
When trees shed their leaves, nature’s true colors are revealed. A rusted palette of burnt reds, purples, browns and orangey hues lighting up running routes.
There’s also the satisfying feeling of landing on a pile of crisp leaves. Or the excuse to crack out the trail shoes and get really muddy. Nature is also on the move, as wildlife prepare for the months ahead. The cold air on your lungs.
It’s important to view these as new beginnings rather than a decline. A chance to revel in the sensual enchantment of fall.
Author and wildlife biologist, J. Drew Lanham, puts it best: “Fall is the time when nature speaks most clearly to me. In autumn one is treated to an orgy of sights, sounds, and smells that can be wonderfully overwhelming. “
Embrace the enchanting side of running in fall and your eyes and soul will thank you.
How to run this theme: Running in Fall Leaves
Just as everybody’s falls are different, so too your runs to this theme.
Indulge in a leafy run by:
- running in the woods‘ warm tones
- capturing leaves majestically falling in mid-flight
- tuning into the rustle of leaves under foot
- the fiery carpet of a park’s path
- the symmetry of skeletal trees lining a street
- the seasonal gifts of flowering ivy and conkers
- bushes showcasing the joy of berries
- clocking the remnants of a windy day
- the sun bouncing off botanical wonders
Autumn is one long encounter with leaves, so you should find an embarrassment of riches.
Joy Runs is about exercising in rhythm with the seasons in order to be infused with your surroundings and experience a fuller and richer way to work out.
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Where a joy of running in fall took me
Corbridge, Northumberland.
A quaint village boasting handsome streets and sweeping views that I’d wanted to revisit after stopping over when running Hadrian’s Wall.
A symphony of color welcomed me as I entered the down in the first flush of autumn. Greens giving way to a more eclectic palette. The air spiced with the scent of fallen leaves.
Corbridge is a contraction of curious stone nooks and rolling countryside that work together to create the most beautiful little joys when running in fall.
There was the burst of color poking above garden walls and out of unfeasibly tiny gaps.
The ceremonial procession of leaves leading me to an utterly charming independent bookshop (shout out to Forum Books) and micro pub in a converted pele tower.
It was these smaller leafy finds that bring me the most joy running in fall. That’s often the way, mini observations adding more meaning to my runs. I’m reminded by a line by Walt Whitman that it’s the smallest element in the natural world that can bring the most joy and enlightenment.
“I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars”
Closer to home, I’ve always been drawn to the glowing autumn colours of sunset red, yellow and rich gold of this wall of Boston Ivy. Impossible to run by and not take a photo.
Why leaves change colour in fall
Leaves reveal their fall colors as chlorophyll breaks down and other pigments are unveiled.
Throughout a leaf’s life, four primary pigments run through its cells: the green of chlorophyll, the yellow of xanthophyll, the orange of carotenoids, and the reds and purples of anthocyanins.
In spring and summer, when the days are long and bright, chlorophyll saturates leaves as the tree gets to work on new growth. The chemical supporting trees to produce energy from photosynthesis and helping to trap light for the tree.
As daylight fades in autumn and temperatures cool, enzymes begin breaking down the spent chlorophyll, bringing other pigments to the fore. The result being an explosion in outstanding autumnal color.
These colors are hiding in the leaf all year, much like the joys we aim to seek out in a Joy Run.
The shedding of leaves is the tree winding down and preserving energy over winter, before they start afresh in spring.
I hope you enjoy running in fall to your own intimate interpretations of this fun running challenge.
→ Other ‘Running in Nature‘ themes
