The end of the summer running season is always a little bittersweet.
Summer is not my favourite season to run in, I’ll be honest, but it definitely has its perks.
I’m reporting and writing from a small city on the Canadian prairies, a place that often feels in the middle of nowhere, and that feeling is exacerbated and magnified in the depths of winter when travel is harder and just going outdoors is a health risk. We run all year round, but fighting blizzard squalls and icy sidewalks and five pm sunsets is a physical and mental challenge.
Summer is mostly just easier. The days are long. The heat is a struggle, but for the most part one can find an hour or two on most any day when it isn’t a barrier. The paths are busy but they are also clear of most environmental hazards. And everyone is just more ready to train for something.
These factors also drive the fact that the local race scene peaks in summer. Don’t be fooled. We race year round, one local half marathon actually embracing the bitter cold as part of the “fun” but the busiest and most inviting of races start in the late spring, run through the summer, and tail off as autumn weather becomes unpredictable.
I like summer, but I don’t love it. I don’t mourn it when autumn arrives and I can find more excuses to put on a cozy sweater and hunker down with a hot tea and book. But I do kind of miss it, too. And I’ll definitely welcome it when it comes back next year.
Definitions
- Canadian
- I write this blog from a small city in the middle of the Canadian prairies. It means I use terms like kilometres and celsius and you're just gonna need to deal with that. I run four seasons long, from blisteringly hot summers through icy cold winters. I've encountered moose, beavers, and snakes on our trails. And we're proud of it all.
- race
- You train and train and train some more, and then for no clear reason you pay a bunch of money to run as fast as you possibly can at a very specific time with a bunch of strangers along a course lined with more strangers (or along paths lined with trees if you are an ultra runner) at the end of which you are handed a medal and a banana and a sense of achievement unlike anything you will feel again (until you sign up for your next one.)
