There comes a time of year where I take a big deep sigh. Not a sad sigh. Not even a silent sigh (c) Badly Drawn Boy. It’s a satisfying sigh. This is that time of year. When autumn starts to find its own voice. And what a voice it is. The chirping of the bird song and the quiet wind that flows over the trails and towpaths I find under my feet on most days.
This week gone I was at an offsite with people from Germany, Ireland, America, England and a couple of Scots, and it was in of all places Dunkeld. Yep, Dunkeld Perthshire. Right on the flowing majesty of the River Tay.
When on work trips instead of looking at it as having to “squeeze” a run in, I apply some excitement to the discovery that comes with new places. And as we are in the gold of the day period, where runs start dark and end in the light, that excitement is double joy with the emerging energy of the rising sun.
Truth alert though!! (Yes, that deserves two exclamation marks). Sometimes it rains in Scotland. So, the mornings aren’t always quite so enticing. As I ran up Birnam Hill on my second morning run, a mix of trail, river path, and tarmac, the sun was a blessed gift. You sometimes just have to take a moment.
Therein lies the real reason why I run. Yep, I have won races. I have set course records. I appear on national all time lists. I have worn vests and competed at international events. But nothing compares with the exhilaration of the loveliness of the long distance runner of an autumn morning. I wake up tired often, and I come home wired every time. It is important to me to be able to do this for as long as my legs and body will allow.
The gold of the day was the name of an anthology I had a couple of stories in, a book by a local writers group. The phrase was coined by a master of his craft, Eddie McGonnell. Eddie was my English teacher at high school. He literally had a way with words.
I am sure he is proud of how I see those autumn mornings and hear his words reverberate everysinglesunriseisee. The gold of the day, never taken for granted.
James Stewart 