The Dangers of Fall Running ( 5 Reasons to be Cautious on your Run)

Are you guys loving these cooler temps lately? I bet most of you think this weather is perfect for running, right? I actually don't mind summer running at all, I kind of prefer it. But as my mileage is increasing due to marathon training, most of my longer runs will be coming up this fall.



I completed 15 miles on one of my favorite trails this past weekend and while I was running I thought of all the things that I needed to be cautious about while running during the Fall season.  So I give you 5 REASONS TO BE CAUTIOUS DURING YOUR RUNS THIS FALL.

1. Frightening things like the decorations shown above.  ( I just kid). But actually I was startled when I first saw this along my trail.  It was removed for a few weeks so I wonder if someone had told the owners that it was frightening too many people?

2. Walnuts. ( okay, this is a serious one).  If you run where there is a lot of trees ( like I do), you will notice that walnuts are falling off the trees like crazy. I literally just missed having one drop on my head while I was running the other day.  It's not just falling walnuts that are a danger, there are plenty of them on the trail/road as well. I stumbled on one of them last week and rolled my ankle.

I see lots of apples on the road/trail as well and almost tripped over one of those too.

3. Leaves.  I do most of my running on the trails and as lovely as it is to see the trail covered in leaves, it can be kind of dangerous too because   1.) They can be slippery and 2.) You can't always see what is under the leaves. I've stepped on leaves that had sticks underneath that flew up at me while I was running and the leaves also do a good job of hiding those fallen walnuts.

Even if you aren't running on trails, leaves are all over the sidewalks too. I just did a run yesterday through town and some sections of the sidewalks were covered in leaves. You need to be careful here too because you don't know what is underneath those leave. An uneven sidewalk perhaps!

4. I have found that fall brings more bicyclist out on the trail ( and boy do some of these bikers ride fast).  I am often worried that one of them is going to run into me.  I do try to stay to the right side when I run and I have my music on low so I can hear them coming up behind me.

5. This last one might be obvious, but since it isn't light as early and it gets darker earlier, you may want to be sure to carry a small flashlight or wear reflective clothing.  I know on my one trail run, it started to get darker then I thought by the time I got back to my finish point.


Is there something that you are overly cautious about when running in the Fall?

                                              


28 comments:

  1. Okay that yard decoration is seriously awesome!!! Whoever did that would fit right in with many of my neighbors who love to go all out and get fun and spooky crazy. Love it.
    I agree on the slippery leafs not that we get much hear but I remember running a few marathons back in New England in the fall and they can really surprise ya if your not careful.

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    1. I got to tell ya that it really startled me the first time I saw it. I wonder if they were told to take it down because I notice the owners put it up on their porch for a few weeks. It was back near the trail now on my last run.

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  2. I would agree bicyclists do scare me and there tends to be a bit more rain. Combine that with the leaves - not an easy run.

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  3. I am very cautious about wet leaves on the road. One time, I was running with a friend and she twisted her ankle on a wet leave. It was really bad and she actually had to miss most of her marathon training- she was trying to qualify for Boston. The good news is, she did A LOT of swimming and ended up BQ'ing anyway! I told her she swam her way to Boston!

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    1. Wow! Sorry your friend got hurt on the leaves but that is good that she kept up her training by swimming!

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  4. I think the biggest issue for me here in DC is the bicycles!! There are so many and they hate runners and are really rude!

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    1. Oh wow. The bikers on my trail are really fast but I haven't encounter any rude ones. That's just not nice!

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  5. I've never dealt with walnuts but acorns are a different story. Even in MA, the acorns came down off the trees like mini-granades. Those things hurt, and if they hit my car, I cringe. There's one tree I pass under at work and the acorns are dropping every where.

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    1. I'm not sure if i've encountered any acorns yet but I totally understand what you mean!

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  6. I wear one of those lights on my head and a reflective vest when I run and it's even a little dusky out. I'd rather look silly and be safe. The other morning I drove by some guy wearing all dark clothing and listening to his music. It was completely dark out! The only way I saw him was his shoes. It just scared me.
    @heatherlas

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    1. I see people running in the evening all the time on this one road near my house and they don't have any light or reflective gear. I just want to say "don't you know that's not safe?".

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  7. Safety first! Its so important to be aware of your surroundings, and to make yourself visible. This is not the time of year to be wearing dark colors while out on runs!

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    1. I totally agree. Especially if you are running where there is traffic.

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  8. Good list seriously those acorns and walnuts can be huge and you don't always see them under the leaves.

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  9. I love fall running! The nuts fallen from the trees are a big thing, even in the city where I run. I'm always paying attention to what's on the ground & go slowly when I see nuts on the ground.

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  10. this is a really good list. on tuesday i was running in the evening and it was rainy and the leaves were everywhere and it was so slippery. it is a reason to take caution and watch out!

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  11. Great post! You really do need to be careful when running at this time of the year.
    I did laugh about the walnuts though. But I agree about the leaves - I have slipped so often on them.

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  12. Yep - I have slipped & tripped over acorns & walnuts to where it buckled my ankle down... dangerous!

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  13. Those walnuts are ridiculous! Luckily, I've yet to have one fall on my head, but I have had an experience like you mentioned in your post where I rolled my ankle because it was dark and I didn't see it in time to get out of the way. Thanks so much for sharing these safety tips and I hope you have a great weekend!

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  14. I agree with the leaves and the walnuts, I had a couple close calls last week! And there was a house in my neighborhood that has awesome Halloween decorations. But they include some fake rats and I thought one was real the first time I ran by. That was not a pleasant moment.

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  15. Great and important list. Always need to be safe. Between the acorns and leaves around here, need to be extra careful. At work I actually needed to move where I parked every day because of the number falling all over my car and the ground.

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  16. Great tips. The last one is really important, especially if you run at dawn or dusk. You are much harder to see than you think!

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  17. LOL! this makes me think of a picture I posted the other day: "Autumn Turds. You know they're out there."

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  18. I was just thinking about the leaf hazards this morning on my trail run. Slippery leaves hiding rocks, and making the downhills a little scary!

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  19. There definitely are obstacles on the fall roads!! Good for you for warning other runners (and walkers)!!

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  20. Haha oh my gosh, on one of the trails I run on acorns just rain down on you. It's definitely an obstacle course, but fall running is so perfect.

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  21. All really good things to keep in mind! We have acorns in Florida that are equally painful! :)

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