The joys of spring

As if whoever’s in control of the lighting has just turned up the brightness, suddenly spring is in effect. Beginning in the Northern Hemisphere with the vernal equinox, after a long winter, from here on the hours of sunlight now outnumber those of darkness. Plus if you live in the UK, the clocks changing also quickly throws you another hour before sunset in which to enjoy yourself. 

Birds know it, plants know it, and so do runners and cyclists. For anyone working a conventional nine-to-five, at a stroke the pressure to squeeze your activities into the narrow window before sunset evaporates. And as we switch from spending much of our time in darkness, the stage for our endeavours now seems ever brighter and more expansive. 

Celebrated in one form or another by cultures across the world, the arrival of spring presents an irresistible metaphor for renewal. After a gloomy lockdown winter, it’s one we all deserve to grab as much enjoyment from as possible.

Freedom to move

So what to do with our new-found freedom? Get out as much as possible, public-health guidance permitting, would be one suggestion. No longer having to consider if a route is practical in the dark, or if your shoes have dried sufficiently before pulling them back on, spring presents the year’s first opportunities to be spontaneous and enjoy not having to think quite so much. 

Of course, even as the weather improves we’re still far from having every blustery day behind us. Often lovely, but frequently sharp, conditions broken adrift from winter can still intrude on spring’s more idyllic months. As anyone caught by an April shower will know, the path to summer is more winding than straight. 

Still, occasional downpours aside, the trend is irresistibly towards warmer, drier, and longer days. Out on the trails, the mud is already firming up, and venturing into the wild no longer necessitates an equal amount of time spent cleaning your kit afterwards. Streets are less grimy, parks, fields, and woodlands greener and more pleasant.

The season for athletes

For athletes, spring is also the season for bringing to fruition plans and intentions nursed through the winter. If you’ve built yourself a healthy foundation you can be rightfully proud of your headstart. While for those whose winter has been more hibernation-like, there’s still time to catch up. Either way, in common with all living things, spring is the ideal season for athletes to start putting to use their pent up energy. 

As students of the relationship between performance and temperature will know, the season’s conditions are perfectly suited to generating fast times. Both more efficient and more comfortable, racing in spring feels nimble and flighty when compared to doing so in the cloying heat of summer. 

With the majority of the year still ahead, it’s also the season with the greatest potential. Not a season that needs to have pleasure coaxed out of it, we don’t have to sell you spring, it’s outside your door right now for you to enjoy.

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