Is it just us, or is autumn the best time of year to be a runner? Still warm enough for shorts (hopefully), but just cool enough to inspire you to pick up the pace. And you've taken advantage of the long summer days to log more miles or train for a race, so you're more fit than you've been all year. But this otherwise ideal season is fleeting, and without the right focus, you could lose all you've gained as winter rolls around. So make the most of your summer fitness and build on it. Lots of runners get motivated by choosing a race as a goal, but use whatever target works for you, whether that's building up to your first 10-mile run, running five times a week, or logging 100 miles in a month. Keeping it all going through the lovely autumn is the key to staying with it through the more challenging winter.