SPORT WALK

Sport Walk’s founder – Roger Burlinson, reflects on why autumn is so important to him

By Roger Burlinson

When I think back all those years to when I first started Sport Walking seriously, it was the autumn of 2016. I’d taken on my first, self created, non-stop ultra (83km) that summer and achieved a better time than I expected but there was a lot that needed to change around my overall approach.

I’d already founded Sport Walk by then and I’d had that damascene moment when I saw the potential to switch completely to using ultra trail running gear, rather than traditional hiking gear, to dramatically save weight and increase my walking pace.

This was quite a dynamic time because my thoughts were firmly turning to how I could take this whole thing forward, as well as how I could improve my own performance.  Central to both was going to be to participate in an organised ultra, both to test myself and the ideas that were starting to form about Sport Walking and what it might become.

So I decided to enter Race to the Stones in 2017 and I signed up for the 100k non-stop as soon as the early bird tickets went on sale in October. I’d completed 83k in just over 17 hours in 2016 and so I set myself the goal of being able to complete 100k, with far less weight, much more training and a better approach to nutrition in under 18 hours.

At the time, this felt like quite an undertaking although my rather blazé approach to the preparation and execution of my New Forest adventure gave me encouragement that, if I got my head down and put the work in, I should be OK. And so, that October, my journey into Sport Walking proper began and I’ve always placed great significance on this time of year since.

For me, it really works to make October the starting point for new projects or adventures and autumn the season when everything starts to take shape. I like to enjoy the summer to its full extent and we always head back to Croatia in September to see family and enjoy some Istrian trail time, as a kind of closing party for summer.

September is a wonderful month out there – the sun is still warm but not searingly hot like in high summer. The light is just gorgeous and as for the sea, well, what can I say. You’ll just have to scroll through the Sport Walk Insta page to truly appreciate the azure beauty of the Istrian coastline!

Now although September marks the beginning of autumn, I always look to October as the start point, quite possibly because while we’re in Croatia it really does still feel like high summer in the UK and I think I kind of need that initial chilling down in the air, even if the sun keeps shining, to get into that autumnal vibe. So it’s always been October for me and, now it’s here, as I write this, I can feel that sense of anticipation of all the experiences that are to come through this season.

In terms of my Sport Walking, I always take a more relaxed approach during October. I still walk strongly but I don’t have any specific aims and I don’t set any particular pace targets. I like to just go out and walk strongly, enjoying the trails in autumn and going as far as I feel like. It feels like a holiday and this freestyle approach is really rather liberating.

2024 was a little different for me because, for the first time, I had a winter challenge scheduled. I was entered in Hurtwood 50k (see below) in December and autumn fell right into my main preparation period but, interestingly, I didn’t find this problematic or frustrating. I trained at full strength but still got everything out of the season that I would have been seeking. What’s interesting is that this isn’t the same for me as when I’m taking on a summer challenge and I think this all comes down to the seasonal difference and how it impacts you.

For summer challenges, you’re doing a lot of structured work and some of your strongest efforts during the warmest phase of the year and that means you’re far more impacted by factors like hydration, managing heat, managing sun protection, clothing choice etc. Whereas being in full training during the autumn is easier to cope with and you can just get on with walking strongly and enjoying it.

This is one of the reasons why I’m gradually pivoting to scheduling my main challenges in the autumn, winter or early spring – it’s simply easier on so many levels. It also then means that the summer time can just be for fun, adventurous Sport Walks  and baseline training over shorter distances. When it’s hot, we can just go out Sport Walking, work hard, get all hot and sticky, put in a good workout and then come back, get cleaned up and hit our local beach or do something equally relaxing.

It is true that this approach is best suited to the 50k distance or less because of the amount of light available, unless of course, you’re happy to be out on the trails after dark in the winter. Night walking can still be a factor for long ultras in the summer but the conditions are much more friendly!

From my perspective, because I’ve done almost all the key distances up to 100 miles non-stop, I’m kind of happy with focusing more on the shorter ultras now, at least for a while. It’s not that I feel like I’ve done every long distance challenge I’d ever want to do but I’m less drawn to organised events for long challenges and would prefer to take on personal routes over 50k.

So that leaves the 50k and under distance for organised events and everything else will come under my personal challenge list. But this distance range is still quite well served during autumn and winter, so there’s quite a bit of scope for me to fill my calendar and make this pivot towards winter challenges work.

Even though I’m effectively inverting the normal challenge schedule, autumn will remain a starting point and a key seasonal switch for me. Now, instead of just going freestyle in the autumn, it’s the time when I switch to more focused training that will lead me through to challenges in the winter.

Autumn will remain a key season for me and I’m looking forward to this new approach. It’s still a season of new beginnings and it’s still a wonderful time to be out on the trail. Here in the New Forest, we have ‘Panage’ in the autumn, where they let pigs out into the forest to roam free so that they eat the acorns, which are toxic to the ponies. There’s nothing more enriching than turning a corner on a trail to be confronted by a gaggle of little spotted piglets snuffling through the undergrowth!

The other natural phenomenon going on in autumn of course is the deer rut and I’ve often encountered stags facing off to the side of the trail and you don’t get that down the gym……. OK…… maybe you do if you use the free weights area!

Of course you have to be really careful in these situations but, as an accompaniment to a training walk, it takes a bit of beating. Once, as I walked along a forest track, I saw four stags about twenty metres to my left, all strutting their stuff and posturing to each other. What was brilliant about this encounter was that while they were all obsessing about each other, another younger stag crossed the trail in front of me, followed by a fairly sizeable group of Does, all heading off into the undergrowth. I thought, you clever, sneaky bugger! “Come with me ladies, it’s not safe for you here, let me take care of you”! Yeah, right!

It’s experiences like this, married with the visual wonders that nature creates during autumn, that make it such a wonderful season and, as far as I’m concerned, make it one of the best times to go Sport Walking.