I love almost everything about fall. Especially running.

Running in the crisp, cool weather brings a renewed sense of energy. It gives us beautiful, bright scenery. It brings a line-up of great races.

During a training run last weekend, the streets were filled with runners taking advantage of a near-perfect day. It helped that it fell on what would have been the longest run on many training plans for longer fall races. By the end of the 11-mile run with my training buddy, I had lost count of how many runners we saw that day.

We waved to each other, and at times, joined each other for a few steps. We shared our water stops and swapped stories and knowledge about races. It was fall running at its best.

But what fall also brings is the harsh realization that winter is right around the corner.

There are fewer than 12 hours of daylight now. It's dark when I get up, and often, it's dark by the time I get home from work. Shorter days force us to be a little more creative to find the time to safely squeeze in miles on workdays.

This creativity might come in the form of mid-day runs during breaks at work, assuming you have access to a shower. Or it could mean adjusting your work hours sightly to take advantage of the morning daylight, assuming you have the flexibility to rearrange your schedule.

It might mean those of us who spend daylight hours at work will be relegated to the treadmill more often. At times, we'll be ambitious and don reflective vests and blinking lights.

For now, we will try to figure out how to handle what Mother Nature brings us.

With the days toggling between seemingly balmy sunny weather and frosty, see-your-breath mornings, knowing exactly what to wear has been a challenge. In the past few weeks alone, I've dived into all of the options — shorts, tank tops, running tights, long-sleeved thermal shirts and jackets.

I haven't quite gotten into the hats and gloves (hiding my hands in my sleeves still works for now), but the changing seasons have pushed me to start digging through my running supplies to get them ready.

Despite the challenges that come with winter running, it can be a great time to run. In fact, when I review my training logs for the past few years, I noticed that I log the most running miles during the winter months.

I realize I might need a little extra motivation, so I'm already scanning the list of winter races. For me, I'm eyeing the Half at the Hamptons on Feb. 24 as my winter motivation. It's one of my favorite races, despite the fact that the weather at a half-marathon along the coastline can be unpredictable, at best.

To keep up the motivation during the winter months, my running buddy and I have already planned to keep up our weekly running date after the Manchester City (Half) Marathon in a coupe of weeks. I think we've (re)realized how much a running partner adds accountability, support and just plain fun.

See, there's no reason to hang up your running shoes when the cold weather hits. It just takes a little more preparation — and the proper supplies.

If you've never embraced winter running, make an attempt to try it this year. I promise you that even one outdoor run a week, when you can take advantage of the most daylight and warmest hours of the day, will be invigorating.

It might be a little lonelier, a little more slippery and a whole lot colder, but you won't regret it. For now, however, I hope fall sticks around a little longer.

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Teresa Robinson's NH Runner column appears every other week in the New Hampshire Sunday News. She can be reached at NHRunner123@gmail.com. Twitter: @teresakrobinson.