One of my favourite times to be out and about in a large city is the early morning, as the city slowly comes to life, and before the usual mass of people arrive. It is a time of day you share with delivery drivers, cleaners, and those out exercising and walking their dogs.

Part of my weekly routine in Melbourne included early morning runs by the Yarra River. For a large part of the year I got to watch the sun rise during those runs. I am not naturally awake early in the morning, so getting up was a challenge, but those runs were often the highlight of my day.

Yarra River in Melbourne

This morning, I dragged myself out of a cosy bed and braved the cold for a morning run in Lyon. It is not my first run since arriving, but it is the first one I’ve done in the early morning. Similar to Melbourne, my route takes me along the river, this time the Rhône.

As my lungs burned with the cold air, I focussed on the pale pink morning sky and the buildings across the river with purple smoke drifting from their chimneys and the fire orange sun reflected in their windows. There is something about running in a city before the day begins that really makes it feel like yours, and I imagine my new routine here will see many more sunrises by the river.