The cusp between colorful early autumn and chilly later autumn footraces is loaded with activity. This Sunday, for Valley runners who aren’t in New York for the marathon, the local running calendar offers four different races in the space of three hours.

Two of these races are a joint production: the Western Mass. 10, a 10-mile jaunt from UMass to the Norwottuck Rail Trail, thence to Northampton, with a finish at the Deck Bar by Union Station; and the NoHo 5K, which starts at Union Station and finishes there too, after following a compact course on the bike path and North, Market, Cherry and Parsons Streets. These races are presented by Trinity Health Of New England Orthopedics, under the aegis of the Hartford Marathon Foundation, which puts on numerous races in southern New England, attracting thousands of runners and donating some of each race’s proceeds to charitable organizations.

The charitable donation theme has figured large in popular races for many years. Besides putting money into the treasuries of worthy organizations – the beneficiary of the WMASS 10 is Girls On The Run, which, as you might suppose, encourages girls to run, gives them some happy, upbeat coaching, involves them in a community service project and a 5-kilometer run – the charity element helps publicize worthy causes and makes people feel good. My younger stepdaughter participated in Girls On The Run and found it a splendid experience.

Inevitably, the charitable element makes the cost of running a race considerably higher than it used to be. When I first ran the Boston Marathon (1978), the entry fee was $12. The marathon now supports 174 charities, and the entry fee is $250. The entry fee for Sunday’s Western Mass 10 is $71. As one acquaintance remarked this week, “It’s a lot to pay to run a route I normally run every week for free.” But he added that his friends in eastern Massachusetts are delighted to come out here and run this race, especially because it’s their chance to enjoy such a scenic course.

Besides all those tree-lined miles in Hadley, the race offers an aesthetic finish. In the final two miles you cross the Connecticut River on the former railroad bridge and enter Northampton the back way, from Woodmont Street through a tunnel, behind the King Street parking lots and stores, and over Main Street on the truck-eating bridge before finishing at The Deck.

The 10-mile race starts at 8:30 a.m. on Haigis Mall at UMass. If you’re the last-minute type, you can register Sunday morning at Union Station (by 7:15 would be smart) and then ride the shuttle bus to Amherst. Or register for the NoHo 5K, which starts at 8:15.

The post-race party for both events promises excellent food and beer. The fact that the beer tent opens at 9 a.m. makes me think of the late Kris Kristofferson song “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” but I cannot recall ever seeing runners drinking irresponsibly after a workout or a race at any hour. If you’re a beer fan, drink extra water before and after. By the way, sports nutritionists have told me that non-alcoholic beer is a respectable carbohydrate replacement beverage.

I miss Ed Sandifer. A math professor and super-avid runner who completed 37 consecutive Boston Marathons, Ed died in 2022. When he was a graduate student at UMass and a member of the Greater Springfield Harriers, Ed would run everything and everywhere, including sometimes running two races the same day.

Ed would easily have done that on Sunday: He could have run the NoHo 5K, finishing in probably under 20 minutes, eaten a snack and sipped some tea, and then driven to the Holyoke Elks Club in time to run the Halloween Holyoke Firefighters 5K, which starts at 10 a.m. and accepts registration until 9:59 a.m. If he had been feeling even more zealous, Ed could then have driven to Westfield just in time to run the WSU Athletic Training 5K Fundraiser, which starts at 11 a.m. at the Westfield State University campus, 400 Western Avenue. Costumes are encouraged for both these races.

Speaking of attire for running, reverting tonight to Eastern Standard Time means that, if you run in the late afternoons now, you’ll be running into darkness. Be sure you’re wearing a high-visibility jacket or vest. Reflective bands around your ankles or reflectors on your shoes are helpful too. For good measure, get one of those red blinking bicycle taillights and clip it onto your hat or collar. And a headlamp.

John Stifler has taught writing and economics at UMass and has written extensively for running magazines and newspapers. He can be reached at jstifler@umass.edu