night runnin can be dangerous (Read 640 times)

Hey Paul, I can't give you any advice as I am totally new to this running thing but I thought I would tell you that I too find it much easier running in the evening. There must be a reason (but I can't think of it) why races aren't held in the late afternoon/evening because it sure is easier to pelt out the miles at the end of the day! My first race is next month and it starts at 10am so i have been wondering the same thing. Should I get up really early and go for a very short run or a walk to warm my body up or will some simple stretches be enough? It's summer here at the moment and so I have never faced running in the dark. I guess the best thing that I can think of is finding better lit routes! How long is your first race? Claire xxx

Time of the races: I actually talked to someone here in Nashvegas who does a lot of race organizing who told me the reason they are all held at the butt crack of dawn (7 or 8 AM on average) is because it is much easier to close roads when most people are still sleeping and the police and city officials are much cooler about it. Which actually made some sense to me, except for the fact that I too would like to still be sleeping. (Why not have them at 10 at night? Roads are quiet then, too, right?) And some folks like to run and get home to spend the rest of the day with their families. I think it has also become a tradition. I do love showing up in synagogue (I am notoriously late or absent due to sleeping!) and seeing people's faces when I tell them not only am I there earlier than normal, but I just ran 6 miles. (And for most of them anything over 2 miles seems idiotic - as it did for me too a year ago!) As for evening verses morning - I find I run better when I am actually awake. Which usually doesnt happen until around 10 at night. Seriously, though, I just have trouble doing much of anything in the morning, and unless I am meeting someone, no way am I getting up to run. I'll try again tomorrow. Maybe. Also, I am always thirsty in the morning. And rushed to get back to get to work\class on time. And did I mention I just dont get along with anything that happens before noon. I would recommend trying a few morning runs so you can try out your race-day pattern. They dont have to be long or fast, but enough to find out what sits well after a few miles. Breakfast? Fluids? I would probably get to the race a bit early, run a few minutes (5 or so), stretch a bit, and then head to the start line. Then again, I would probably over-sleep.

it is a 10K that I am doing, need to calm down on the alcohol over the festive period. My partner is giving me a lot of ear ache as I am being a bit of a humbug as I am totally devoted to my running. I have got a big lads night this sat, then one more next fri, and then there is xmas dinner and pud! AAAHHHHH Nightmare, why does xmas have to be synomynous with long late drinking binges and festive gluttony? I am going to stay focused however and keep up the hard training. On a side note, running at night gives you the illusion that you are moving quicker.

Where are you people finding all these 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. races? I don't think I've ever seen one after 8:00 a.m., ever. Getting up before dawn seems part of the racing thing. Maybe it's different in Europe and elsewhere. (Although I did just sign up for a night race, but that's a strange one ...) But Abbaroodle brings up a question with this:

Time of the races: I actually talked to someone here in Nashvegas who does a lot of race organizing who told me the reason they are all held at the butt crack of dawn (7 or 8 AM on average) is because it is much easier to close roads when most people are still sleeping and the police and city officials are much cooler about it.

She's right. There are always two reasons given for early runs. 1) The traffic problem - if a course is closed for 7 hours, starting at 7:00 a.m. gets the roads open before dinner, and 2) The weather - earlier started means earlier finished, before it can get too warm. I was definitely wishing last year's CMM had started at 5:00 a.m. So, TRENT ... can YOU guess the question the above called to mind? (Pause while Trent realizes the question and scampers away to the nearest fruit-bearing tree ...) Okay, Mr. Race Director .... if a race is held in, say, mid-November, and it's frickin' cold, and the course is held somewhere with no roads, no traffic ... and it isn't going to be closed anyway ... any idea why the @#%!% I'd have to get up and be at the starting line by 6:30 a.m.? Just sayin'. Your excuse should be enlightening. I suspect it boils down to friendly sadism. Which is always fun.

I carry one of those blinking armbands when running at night. Races usually start anywhere between 10.00 and 14.00 hours here. A race that starts at 8.00?? A race that starts at 6.30??? I can hardly walk that early in the morning. bas

That and nobody said the Monkey was meant to be friendly. In fact, I thought the Monkey was meant to be dang tough. What, you want Monkeys should carry you up them hills too? Sheesh.

Good call. You should probably just start it at 3:00 a.m. next year, so most of us can finish BEFORE the sun comes up. That way we'll be really hardcore, and impress more chicks. Bas - afternoon races? Geez. Get out of bed, you European slackers. If a race starts that late, how do you squeeze in a siesta? Seriously, on this side of the pond I don't think I've ever seen one much past 8:00 a.m. I think it's just part of the tradition for the American running scene. Because while it may make sense for a marathon (due to the traffic/heat concerns), there's no reason a 5-k has to start that early. But the last two I've run have both been at 8:00 or before. Another theory is that we just have sadistic race directors. See, for example, Trent. Who doesn't seem to care that even the monkeys would prefer to sleep in. I should call PETA.