Are we there, yet?
With the summer heat I'm looking into possibly running a night race, 11:00 PM - 11:00 AM rather than the more typical 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM offering. How do you prepare for that? Try to sleep during the day? Just pull a typical all-nighter? What about the trade off between fewer runners on the course but cooler temperatures? (.9913 mile loop, so far 16 in the 100M, 14 in the 24-hour, 7 in the daytime 12-hour, and 6 in the nighttime 12-hour). Any other thoughts or considerations? I don't know if the course will be lighted or I'd need my headlamp.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
I've only done Ragnar Relays, so it's a different feeling and they didn't start at night.
That said, my thought would be to try to take a long nap in the afternoon before the start. Then you can sort of flip the sleep cycle before starting the run. I think the fewer people and night running will make the running slower, but avoiding the heat is a good payoff. Starting at 11 PM seems really late to me - that last 5-6 hours is going to be rough after running through the night, especially if you're watching the heat.
Historically, I've been okay with pulling effectively an all-nighter with some napping, but I also have not been full out racing. You could look at what folks for Badwater have done; if I remember correctly, that race starts on Sunday night, but also has some events on Sunday morning. I've heard (from Bob Hearn's Badwater report) that most folks do get sleep on Sunday during the day. On the other hand, that's a 30 hour race, so you kind of need the switch.
Pain is my friend
My first 24 hour race started at 7 pm. It was weird to have the sun set at the beginning of the race. After 4 hours I got really tired. I don't normally get tired at all during the night. I did take a nap earlier that day. I am not a fan of night starts and will avoid them if I can.
ATY 24 141.445 2019 1st
Bear 100 22:08 2021
Jackpot 100 Feb 14:59 - 5th
Pulse endurance 48 hr 175.3 miles
Bonnevile Backyard ultra
Ute 100 Aug
24 hour loop race?
I was wondering the same thing. Last fall I almost signed up for a 24hr race that starts in the PM. I was going to try and get some sleep before the start. I have done the 12 hour race that starts the next morning at the same venue. I like the concept. Everyone finishes at the same time. My thinking is 24 hours on your feet after you have spent a whole day awake, on your feet, and moving around doesn't sound as good as 24 hours on your feet after just waking or getting up.
I did a 100 miler that started at 4 pm. Wasn’t a fixed time event so not directly comparable, but sort of similar generally. Felt weird having time to kill during the day, although it did ensure ample time for pre-race prep. I think the rationale was to have runners more fresh in the dark than if they had already run all day. I do think that helped me navigate in the dark a little better. To prepare, I tried to sleep in that morning and stay off my feet during the day. Doubt that it made any real difference.
5/11/24 Grizzly Peak Marathon, Berkeley, CA
7/20/24 Tahoe Rim Trail 56 miler, NV
9/21/24 Mountain Lakes 100, OR
You just get your stuff ready, and try to sleep before the start. If you can't sleep, have a cup of coffee and go run. It's hard to say if you'll get sleepy during the run, or if it will be like a 24 hour or 100 miler and it won't affect you at all. But you'll get through it either way.
Istria 110k 4-6-2024
WS100 6-29-2024
UTMB 171k 8-30-2024
MCM 10-27-2024