Last night I discovered the joys of running after dark. With the kids back in school and their activity schedules cranking up, my exercise schedule has gotten increasingly unpredictable, though I’ve done my best to remain consistent.
Yesterday I had every intention of running when I awoke, but the wheels came off shortly after my alarm clock buzzed, and I wound having to delay until later in the day. After work, I picked up one son from cross country practice and then took another son to soccer.
During soccer practice, I finished up some last minute work, and then hustled home. By the time I hit the road for my run, the sun was setting. The good news is that our typical summer weather pattern has broken, and it’s really starting to cool down in the evenings.
Beyond the cooler temperatures, I noticed several other things that I liked about running at dusk. For starters, our neighborhood is very quiet, but it’s even more quiet at that time of night. In fact, I only saw a couple of cars during my run.
I also enjoyed getting out after a stressful day, rather than before it, when my mind is racing with all of the things that I have to do. Last night, my mind was filled with the sounds of nature and the sight of things like fireflies buzzing around in the trees.
But the biggest thing that I liked was the sense of peaceful solitude that came from running at dusk. It’s hard to explain, but as night closed in around me, my focus seemed to improve and my running got easier. I felt like I could run forever.
Cautionary note: If you’re running at night, you need to be smart. Don’t take unnecessary risks. Run in a familiar area, be aware of your surroundings, wear light colored and reflective clothing, watch your footing, etc.
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Running at night is a lot of fun. You feel as though you are going a lot faster than you really are. I actually spend a lot of time running trails through the winter as it’s much safer than running on the roads, even in the dark over the snow and under the trees.
A good headlamp can make a big difference, whether you run trails or roads, and reflective clothing is important if you’ll be running with traffic.
Here’s a video I put together a while ago that lays out everything you might want to use and that you might find helpful:
(It’s a part of my series on running in the Winter, but this piece is applicable to Summer and Autumn evening runs as well.)
I love exercising in the evening, whether it’s running or something else, because it completely washes away the stress of the day.
It also doesn’t require sunscreen, which most other times of day would require.