- At this time of year,
in the murky depths of winter,
it can be really hard to run during the daytime,
especially on a working weekday.
- Yeah, so unless you're gonna spend all of your time
running indoors on the treadmill
or you're gonna stop running all together,
then you're gonna have to embrace the idea
of running in the dark.
- But is that okay and should you run outside
in the dark?
Well, in today's video,
we're gonna get you up to speed
with running in the hours of darkness.
(futuristic electronic music)
- The most important part about running in the dark
is being visible, so if you are heading out
before sunrise or after sunset,
make sure you're wearing some bright clothing.
Whether that's a white or a bright yellow piece of clothing
or even something fluorescent,
and also make sure it's got some reflector strips on it.
- Yeah, and although plenty of our kit
is already probably reflective to some degree,
there's no harm in getting a little bit more
as we're wearing right now.
So you can get some snap-on bends
as Fraser's modelling currently for us right now,
nice bright vest, as I'm wearing,
or even some bright clothing
like Heather and Fraser are wearing.
- A good headtorch is also a great tool
for night running anywhere that isn't street lit
and really worth its weight to go.
Not only will it give us a much improved field of vision
and allow us to run faster than we would without it,
but perhaps, more crucially,
it allows others to see us too.
- Running at night is obviously very different,
and one significant thing that I notice
running in the dark is how I often feel
that I'm running much faster.
This is due to the optic flow
which is basically people's perception of movement
relative to their surroundings.
So for example, if there was an object
a long way in the distance,
it will feel like you're not getting any closer to it,
but things close by like bushes to your side
will feel like their breezing past.
- Yeah, and by running on routes that you know well,
you're hopefully taking that night time element of surprise
out of the equation and because things
seem to appear to move faster in the dark,
you also want to be careful with our footing.
So, by knowing the route well,
hopefully making it safer.
- Start by practising on a trail that you know well
in the daylight.
It will feel different, but hopefully not that different.
- And let's not forget that darkness
has a nasty habit of hiding rocks or routes on the trail
or cracks and potholes in the road,
so just be sure to keep your wits about you.
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- Quite simply, we want to be able
to see oncoming traffic
and that means being able to see the headlights of the cars.
The best thing, really, to do, however,
is avoid roads that are busy
and certainly those that don't have a pavement
or a good wide shoulder to run on.
- Literally, this is something that I'm really good at
when it comes to cycling, but not always so good at
when it comes to running
and that is really silly because I'm perhaps
going off into trials in remote areas
and into darkness, so I'd always recommend
taking a phone with you and perhaps some form of ID
and some money if you do get yourself in trouble
and you need to get yourself out of it.
You can carry all of that in some form of pouch
or something that go around your waist like this.
(upbeat instrumental music)
- It is a cliche,
but there is strength and safety in numbers.
So ideally, you don't want to be running alone in the dark
and if you have to, just make sure
that you let someone know where you're going
and how long you're going to be gone for.
Alternatively, there are several running groups or clubs
which go out in the dark,
so you can join those
and you also get the social benefit as well.
(upbeat instrumental music)
- Try to avoid wearing headphones
when you're running outdoors at night,
'cause to be blunt, cutting off your sense of hearing
leaves us at a very distinct disadvantage
and if you absolutely have to run with something
that gives you sound or music,
try and have the volume quite low
or run with one earbud out
so that it just gives you that bit more
of appreciation of what's happening around you
'cause spatial awareness is really useful at night.
(funky instrumental music)
- Now if you ask me, running in the evening
brings a whole new atmosphere and experience to the table,
which I absolutely love because as you go further
into the evening, the traffic dies down,
you get rid of that daytime bustle,
and also added to the fact that running
almost had an anxiety reducing
and almost sort of calming effect.
Or all in all, it's more enjoyable
and hopefully, leaves you feeling a little bit more relaxed.
- And if you do have the chance
to run out on the trails,
you might even be treated to wonderful views of the stars
and maybe even a lovely moonlight evening.
- Instead of relying on our vision
like we do when we're running in the day time,
when we're running at night,
we've got to think an awful lot more about
lower limb proper receptive skills
which is essentially what our feet are doing
when they hit the ground.
- Yeah, it almost forces us to go into
a sort of more reactive and almost automatic state.
So rather than thinking
about every foot strike and how we plant or foot,
hopefully just do that almost automatically,
comfortably, making our running more efficient.
- And I must admit, there's something pretty satisfying
having done your run at night
and then tucking up in bed afterwards.
And you might be worried that those endorphins
that you got from your run are gonna keep you up,
but there's actually a study that shows
if you do moderate exercise or moderate running
for an hour or more,
it'll actually help you fall into a deep sleep
within just half an hour.
- Now when we talk about darkness,
we quite often automatically think of the evening.
But obviously, it's referring to both morning and evening
and on that note, actually,
one real positive to running in either the morning
or the evening that is quite often overlooked
is the fact that we can run through
the sunrise or the sunset,
which is really quite rewarding.
- And it does split opinions
as to whether it's better to run
early in the morning in the dark or later in the evening.
It can be argued that there's a physiological benefit
to running later on because your body
is naturally a little bit more warmed up,
you've been active moving throughout the day
and your core temperature is likely to be higher
in the evening than when we first get up in the morning
so in theory, you are less likely to get injured.
- All right, let's not stray from the fact
that some running is of course better than no running,
so whenever you've got some time,
especially if it's in the night time,
throw on your own shoes and go out for a run.
- Running in the dark can be a little intimidating
so hopefully this video has given you that confidence
to go out there and give it a go.
- And if you've got any stories about running in the dark
then please let us know.
Drop them in the comments below.
If you liked the video, give us a thumbs up
and do remember to click on the globe
to subscribe for all our other videos,
and for the video that Heather did
about how to run a sub-four hour marathon, click here.
- Yeah, and if you'd like to see what to wear
for winter running, just click down here.