For some people running in the evening or even the middle of the night can be very exciting and thrilling!  It is a whole different world in the dark, often much cooler, peaceful, and quiet.  Nature really comes alive in the dark as well, seeing and hearing animals that don’t often come out during the day.  Just the element of the dark can also ignite your adrenaline, helping you to even run some great times and accomplish great workouts.

However, at the same time it can be very dangerous to run in the dark.  If you’ve ever came across someone running or riding their bike at night and had so swerve out of the way at the last minute because you didn’t see them knows that danger involved.  So, you need to make sure you are seen, and seen early.  Here are a few tips to make sure you are seen when running in the dark.

Don’t Wear Black

It seems so simple, but don’t wear black or dark apparel at night.  I think you know why.

Instead, wear reflective apparel so the light from vehicles will “light you up” from afar.  Brooks has a new line of apparel called Nightlife that is pretty cool, offering very attractive bright colored technical shirts, jackets, hats, and pants with great reflectors that will make sure to make you visible!

Have a Light

In addition to reflective wear, having a light will greatly increase your visibility.  Nathan makes a lot of practical running lights, some high reflective stuff that can clip on your hat, wear around your arm, and even that you can wear on the back of your shoes.  They also make headlamps that are comfortable for running, so not only will people see you but you can also see what is in front of you so you don’t trip in that pothole.

Running at night can be a great experience, but only if people can see you.  If you are planning on participating in the Run4Wine, Nathan and Brooks will be there giving demos of their running safety lights and Nightlife apparel, so be sure to look for them at the race and even take some extra cash if you find something you can’t live without!