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Night Running | 10 Tips That You Should be Following If You Want To Go Running At Night

Forget about running in the day and start being a night runner instead

The 9 to 5 always becomes that little bit harder in the winter months, doesn’t it? You find yourself working all through the day, and when night approaches, you swiftly leave the office to relax and plonk yourself in front of the latest ‘thing’ on Netflix. Even worse, in more recent times, that ‘office’ has likely become your living room or bedroom; making detaching yourself from these environments after a long day even harder. Well, what if we told you that night running could be the answer?

Usually, you’d take one look outside of the window and determine that it’s too dark to even contemplate going for a run. You tell yourself you’ll go in the morning. That’s a lie. Before you know it, you’ve overslept and are now 40 minutes late for that all-important zoom meeting.

Come and find that running routine once again by incorporating some night runs into your evening. Below you’ll find ten of the most essential tips to get you started on your new night running journey.

Safety Before Everything

If you want to run in the night, then you need to understand that safety is of utmost importance. You should be able to set forth on your night run without the lowest risk possible. Here are some key things to remember before lacing up those trainers:

Tell People – If running alone, it’s good practice to let others know where you plan to run. This way, you’ll always have a person aware of your whereabouts, and they can check in on you at any time.

The Route – Make use of those street lights and make sure your route is well-lit. You can do this by plotting out your run around your neighbourhood and choosing a place you’re familiar with. Alternatively, if you live in the countryside, be sure to go out with a head torch on.

Be Seen – It may not be fashionable, but god is it life-saving. Wearing hi-visibility clothing is a must for any night runner who wants to alert drivers on the road.

Leave The Headphones At Home

Who would have thought that you can actually run without music? Well, you can and you should use this rare quiet time to reflect on your day, and give yourself some much needed headspace.

Running at night without having the full use of your ears is not something you ever want to do. It will increase your chance of injury and make you lose touch with your surroundings. Sure, that playlist may be fire but it will play just as well in the daytime.

Meal Prep To Save Time

Picture the scene – you just got back from a 5k night run, and you’ve bloody killed it. Well done. But now you have zero energy to make dinner because it’s all been used up on your late night excursion. So, you pick up the phone and make an order for your favourite takeaway. Trust us, we’ve all done this in our lives.

The answer to stopping this from happening is to meal prep, meal prep, and meal prep. It will save you time, and it will save your bank balance as well – leaving you with more funds for to spend on running gear.

If you know you’ve got a busy week of night running planned, then make some bulk meals on the weekend. This way you’re going straight from running to eating a hearty meal giving your body the recovery it needs.

 

Run With Someone

Doing stuff on your own is great, but the addition of someone else brings an entirely new flavour to the pot. The same goes for exercise, and night running is most certainly a thing that’s made more fun by the addition of an extra soul.

It can be your work colleague, it could be your best friend, or it might even be your dog – the possibilities of running with someone are endless.

Not only is it nice to hear someone else heavily breathing next to you (not in a weird way), it also adds an element of safety to your runs. It’s the perfect option if you’re totally against solo running. Likewise, the same could be said for joining your local running club, where group runs will make you a night running lover.

Track Your Run

Tracking your run is essential if you plan to become a night runner. Using apps like Strava or Komoot makes it easy to keep a record of your favourite routes. Plus, if you get lost on your night run, you’ll be able to retrace your steps in a jiffy by looking at your tracker.

Research suggests that we tend to run faster in the night due to the temperature often being cooler and us being more naturally alert at that time. Why don’t you put this to the test? Where you can compare them to some of your rare daytime running adventures.

Night Gear

Credit: Outdoors Magic

We aren’t suggesting here you go out to buy a cape and mask to fight villains of the night, as cool as that would be. No, the type of equipment we want you to have is the stuff that can help you take on the night run safely and at speed.

Reflective Clothing – As previously mentioned, this is your bread and butter of night running, and without it, you may as well be running naked. Reflective clothing comes in all shapes and sizes – it can be a vest, hoodie, or it can be a headband. Whatever it is, just make sure you’re sporting something shiny.

Gloves and Snood – Keeping those hands and head warm is the key to enjoying your night runs, and it could be the difference between you enjoying your run or never wanting to do it again.

Head Torch  – This one might not be for everyone, but if you want to up safety even further, then you can’t go wrong with a trusty head torch. It will allow you to create the safest pathway for your runs, and will fasten securely on to your hat.

Check out the Outdoor 100 for top gear recommendations.

Use It To Build A More Healthy Night Routine

If we are being honest with ourselves, the TV should be treated as a precious commodity. Instead, all of us are guilty of reaching for the remote as soon as our working day ends. If it’s not that, then it’s mindless scrolling of social media. Why not use night running to break the habit and get yourself into a healthy night routine?

Night running can give you exactly this by giving you a goal and purpose to achieve. Get your running gear on pronto after work and get yourself out exploring the night trails. When you get back, your mind will be refocused, and the television will still be there as a reward for all your hard work.

Keep Runs Short And Sweet

If you find it hard to motivate yourself for night running, then trying to reach 26.2 miles isn’t going to be an enjoyable experience. Use night running as a chance to get your short game up to scratch. The types of distances you want to reach are 5 or 10k’s, an achievable goal that you can fit into your everyday routine.

You can even push the boat out and go a little bit further but don’t feel the pressure to get all your miles done in the night. This is why we have the weekends – where we can enjoy Saturday and Sunday daytime runs.

Check The Weather Forecast

How many times have you gone for a run without checking the forecast and end up coming back into the house looking like Worzel Gummidge? Doing this in the night time is a big mistake and one you will learn from.

Download a weather app and make sure you’re prepared for any potential precipitation that might happen on your run. The last thing you want is to be out there in a vest and shorts when a typhoon hits you from every direction.

 Embrace Your Inner Night Owl 

Stop lying by telling yourself you’re going to be a morning person. You’ve known it for far too long that you’re a night owl, and it’s about time you start embracing it.

Getting up at the crack of dawn and attempting to shove raw eggs down your gullet is the life for Eddie Hall (the world’s strongest man, 2017). By deciding to run in the night, you’re becoming a superhero. You’re becoming the night owl. You’re becoming… The Night Runner (no capes).

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