Written by Michael Lepore
Tip Tuesday – Running in the Dark
It’s getting to be that time of year again! It’s a bit colder – and running feels great again! We’ve already talked about how to make sure you dress to stay warm, but we didn’t talk about the other challenge that Fall and Winter brings to running in New England – the lack of daytime hours!
That means that many of us run before the sun comes up, or after it goes down. And while humans are built for running, we’re not really built for seeing in the dark!
Unfortunately that goes for both us as runners – it is hard to see where we are going – but just as importantly – other people who occupy our favorite running areas – streets. And they have cars. And they can’t see us very well. And cars hurt.
So we’ll talk about 2 things today – how to see better in the dark, and how to be seen better in the dark!
Let’s first talk about how to be seen better!
Visibility
The first rule of running at night is to make sure you are visible! Visibility should be a combination of:
- Visible Clothing
- Reflection
- Lights
Visible clothing – make sure to wear bright colors. This makes it easier for folks who are driving with big lights to see you. White isn’t the best either – especially when it starts snowing. Lots of colors – fluorescent yellows, greens, blues, oranges. Anything that is bright!
Reflection – lots of running clothes and shoes have reflective strips on them. It is surprising how effective this is to a car with oncoming headlights. Look for clothes and shoes with reflectors. It turns out that seeing moving feet is a great indicator of human life to drivers, and they recognize it quickly. You can also buy vests that have reflection built in.. like this combination of a vest and arm bands:
https://www.amazon.com/Reflective-Running-Adjustable-Ultralight-Walking/dp/B07S1S4ZQH
With a cost of $14 – it is an inexpensive way to stay visible.
Lights – if you’ve been running with the Striders in the dark, I’m sure you’ve seen folks wearing light-up vests. The most popular ones come from a company called Noxgear, and the latest versions are rechargeable, turn lots of colors, and even can have a chest lamp in the middle (as an add-on of course):
https://www.noxgear.com/
The Traceer 2 vest is the one that you probably see lots of folks wearing. It costs between $60-75 depending on sale prices. A little more costly.
You can get budget versions for much less on Amazon. I don’t personally have experience with them, but a few Striders have them, and you can ask around for their experience.
Some striders have added lights to their headlamps, hats, arms, feet – you name it. Just make sure you have lights or reflectors to stay visible. Think about how someone in a car will see you – when they’re driving toward you at night!
Vision
Now that drivers can see you – you have to be able to see the ground you’re running on. How much light you need really depends on where you’re running! If you’re running in a well-lit downtown with lots of streetlights, you probably don’t need as much light as you do if you’re running on technical trails in the woods with no moon!
The number and types of lighting are almost infinite. Headlamps, waistlamps, handhelds, chest lamps, etc. No matter what kind of lamp you have here are some things to think about:
- Batteries – is it rechargeable, or does it have replaceable batteries – what kind of charge port does it have? How long does it last?
- Safety features – does it have some kind of additional visibility lamp (like a red light for visibility from behind?)
- Brightness – how bright is it?
- Angle – One of the downsides of having a headlamp is that you don’t see shadows all that well, because the light is coming from your head. Instead having a light at a different elevation can help bring depth to your running.
Let me just call out some of my favorites:
- Lightweight – I love to have a lightweight headlamp that I can stick in a pocket. One of my personal favorites is the Petzl BINDI – really small, but bright enough to act as a backup and just always have on me.
https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Headlamps/BINDI - Extra bright waistlamp – My favorite stand alone – extra bright – lamp is a waist lamp made by UltraSpire called the Lumen. The new version is here, and is great on trails or roads, and lasts a long time.
https://ultraspire.com/products/lumen-400z-2-0/ - Integrated to the Noxgear vest – for street running, when I’m wearing a Noxgear vest – I really like the light they make that clips to the center of the vest. They make the “tracer lamp” that is just super convenient and easy for a striders-after-dark run or I guess one of those runs the crazy people do before dawn:
https://www.noxgear.com/store/tracer-lamp - Handhelds – I am not a huge fan of these, but I know a bunch of runners that really like handheld lamps. Here’s one that has a bunch of good features (like a light in the back for visibility) and has pretty good reviews:
https://www.nathansports.com/collections/flashlights/products/polaris-400-rx-runners-hand-torch
No matter what you’re doing – just think about where you’ll be running, and what your preference is when you’re out there.
Remember – running before light or after dark can be a lot of fun – especially when you’re with a whole crew of Striders! Just make sure to stay safe out there. See well and be seen!
