In the dark

My next race, the Glasshouse 100, starts at 5.30am in the morning.

(Not tomorrow morning. On race morning.)

I don't know how long it's going to take me to run 100ks, but it's pretty likely I'll still be running when it gets dark. So last weekend I did my first night run in preparation.


I will have to admit that it was a bit of a lame night run. My original plan was a 15k run up South Boundary Road from The Gap, but they were burning off out there and it didn't seem like a smart option.

Instead I ran out towards Nudgee Beach from the Nundah Criterium Track. It's a sealed bike path, but there's a few ks of dirt track that serves as emergency access from the Gateway Motorway, so I took that to get at least some off road.

And, it's completely deserted out there, so I was guaranteed of no ambient light.

Apart from myself, here's the rig I was testing.  KKB's Ay-Up lights, with a head mount.

They are excellent lights and I never felt like I couldn't see what was ahead of me, which is good news.

The terrain was fairly tame, so the run was pretty straightforward. I kind of thought it would be more frightening, more magical, or... something.  But I felt really comfortable, even as the dark closed in on me and the night air became heavier.

But something else happens in the dark.

I don't know whether you hear better when you have one less sense to rely on, or whether there are more creatures that are more active at night.

But it looks like I'll have to get used to the unknown rustles in the bushes that seemed more pronounced in the dark.