Running at Night Safely

Wednesday night after work I braved the cold air and darkness to go on a run. Running has been hard for me lately. I’ve been struggling with motivation to run since I’m loathing the treadmill and dreading running in the dark (more so for my safety…) and the cold temperatures.

Wearing our reflective gear during Ragnar Relay was a must!

Since I figured I have a bunch of running safety gear already, I’d do it. Here’s what you need if you want to run at night:

• Headlamp – mine is a Totes headlamp that isn’t running specific, but you can find special running headlamps at specialty running stores or sporting stores like EMS. I got it for Christmas from my parents one year!
• Bright clothes – I have a ton of neon green running shirts that I’ve gotten from past races, so I make sure to throw one over my long sleeve running jacket for extra visibility. There’s nothing worse to wear then dark clothes when running at night.
• Reflective vest – my mom gave me two reflective vests–one is an LL Bean brand and one is Nathan–I think they are older so I couldn’t find the exact ones online, but one like this Nathan reflective vest is great!
• Reflective arm straps -again, my mom gave me four of these reflective straps to wear on my arms and legs when running at night. They make you super visible to drivers!
• Blinking tail light – I acquired a few little blinking red lights somehow, probably with some race swag bags over the years, but they flash red and its great to put on the back of the vest for some extra visibility. This Nathan blinking red light seems like it would work perfectly.

I realize I never had to pay for any of my safety gear. I have no excuse to not run at night. Thankfully I run mostly on sidewalks, but its still great to be visible to drivers when I’m crossing streets. I felt like a glowing beacon when I was running. At least drivers could see me! Nothing makes me angrier when I see runners/walkers/cyclists riding/running in the dark at night with no reflective gear. Be safe, runners!

Now, handling the cold is another ballgame.