a unique look at running at night

Marcia Rasmussen

12/17/08

There's one thing I purposely do NOT train for. I don't go bang out a lot of
long runs at night. That's because I really enjoy running at night, and
don't ever want it to become drudgery. When I go to a 100-mile ultra, I look
forward to the nighttime hours as something very special. I love to look at
the stars and watch for meteors. (If you've never watched the Perseids while
running Death Valley, you haven't lived.) If it's a moonlit night, I like to
turn off my lamp. I like to watch for pairs of eyes glowing in the
underbrush and see owls winging along silently overhead. The specialness of
it helps distract me from any pain or boredom I might otherwise feel. So I
guess this is mental training too. In the days and weeks before a 100-miler,
I'm looking forward to the night out. I do enough dark running to test my
night gear, but beyond that, I SAVE IT.