Nocturnal Intel - Part III

 I have spent more time that I care to admit running on the roads and trails after the sun has long passed over the horizon. Much of it, I always felt that I was struggling to see. I guess here is where one could inject a hearty laugh or at least a pretty good snicker. After all, struggling to see at night is pretty much a given. Right. 

While I agree seeing at night on a trail will never be what it is during the day, I learned a few tricks which help me. I wanted to share one of them here. 

Typically, I see runners with a head lamp attached, of course, on their head. There will be a few with either lamp on their waist or on their chest. I have even seen a few with flash lights. 

Much of my past runs, I have used the head lamp. On several occasions, I have used a waist lamp as well. 

While the combined light does help, I come to realize that it is not amount of light but the amount of shadow cast that helps with my depth perception. 

To help cast a better shadow, I pulled off my head lamp and started carrying it in my hand. Holding it at or just below my waist, and slightly out from my side, and pointing the light back toward the center of the trail causes the roots and rocks to cast a better shadow that my eyes more easily pick up.  

Since I converted over, I found myself running a bit more at ease and maybe a little faster. 

It does take a bit of getting use to.

Give it a try during your next night time trail run. Focus on the using the shadow cast to help guide you along through the roots and rock offered up by the trail. You may get converted as well. 

Cool Down Runner - After dark.