Night running

Off road in winter?

Surely not - what? It's dark, wet, and can't be safe - can it?

Back in October just before the clocks went back and thoroughly enjoying the Wednesday evening fell runs, the realisation dawned that it wouldn't be as easy as this for much longer. Already the nights were drawing in and the familiar distinct chill in the air was becoming apparent.

Pavement pounding was becoming more of a reality - or was it? For those of us that just do prefer mud, sludge, hills and bogs the tarmac wasn?t an option.

So, an intrepid few, myself included, who to be fair had no idea what to expect - invested in head torches, after much deliberation I hasten to add - did you know just how many there are to choose from, it's worse than shopping for shoes!

The head torch arrived inducing much mirth in the Gregory household however it has been noted that certain family members have found the head torch rather useful when retrieving decorations from the loft this Christmas!!

I have to say our first couple of outings were rather disappointing! Why? At the end of October it just wasn't going dark early enough! Here we were, all kitted out, head torches at the ready. Batteries fully charged, eagerly anticipating the star lit dark blanket covering the west Pennine moors yet it was still dusk as we neared the end of our runs!

Fear not, no sooner had Autumn taken a full hold with the icy breath of Winter whispering in our ears we had the full impact of night running thrust upon us. Not the easiest of initiations either as Mother Nature has thrown her worst at us on numerous occasions. Not only was the weather against us but those first tentative steps off road was rather like watching Bambi trying to skate! It is however something that does get easier with practice!

It is true to say that I would make a pretty lousy navigator as even after almost 4 months of running in the dark every path still looks the same! Thankfully we do have someone who does know where he is going!

But, it is true running in the dark isn't as mad or as daring as it sounds.

The trods around Rivington, the Pike, Two lads etc are pretty clear and for the uninitiated relatively straight forward underfoot. Apparently, running in the dark makes you more surefooted although I'll let you know if that is the case after a few races in the daylight!

On average about 5 of us turnout for a run on occasion there have been more hopefully all enjoying it as much as I do, the pace is obviously slower in the dark and we do all stick together (the advantage of this of course is there is even more light cast!) and we tend to miss out the tricky descents and stick to the well marked routes, although we have been known to venture down the back of winter hill in the howling gale and freezing cold with a rapidly fading light due to battery failure!

No, it seems you don't have to be cloven footed mountain goat with the night vision of a bat to run off road in the winter, but you do need a sense of humour and fully charged batteries!!

We set off every Wednesday from the Leisure centre in Horwich and run for about an hour ,so for anybody who can feel the call of the wild or is just a little bit curious as to what exactly it is like then please feel free to join us - the loan of spare headtorches can be arranged - no excuses!!

Emma