Doing it in the Dark...

It’s that time of year again. The hour has gone back and with it, all hope of squeezing in a training session after work before it gets dark. For some, it’s time to make like a hedgehog and resign to spend the winter in hibernation on the sofa. Some hit the streets and road run through until spring. For others, a glint in their eyes appears at the thought of all the adventures that await them.

Heather Dawe enjoying some night riding. Note the helmet mounted bike light that is great for making 'eye contact' with drivers and ensuring that they have seen you.

Running and riding off-road at night is a great way to continue getting out and about over the winter months. Not only really enjoyable in itself, it’s also a great way to maintain your fitness throughout the party season and burn off those all too tempting extra mince pies.

Running and riding in the dark can also improve your skill and technique. Only being able to see a few metres in front of you makes you a whole lot more reliant on your instinct, even on trails you know really well. As such, getting out in the dark can really spice up a familiar training run or bike ride.

Tripping the light fantastic...

In recent years, light technology has improved massively thanks to advances in both light and battery size and power. Bike lights and head torches have got incredibly powerful, smaller and lighter in weight.

Lights are getting better and brighter. Here a team on the 2007 High Peak Marathon speed past Winn Hill and into the night. Photo: John Arran / www.TheFreeClimber.com

They are getting cheaper too. Whilst you can spend hundreds of pounds on lights, advances in LED technology are making things cheaper and cheaper. If you’ve not yet dipped your toe in the world of night running and fancy having a go, check these bargain running lights out.

Besides those above, there are loads of lights to choose from. Some are very bike or running specific, others are good for both. Some brands like lumicycle offer very modular options that allow you to pick and choose how you use your lights according to what you’re up to.

Seeing and being seen

At the risk of sounding like your mother, if you’re going to be riding or running on the road at night, make sure you’re lit up like a Christmas tree. It’s really important to make sure you can be seen, don’t give car drivers an excuse to hit you!

Be brave...

At night even a falling leaf seems to make a really big noise. There’s no doubt that woods and moors can be pretty spooky in the dark. I once caught a deer’s eyes reflecting in my beam whilst out riding alone. I don’t think either my heart rate or bike speed have ever been higher.

Ride really fast so the goblins can’t catch you... even if it is backwards!

So, you either need to be braver than me (not that tricky really) or get out with a friend or two so you can all hold hands when that barn owl screeches scarily.

Night time navigation and orienteering

A great opportunity to get outrageously lost in the space of 50 metres. At least that’s what I found the first time I went night orienteering. I didn’t even have the excuse of not knowing the area as the event was in my local woods.

Orienteering in the dark adds a whole new dimension to a challenging sport. Over the autumn and winter many local orienteering clubs run night events, and will offer courses through from beginner to expert. These events are competitive, challenging and very enjoyable in themselves and also great opportunity to practice your night time navigation skills in preparation for other events (and you never know when you might get caught out on the fell).

Unless you are super fast (and your surname is Bland…) long distance challenges like the Bob Graham Round (the 65 mile, 42 peaks in 24 hours Lake District challenge) will require some night running. If you are training up for the BG or other overnight challenge, practising running and navigating on the fells in the dark will really help boost your confidence and ability to move faster in the dark.

Nocturnal races and events

Racing in the dark is getting more and more popular. There are many different formats of race that feature darkness. Some include navigation, others are eyeballs out racing. One of my favourite races in recent years was the night time-trial section of the TransWales in 2006. Held on the fantastic technical mountain bike trails at Coed y Brenin, this was an awesome 45 minute lung-buster that really tested everyone’s night riding skills and was loads of fun.

Night time-trial are fast and furious. Photo Matt Skinner / TransScotland

Adventure Races like Ace Races, the Open12 and Open24 incorporate both foot, mountain bike (and occasionally kayaking) in the dark into their formats. The autumn Polaris now has a two-hour night navigation section. Race organisers know how much fun racing in the dark is and plan accordingly. This spring’s Deerstalker trail race up in the Scottish borders was a great success, with over 1000 competitors. Similar races are being planned for next year.

The interesting things you get up to in the small hours during the Open24... Tandem MTB Racing!

One of the forerunners of night time mountain bike racing were the 24-hour mountain bike races. Mountain Mayhem and Sleepless were the first. They’ve been rapidly followed by plenty of others including the 12-hour Dusk til Dawn and Bontager 24-12.

The High Peak Marathon is a classic 42 mile bog-fest around the Derwent watershed in the heart of the Peak District. Probably one of the first UK night races, to add to the pleasure that bog-trotting such a distance brings, the race is run overnight, the first weekend in March each year.

These are just a few of the night races you can do. They are great fun and a good way of finding a new challenge if you fancy a bit of a change. I still think however that night riding and running really come into their own on a cold frosty moonlit night, blazing around some trails and fells with a few friends. If the outing happens to finish at a pub for beer and chips so much the better!