Top 5 Night Trail Run Tips

Some people love it, some people hate it, but unless you’re either lucky enough to have oodles of time to run during daylight hours or you’re happy clocking up mile after mile on a treadmill, running in the dark is just something you need to get out there and get on with.

It’s pretty much the same with off-road running; some people love a spot of muddy hilliness; some people hate it. Whether you like it or not, squeezing in some weekly trail time can do wonders not only for running strength and form but will also calm the mind and feed the soul.

This weekend I'm doubling down. Not only will I be taking my running crew (the awesome South Downs Trailblazers) on a night run, but it’s on the trails too.

Here are a few helpful tips to help us keep safe during a night time trail and get a load more from it.

1. Know your route

Even the most well-trodden daytime trail becomes a different beast at night, so choose a route that you know very well. If you’re looking to cover a big distance on your night time sesh try using a smaller 5k loop and running repeats rather than tackling a mahoosive single loop – you’ll get to know the terrain and you won’t be far should anything crop up.

MY TIP: Never get lost again by downloading a good map app to your phone. Google and Apple Maps are free and great for roads, but really don’t cut the mustard when it comes to drawing routes and finding trails.

Here in the UK the OS Maps is probably the best off-road route plotting app. Although it’s a paid app, the quality of their off-road Landranger maps is AWESOME and is well worth the cash. Not only do you get a decent range of maps, but you can explore other user’s routes ad you can download large chunks of map from wifi so you can still find your way when network coverage dries-up and/or without rinsing your phone’s data limit.

2. Light the way

Even the brightest moon probably won’t pump out enough light to safely mark a path when covering distance at a good pace. Plan ahead and take a head torch with you to light the path ahead when things get properly dark. The brighter the beam the more you’ll see and the quicker you can react to changing terrain.

MY TIP: If you’re choosing a head torch for running choose something light with a comfortable head strap and a low, medium and high intensity setting – the majority of the time the medium intensity beam will be good enough, but having a brighter beam setting will help when checking ahead and navigating. Some head torches also have a flash function in case of emergencies.

Petzl aren’t the cheapest head light brand out there but their gear works well and lasts. My favourites are the Tikka+ and Tikka XP.

3. Be visible

Stay safe, wear brightly coloured running gear with reflective bits and make sure you can be seen by others. If running on any sections of dark roads/lanes think about how to stay visible to passing vehicles.

MY TIP: Ridiculous as it sounds, make like a human Christmas tree and attach flashing red lights to the back of your head torch strap (some come with these anyway), jacket or back pack. This will make you super visible when on dark trails and country lanes.

4. Quick step

Off road means plenty of uneven terrain, dips, holes, ruts, rocks and loose. An awesome little tip for maintaining balance and preventing stumbles becoming a spill - not just at night but on any trail run - is to adopt a quicker, shorter running stride. This’ll stop you committing massively to each stride and enable you to react and quickly correct from a misstep.

MY TIP: Try to quicken up your running strides (also known as cadence) but maintaining the same speed. This may feel odd at first, but there are loads of positives to adopting a quicker stride so stick with it.

5. Take your phone

One for day runners and night runners alike. Hopefully all you’ll ever need your phone for is for capturing the stunning sights mid-run. However, there may come a time when things go a little pear-shaped and you’ll be wanting some help – update your phone with your emergency contact info, charge it and take it with you.

MY TIP: Sometimes it can get pretty wet, muddy and bumpy on the trails. To save my phone from drowning or being smashed to bits I bought a tough waterproof case. My personal favourite for Apple iPhones (and iPads) are by Lifeproof.