I hadn’t planned on doing any summer racing but my running group advertised a popular trail run that many said they were participating in.
So I’ve never done an actual trail race.
And I’ve never raced at night.
Totally seems like a good idea to do both for the first time together, right?
The race is put on by Jamil Coury, the guy I wrote about a few weeks ago who did the Barkley Marathon. He founded Aravaipa Running and I’ve heard nothing but good things about their races. I’m super excited to finally have a chance at participating in one.
I’m pretty excited about it actually. Nervous too, but definitely more excited. There’s a 10k, a 27k, and a 64k option and I decided to go with the 27k. AZTNT, my running group, has a ton of people signed up for it so it’s going to be a great time running with friends. I don’t have any goals or expectations with it; I just plan on enjoying myself doing something different.
I feel like I need things to look forward to to kinda help the days go by. With this 100 Days of No Soda starting, I’m going to need all the motivation I can get. I plan on also looking around for a 4th of July run. August will be plenty busy with me going back to work (this news will be elaborated on in a later post š ) and once fall gets here, race season comes with it full throttle.
But for now, this trail race in a couple of weeks has me counting the days. I’ve got my head lamp ready and we’ll just see what happens!
–Have you ran a race a night? What tips can you give me?
–Do you schedule races to have something to look forward to? What’s the method behind your planning, if any?
Have a great weekend! Tomorrow’s the last day to think of something for the 100 Days of Summer Challenge! Keep me company (and help hold me accountable) as I try to go without soda š
The challenge starts June 1st and ends September 8th. Click here for details.
I haven’t run a night race, but I’ve run a couple of evening races. It’s tricky staying properly fueled and hydrated all day, and I definitely like morning races best, but it was a good experience both times, nonetheless.
Oooh, I hadn’t thought about that! I’ll have to make sure I eat well and stay hydrated during the day leading up to the race–thanks for the reminder! š
I am running a Ragnar Relay in August. I am in the second van so I have a feeling at least one of my runs will me at night. I’ve ran at about 8pm at night but that’s all I got. Maybe next year you can become an ultra runner and do the 64K. š
It sounds pretty crazy, but I’m kinda curious about it. I do want to do one ultra just to see but I don’t think I’d choose one at night. Especially because I might only ever do one lol! How exciting you’re doing Ragnar! I’ll be doing Ragnar Trail in November š
Doing an ultra is on my list too. Probably in a few years. I want to be done having kids first. š
I’ve never run a race at night…watch your step is all I can offer š
I try to plan my races around the cost, how long I need to train, how I can balance it all….oh and the WEATHER – I can’t race in the summer’s heat anything beyond 10k.
I still don’t know what do to for the 100 Day Challenge – I only have a few hours to decided š
Go girl go! Looks like fun, you got this!
Thank you!! š
I’ve never raced at night – but it looks like I’ll probably end up doing it at some point during Hood to Coast in August. For night trail running I would definitely invest in the best headlamp you can find. It looks like a lot of fun!
Yeah, I have a so so headlampt and will try it out before the race for sure…
More power to you! I’ve softened over the years and now I’m too afraid to run a trail race in the dark! I’ve come too close to stepping on snakes in the light!!!!! I’d suggest you get a light to shine the trail ahead of you!
I kinda just want to do it once to check it off š but i’d freak if i saw a snake!
I did one race at night (actually two, but it was still daylight at the time for one and it was only 4 miles), the Disney Wine & Dine Half. They had the course lit more or less, and obviously this wasn’t a trail race, so I don’t really have advice on that. But the things I found the most difficult were not doing too much the day of the race (cuz DISNEY) and how to eat. I’ve got a regular routine of pre-race eating for morning races that didn’t really do the trick for my night race. So, I don’t really have advice per se, but you might want to try out a couple evening runs with a fueling plan so you don’t have to run the second half of your race wanting to vomit.
Great advice!! thank you!!!
I have never done a night race, but one of my legs for Ragnar will be at night and I’m a bit nervous about it!! I definitely have to have a race on the calendar to train for otherwise I get lazy!
I’m the same! I like having something to motivate me š