It’s amazing how much of a view you can see in the dark. And just what brilliantly bonkers fun running at night can be.
Half way around, the view from the headland revealed a bright moon traced by mackerel clouds, sketchily-shaped hills, and village lights reflected in the creek.
And getting there had been ridiculously enjoyable. Focusing hard on a head torch beam and the track rushing towards your feet. Suddenly-spotted rocks, treacherous tree roots, squishing through mud. I’ve never laughed so much while running. Slightly hysterically, but still – laughter is good.
A globe of a moon was snagged in tree branches, monochrome horizons framed silky seas. At the waterside we stopped, turned head torches off and listened to the owl calling across the creek, answered by another further upstream. Beautiful. Unexpected. Serene.
If coast path night running sounds a little hard core, it really wasn’t. There was lots of stopping to:
- Look at the view “wow, isn’t it beautiful by moonlight!”
- Try to photograph said moon on a GoPro without a tripod (‘interesting’)
- Skim stones across the water (hard to see whose went furthest – ideal)
So it seems that on a night run, places you know well sudden become somewhere you haven’t seen. You look forward to it all day like an excited child – a good thing. You look back on it the next day and grin – a very good thing. Already planning (excitedly) the next …
The safety bit Clearly blundering around cliff edges in the dark is dangerous. Which is why we chose a really wide section of coast path and took it slow on the tricky bits.
Fancy a go? Hash House Harriers have this kind of fun all the time, only in a much more organised way. A wealth of other night runs include those staged by Wild Night Run and the National Trust.
Night running not for you? The Ordnance Survey has heaps of other ideas for ace adventures, helping you #GetOutside.
Belinda Dixon 