October 24, 2025 • 29 mins
This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast: Second Wind, we take the Run if You Dare series into the night—literally—with an episode all about running after dark. From peaceful nighttime miles and cooler fall temperatures to the unique focus and freedom that comes with running under the stars, we explore why so many runners love lacing up after sunset. We also dive into the safety essentials every night runner should know, plus the science behind nighttime performance and how your body responds differently in the dark. Then we shine a spotlight on some of the most exciting night races in the U.S. and beyond—from the neon lights of the Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon to glow-run parties and eerie vampire-chase 5Ks. Whether you're a night-run veteran or someone who’s always been a little hesitant, this episode will help you embrace the dark with confidence, caution, and maybe a little thrill.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hello or everyone, greetings and salutations. Welcome back to another
episode at the Back of the Back Podcast, second one.
I'm your host, Kyle Walker. Thank you so much for
tuning in. We are continuing on after the short detour
that we had last week as we got ready for
our end of season celebration, the end of season three
and the start of season four. We're back now with
the Run If you Dare series, as we only have
(00:33):
two more episodes left in this month of October. October
is almost done. That's wild. This was the weekend, of course,
is a little melancholy for me. This was the weekend.
I was supposed to be in Washington, DC right now.
I should be there getting ready to go to the expo,
getting ready for Marine Corps Marathon. Instead I'm still in
Kansas City and not there. Not there. Stupid knee man,
(00:57):
This right knee has been nothing but problem still is
still will be. Got a long road ahead on that one.
But no Marine Corps Marathon for me. It's actually pretty wild.
I know a lot of folks who ended up going.
They went to Marine Corps. They're up there right now.
But because of the government shutdown, like a lot of things,
you can't do. You can't go to certain places, you
can't see certain things just because you know their government run.
(01:20):
And with the government shut down like you're going and
the race is still on, but now a lot of
the touristy stuff you might want to do you can't do.
So I don't know. Maybe I lucked out not being
able to do this one, or we would have just
been sitting up in Washington, mildly bored, not able to
do the things that we wanted to do. I don't know,
it's possible, but I'm trying not to beat myself up
too much, not trying to have too much fomo, as
(01:41):
the kids say, because I won't be there for the
fiftieth Marine Corps Marathon. But if you are up there,
or if you were just up there, or if you're
planning on hidting that way, man, good luck enjoy that race.
I'm sure even with things being mildly shut down ish,
it's still going to be a fantastic event. Though. What
the eighteenth mile, the Blue Mile is still going to
be there. Good luck keeping a dry eye as you
(02:02):
go through that. I know I sure didn't. That is
the mile where they have all the signs of fallen
soldiers with the families standing right there. And we're not
talking like one or two within a quarter mile. I
mean I'm talking like every ten to twenty feet there's
another sign with another family's. It's massive and it is
very emotional when you run through that. So again, if
(02:23):
you hear this before you run the race, look out
for that mile. You know what, slow your pace a hair,
take it in, take it in. I'm not saying enjoy it.
I'm saying take it in. It is an experience. So
for all of you heading up to the Marine Corps,
good luck, have a great run, May the wind be
at your back. Take in that mile, get your metal,
(02:44):
and you've earned it. You've earned it. It's not an
easy race. Marine Corps Marathon is not an easy race.
It is difficult. There are hills, the weather can be
what the weather can be. When I went in twenty fifteen,
I wouldn't say it was easy because it most certainly
was not. You do have the time constraint of beating
the bridge, so make sure you take take a look
at that again. When I went, it was different. It
(03:06):
was you had to be at the bridge by five miles,
and that was twenty miles in now you have to
be on the other side of the bridge. You have
to be done with the bridge at that five hour mark.
And I mean, I'm not saying it's a full mile
that they've added, but it's a little more. It's a
little more challenging of a time requirement than what I
did way back when. So just again, good luck everyone.
(03:30):
So this week on the Run a Few Dare series,
we're talking about night running. It's what we were supposed
to talk about last week, but again, change things up.
We're gonna talk about night running this week. So you know,
we've got cooler nights because thankfully summer is overfall is
now in full effect here in Kansas City. I hope
it is where you are as well. So you've got
cooler nights, you have quieter streets. Okay, when when the
(03:51):
days get shorter, people just tend to get home from
work and stay in. There's a lot less going out,
especially in the dark, especially in the cool so you
need headline as you know, you're kind of cutting through
the dark. And then that's kind of what we're gonna
talk about, is running in the dark. And there's definitely
several different aspects of it. So we're gonna talk about
why runners love night runs, safety tips, then there is
(04:13):
some science of training in the dark. No, Karen is
not coming on to do that. I will cover it
in my very limited fashion. And then just some cool
night races because we love talking about the night races.
So why do runners love running in the night? So
just a few reasons that I know pertain to me.
If they pertain to you, super great. The peace in solitude,
all right, I love it. This is definitely why the
(04:34):
fall is my favorite season to run in and I
definitely run after the sun goes down. Peace and solitude,
there is less traffic most of the time, and there
are fewer distractions. And when I say distractions, like running
in my neighborhood, of which I am like in a
little suburban subdivision, HOA, just very a standard neighborhood during
(04:58):
the summertime, that's where if you're running, you know, and
it's still bright outside and it's a nice evening whatever.
That's where you've got people on the sidewalks. That's where
you got walkers coming the other way. You got families
out on a stroll, you got people walking their dogs.
There's a lot of distractions, just a lot of things
to trip you up, a lot of things and get
in your way, force you all into the road, off
the sidewalk, or you know. There's just there's this stuff.
(05:20):
And I'm not saying it's bad stuff. I'm just saying
it's stuff. It's stuff you have to deal with. It's
potential obstacles for your run. There is less of that
when you're running in the fall, when it is cooler
night outside, maybe even to the realm of almost quote
unquote cold and it's dark. There's just less of the
people out kind of in your way. Cooler temps and
(05:41):
lower sun exposure equals easier breathing and reduced heat stress.
And I know that goes under the head name of
no Dug Kyle like we're aware of this, but it
is something to keep in mind. When the cooler temperatures
are out and then sun is not beating on you,
it will feel easier. So if the very oppressive heat,
which lasted a very long time in this area, if
(06:04):
that got in your head in you're like, oh my gosh,
I am never gonna be a good runner again. I
just I suck. I can't breathe. I can try it now.
Try it now, now that the sun is not beating
on you, now that the temperatures have cooled a lot,
I think you're gonna get out there and find oh
all that summertime training did get me ready for fall,
and I am having an easier time running this race.
(06:26):
So as I record, I have a five k tomorrow morning.
It is supposed to be very cool, supposed to be
in the fifties cancer rain, which I'm not thrilled about,
although we need it in this area, but I can't
wait for a five k and fifty degree ish weather.
I am expecting to actually have a decent run now.
That's assuming my knee holds up. That's a different story entirely.
But conditioning wise, after running several five k's in previous
(06:50):
weeks and then the half marathon last week, I feel
I should have a decent five k tomorrow. Monstered ash
because of the temperatures, because of the weather, because Ken
City have marathon was hot and it was hot. Now
we've got cool. Now. I'm hoping all those runs in
the heat up to an including just a week ago,
will make for a better five k come Saturday morning
(07:13):
in fifty degrees and potential rain, we'll see mental clarity.
The dark creates a meditative a kind of you're a
meditative state, so you focus on rhythm and sound. Now,
if you run with loud music blaming in your ears,
this of course does not pertain to you. But I
do like, I do have my music on I don't
have it on loud. I'm not like cranking it. And
(07:36):
I do wear shocks. Okay, so the open ears if
you're looking, oh wow, this is cut off half of
my face, can't tell them using a digital background, but
the one that go over your ears, but not in
if you're watching the video on YouTube, which you should
be there you go. It's great for that. It's great
because when you turn the volume down on that, you
still have open ears to hear around you. And yes,
(07:58):
it is quiet. It is more meditator. And if you
want to listen to the rhythm of your feet, and
sometimes that's a very good thing to do. There's certainly
some runs where I want to listen to my rhythm
and I want to listen to my breathing just to
kind of see where I'm at and how it's feeling
and what's working for me. I normally do this as
I get ready for maybe a big race, a half
marathon or a full, because if I can get my
(08:19):
breathing down and I can find that pace where I
continue to breathe kind of the way I want for running,
you can extend yourself out farther. My best runs are
when I get my breathing under control early. And I
don't just mean, you know, like run and huff and
puffah blah blah blah. No, I mean find the rhythm.
And if you are a runner of any length of time,
you've had races where you just you found that rhythm.
(08:41):
You found the perfect pace to keep your breathing where
you wanted it to be, so that you're not eventually
getting to the huff and puff and gasp, but you
can continue at a steady pace with steady breathing. And
when you hit that sweet spot, and it's a sweet spot,
and you don't always hit it. Ask anyone who's ever
swung a bat. When you hit that sweet spot, man,
(09:01):
you feel like you can run forever. But it's not
every run. Just beware, not every run. Next a fresh perspective,
familiar routes feel new at night. This is mildly true
where is really really true is when the Christmas lights
go up, so keep that in mind. I love December
(09:21):
running because my neighborhood seems completely new again because everyone
does Christmas lights, either a house redes what they've done
from years before, a house who didn't do something. Finally
does you get like a new route almost every time
because there's an addition to there's a change of and
then towards you know, as you get closer to the
actual holiday, everything is lit up. It's beautiful, it's very
(09:45):
pretty outside. I am super stoked. So side story that
you don't care at all about, but I'm gonna tell
you anyway. Back in June, they closed the park that
I run in, Okay, so I run in I think
it's called Garrett Park. They closed it to completely redo
the whole thing. They redid the whole part, but it
was closed from June first and said it wasn't going
(10:07):
to open up until mid December. Now I have seen
on Facebook and advertisement that they're gonna have the grand
reopening in November, so apparently they got it done a
little earlier. But I can't wait to have my park back.
It will be new because it's been redone so I'll
have my new park, I'll have the holiday lights coming up.
I will start to finally have some new running routes,
(10:29):
even though it's the same sidewalks I'm used to. But
keep that in mind. You know, when you go out
and we get close to the holidays, it is going
to feel new ish as the lights go up and
you just kind of get more of that seasonal feel.
Now for people who aren't big runners, you know, I
like kind of throwing out the everyday connections like a
quiet evening drive or walk. Night runs offer reflection and
(10:49):
stress release after a long day. So if you are
just you know, if you've had a bad day, go
for a walk and in cool weather, it's it always
feels so much better. I just walked my dogs last night,
actually put on some long sleeves or some running pants.
Oh it was glorious. It was glorious as I listen
right now and the rain has started. Oh finally, man,
it's been so dry. All right. Safety in the shadows, okay,
(11:11):
because we do have to be safe. If we're gonna
do all this night running, you cannot mess around with it.
You must be safe. Too. Many runners are getting wallowed
by cars out there because the car drivers aren't ready
for the change in season. And then runners, I swear
to Aisha if I see another one of you out
in the dead of night, all right, when it's pitch
(11:33):
black and you are running in all black with no reflectors,
no lights, no nothing, I am gonna pull my car
over and berate you. We have to be smarter than this.
And I am seeing way too many people in my
own neighborhood running in all black clothing after the sun
has gone down. Y'all, you are asking to get hit
(11:55):
by a car, all right, And I don't care if
this piss is somebody off. I'm telling you all straight
up and down. If that's you, If you went out
on your last run and you were wearing dark colors
and the sun was already set, Hey, wake up, fool.
We can't be doing that. Don't get mad at someone
if they smack you with the car and you out
there trying to run around like a ninja. Nope, that's
(12:16):
not how it works. We get one or the other.
We dress appropriately and we get pissed at the driver
when they hit us, or we dress inappropriately and it's
our fault that the driver hit us. Sounds like, either way,
we're gonna get hit by a car. No, we're not
if we follow some of these safety rules here. Okay,
let's talk safety safety in the shadows, visibility, headlamps. Hello,
think about it when you've been driving around in your
(12:37):
car and you see off the side of the road
and you're glaring, not like, what the hell is that
is that? Ah? That is that a runner wearing a
lamp on their head? You noticed, you noticed. So if
you're the runner with the headlamp on your head, then
the driver's gonna notice you. He's gonna ask the same
questions you were asking, what the heck is that in
front of me, bobbing up and down? Oh, it's a
runner with a headlamp on. Okay, now I get it.
(12:58):
But they noticed you, they saw you. So a headlamp
with strong a lumens reflective vest. And even you can
go with blinkers. I've seen them, blinkers that attach to
the bottom of your shoes. But again, if you are
a driver and you're going down the road and you
see someone all lit up, bobbing up and down over
on the sidewalk, you see them. You at least see them.
(13:18):
That's all you can hope for. That's what you want,
that's what needs to happen. There's also reflective ankle bands
which make movements easier to spot. Like I said, the
bobbing up and down, we see it. Situational awareness. Run
against traffic and stay alert to cars in cyclists. Yes,
stay alert. I know that we love to run and
(13:40):
getting our own heads and getting our own thoughts and
tune out the world at night time. You got to
keep at least half an eye kind of to your right.
If you're running against traffic, make sure you're watching those headlights.
Make sure you're looking for turn signals if you're coming
up to a street that someone might be needing to
turn down to go home. That is the biggest, biggest
thing in my area, okay, because I run against traffic
(14:01):
every time, every time, consistently. I am always running against traffic.
But you have to watch for the turn signals. If
that guy has taken the right turn to go down
the street to get home after a shit day and
you're trying to cross the same streets, just watch, keep
an eye out for turn signals. I most of the
time will yield unless I know they saw me. If
they give me the wave if they come to almost
(14:23):
a stop and then I jet across. But I Am
not going to ever ever take it for granted that
they see me if and so another sidebar. Whenever I'm
teaching someone how to ride a motorcycle, and I've taught
several people, my first rule, always assume they don't see you.
Same thing, runners, same thing, runners at night, runners at dusk,
(14:44):
runners in the evening, runners during off season quote unquote times.
Always assume they don't see you, and that it helps.
All right. So once you're very sure get across, keep
music low or use bone conduction headphones. That boy hot,
I said that just a moment ago. The bone conduction
that's the shocks that go over the ears. And then
(15:05):
keep it low. Yep, you got to be able to
hear what's going on here for the cars and the
noise around you. It's a little safer. And then tell
someone your route and expected finishing time. That I don't
do because missus back in the back podcast couldn't care less,
and so I'm not gonna worry about that. I'm also
a guy, ladies. More important for you, we've been over
(15:27):
women's runner safety. Let's hearken back to that. Just make
sure someone knows kind of where you're going ish, when
you're gonna be back ish and then companionship, invite a
friend or run club buddies. There's also the Chasing Rabbits
rung Club. Our next meeting is on Thursday, October thirtieth.
It is the night before Halloween. Costume night and yes
it arraves in the mail today. We will have a
(15:49):
prize for who is voted the best costume as voted
by all the fellow runners from the Chasing Rabbits. You'r
on club. So Thursday, October thirty, it's six thirty pm
Discourse Brewing ninety seve with the metcalf be there. Wear
a costume, you could win a price. AnyWho mention local
group options like the Chasing Rabbits run Club, Yeah, that's
what I just did. Chasing Rabbits, the Run eight, one six,
(16:12):
let's see nine, Run three Brew Crew. There are there's
options all over And look, I know I'm mentioning my competitors.
I don't have competitors. There's no competitor to the Chasing
Rabbits Run Club. There are other run clubs that I
just mentioned. If you go to them, I hope you
enjoy Everyone run together and be safe. Okay, that's that's
(16:34):
really all it is. I don't care what run club
you're at, of course I want you to come to
mind when you can on the every other Thursday. But
whatever one you're with, make sure you're safe. And if
someone in your other run club is not being safe.
And look, I'm not worried about the ones I mentioned.
They know how to be safe. But if someone is
being unsafe, educate, help them out, get that situation solved.
(16:54):
Don't let fellow runners run unsafe. If someone shows up
to run club in all black, their ass all right,
I'm serious about this. I am serious as a heart
attack is. That is my a number one pet peeve
for other runners. When I see them running in all
black when there's dark outside, I will lose it every time.
And so yeah, okay, we'll just bring ourselves down a
(17:16):
lot of bait, all right, and then being proactive about
safety and running mirrors how we stay mindful and prepared
in life's unknowns. Yeah, it takes preparation to run at night.
So when you are willing to prepare to run at night,
you're willing to prepare for other aspects of life, and
that's never a bad thing. That is always good, all right.
So some of the sciencey parts of running, first off,
vision and focus. Lower light forces the brain to rely
(17:39):
on hearing, and oh boy, I can never say this
propri eception anyway. Because you can't see as well. Your
other senses kind of ramp up to take some of
the burden off your eyes, so you hear better, you
kind of sense better. You kind of just got that
feeling of what's around you a little better. Now. You
(18:00):
can also kill all that by bluring the music by
I don't know. I've actually seen people wearing sunglasses as
they're running at night. And look, I am a huge
proponent to pro proponent of running in sunglasses. If you
see me at a race on a Saturday or Sunday morning,
you can guarantee I'm wearing sunglasses because it just helps
(18:20):
me get my own little world during the fall. Running
at night, that world has to stop. We have to
run without the sunglasses. And yes, that means people will
see kind of the look of fatigue and panic in
your eyes as you're running in your tire. But we
can't be running with sunglasses at night. Our future is
not so bright that we've got to wear shades right right.
(18:41):
Hormones and performance. Evening runs often see slightly higher core
temperature and muscle flexibility, leading to a faster pace. Can
I tell you why No, But studies have shown sleep balance.
Light stretching post run helps prevent adrenaline from interfering with sleep.
I found that interesting. I had no idea that that
(19:03):
was a thing. So some light stretching. I'm not saying
you got to go do sixty minutes of hardcore yoga.
Just get some light stretching after you run. You might
sleep a little better, which is kind of nice. And
then understanding your bonds. Bunny's natural rhythm can help with
stress management and energy timing even outside of running. So
just a few signsy things. Now to the part that
(19:23):
everyone really cares about. Let's do some spotlighting here on
notable night races. And of course I've done this one
in the last two years. I won't be back in
twenty twenty six, which breaks my heart into a million pieces,
but I will get back there eventually. The Rock and
Roll Las Vegas half marathon and five K that is
probably the biggest race that you can do at night,
(19:45):
and you're doing it under the lights. Of course, the
Las Vegas five K takes place down on Fremont Street.
It starts right as the sun is setting, and they
have a huge party before the race, and they have
a huge party after the race. And years you're not
running through the most glamorous part of Las Vegas because
you've got to get the three point one miles. But
you start right off of Fremont Street by a block,
(20:06):
you wrap around some areas, and then you finish when
it is dark outside, coming down to Fremont Street. In
Fremont Street, if you don't know, it's Old Vegas, but
it is still very neon light driven. It is still
very much in the atmosphere and environment that is for
Las Vegas type of fun, whatever that is to you.
That's what they're kind of hoping for on Fremont Street.
(20:27):
And that's on the Saturday. Then on Sunday evenings, starting
around four pm or maybe I think the race starts
at four. If you are like me, you're probably not
starting till four thirty or four to forty five because
it takes that long to get all the waves going.
But right at dusk the race begins for the half marathon.
You run ninety four percent of it in the dark,
(20:49):
and then of course it's up and down the Las
Vegas Strip, the entire strip, and the entire strip is
closed down and the entire strip is lit up in
the fountains at Bellagio are going and everyone's got the music,
and they've got the spotlights, and they've got the neons,
and they've got everything working. It is an absolute blast.
I love that half marathon. Done the last two years,
(21:10):
I am still mad because I have never had the
performance on it that I feel I should. It's also
in February, when kind of your training might be at
its worst, because depending on what kind of winter you get,
training is difficult. And this is at the end of February. Now,
at the end of February and twenty twenty six, I'll
be getting on a plane and going to Tokyo, Japan,
so there won't be Vegas for me. But I do
love the rock and roll Los Vegas Half Marathon. If
(21:31):
you ever get a chance, go for it. The next
one is the Electric Run. There are multiple cities that
do this. They do one kind of in late spring
early summer in the travels around the country. It's a
neon lit five K party with glow tunnels, music zones,
and light shows. I don't know if an Electric Run
has ever made it to my neck of the woods,
but it's possible. It's possible, and I just missed it.
(21:51):
But apparently it travels around another traveling series, the Firefly
five K series, various US locations. It is in the
summer and in the early fall. It is glow sticks,
black lights in a family friendly party atmosphere post race.
The next one Night Nation Run Worldwide. This one is worldwide.
It is in the spring in the fall and is
(22:13):
known as the world's first running music festival. More a
rave than a race race SA So again, Night Nation Run.
If it's about raves, then no wonder. I haven't really
heard of it or done it because I'm forty five
years old. That is not my scene. The next one,
there is something called the Vampire Run. It travels to
various US cities, always in octobers. The runners humans try
(22:37):
to survive the chase from volunteers dressed of vampires. I
think we talked about that two weeks ago. Zombie ones, Well,
this one's vampire themed. The Helsinki Midnight Run. I've heard
of this one hell in Helsinki, Finland late August early September,
one of Europe's largest night races through a beautifully lit
city center. I think this is the one Helsinki in Finland.
(23:00):
This is the one where it's also like it's sunshine
twenty four hours there for that little period, so while
you're running at midnight, the sun is up, it's beautiful day.
So that is one that I've heard of before. There
is the Hotter than Hell night trail run in Texas.
Kind of varies by the city summer nights brutally hot, dark,
dusty and true badge of honor for night trail racing.
(23:23):
So again, you're running at night, which is difficult. You're
running a trail at night, which is difficult. You're running
a trail at night in summer, which is more difficult.
You're running a trail at night in summer in Texas.
That would be hotter than Hell. Yeah, yep, agreed, And
then one I threw on here it doesn't happen anymore.
I hope that they will bring it back at some
point in time. I think it did try and make
(23:45):
a comeback a year or two ago, but it's not
back as a yearly tradition, we had the glow Run
in Kansas City. I really enjoyed the glow run. That
was the one that I liked doing. When I did it,
I think it was out at Arrowhead Stadium where they
can kind of set up the glow stations and you
ran a five k kind of around the entire stadium.
And I enjoyed the glow run. I liked it. It was
(24:07):
at night, black lights everywhere, everything was all lit up.
It made for really cool post race pictures because your
metal glowed in the dark. And then they had black
light photos stations where you and your running buddies or
whatever could go take really good after race pictures with
your glowing metal, and I enjoyed that. I always thought
that one was really fun. It hasn't been around for
(24:28):
a while though, all right, So last one mindset metaphor.
Running in the dark is a perfect metaphor for trusting yourself.
You can't see the whole path, but you can keep moving. Yes,
when I'm going down the road that leads me to
that park, I can't see the park when I start
that road because it's a long straight shot. When I
get to the park again, I can't wait for it
(24:49):
to open up. Maybe they've added lights. Oh, now, that
would be cool. But what's really cool, I guess, really
a thing. I don't know if it's cool or not.
When I would make the right turn to go off
the sidewalk into the park, you couldn't see because it
was very tree line. It was very dark in there.
You just had to trust the path in front of you. You
had to trust that you kind of knew where you
were going, you knew how to get there, and trust
(25:11):
that it was going to be there. Now, when the
park opens back up and I go from my first
round there, probably not going to do it in the dark,
because I got to see how much it's changed. But
it really was. I had to trust where I was going,
and I had to trust to know what I know,
and I knew that when I made that right turn,
I went down a little to the left, over the footbridge,
another left down the path, very tree line, but you
(25:31):
couldn't see it until you really got to it. And
that's kind of a perfect metaphor for night running right there.
Let's see if you train after dark often, you know
it teaches you both confidence and focus. I am confident
to run in the dark, which is less I don't know,
it feels less safe or it's less secure than running
in the light. And then focus, You do have to
(25:52):
focus more on what you're doing, so that you don't
trip on the uneven sidewalk, that you don't accidentally step
off the curb and break your ankle, So that you
don't run in front of the car that you didn't
even see coming, so that you don't you know, step
on the skunk and he sprays you. Whatever the case
might be, you do have to you have to focus
more on what you're doing. And then you also are
kind of embracing the mental discomfort and even some people
(26:17):
could even call it the fear. And you're not stopping.
You're embracing running in the dark. You're embracing running more
into the unknown. You're embracing running into more into the uncomfortable.
Maybe fear is too strong of a word, but it
can be uncomfortable that you can't see exactly where you're going,
you can't see exactly what lies A heading view sounds
exactly like life. And so this this will actually help
(26:37):
you train for not just running, but for life. You
can't beat that, all right, so I like the night running.
I hope you do too, But I cannot emphasize enough.
Be safe, Be as safe as possible. Thursday night when
we're at the Chasing Rabatuurren Club, I've already told people,
and I'm gonna tell people more. Bring headlamps, bring reflectors,
bring lights, bring something. I want everyone to be seen.
(27:00):
And I know that on our route that we take
on a street called Lowell, there's some little shaky sidewalk parts.
They're not exactly one hundred percent perfect. There's some parts
that could reach up and trip a runner. There's some
parts where you could take an awkward step, because I'm
thinking of one where you have to make a sharp
left turn, stand the sidewalk, and then take the right
turn to go across the street. If you just continued straight,
(27:22):
you're going ankle first into a gutter. Great system that
has a very very big drop on it. That's why
they move the sidewalk over because it was such a
big drop for the Draantage system. You gotta be careful
about these things. So I want everyone to be wearing
their lights when they come to the Chasing Rabbits Run Club.
But it is fun. It is an adventure, but I
want you to be very safe. And if you go
(27:43):
out and run this week in the dark, you take
a picture and put it on the back of the
back Facebook page, you know, postay, hey dinner night run
and you'll have your head lamp on, have your reflective
gear on, whatever, show off to everyone. Kind of what
you're setup is when you're running at night. Nothing wrong
with that, right. So next Friday, I know it's Halloween Day,
we will put out an episode. It's just gonna be fun.
(28:04):
It's gonna be silly, probably talking more about Halloween themed
races and you know, spooky stuff like that. It is
not gonna be long because I want you at the
door to help all the trick or treats or it's
gonna be you know, I want you out with your kids,
so not messing with this stuff. Okay, that's gonna do it,
like go team go right. Fall is here as it
(28:26):
is now cool and rainy right now at my place,
which I love. Fall is here. So that's gonna do it.
For this week's episode of the Backpack Podcast, Second Win,
I'm your host, Kyle Walker. It is my pleasure as always.
We'll be back next week with another Halloween themed episode,
and then we continue right on and then we'll be
by be back Monday with a brand new episode of
the Back of the Pack podcast. So everyone, have a
safe week of training. We will see you next week.
(29:01):
Would not be
Hello or everyone, greetings and salutations. Welcome back to another
episode at the Back of the Back Podcast, second one.
I'm your host, Kyle Walker. Thank you so much for
tuning in. We are continuing on after the short detour
that we had last week as we got ready for
our end of season celebration, the end of season three
and the start of season four. We're back now with
the Run If you Dare series, as we only have
(00:33):
two more episodes left in this month of October. October
is almost done. That's wild. This was the weekend, of course,
is a little melancholy for me. This was the weekend.
I was supposed to be in Washington, DC right now.
I should be there getting ready to go to the expo,
getting ready for Marine Corps Marathon. Instead I'm still in
Kansas City and not there. Not there. Stupid knee man,
(00:57):
This right knee has been nothing but problem still is
still will be. Got a long road ahead on that one.
But no Marine Corps Marathon for me. It's actually pretty wild.
I know a lot of folks who ended up going.
They went to Marine Corps. They're up there right now.
But because of the government shutdown, like a lot of things,
you can't do. You can't go to certain places, you
can't see certain things just because you know their government run.
(01:20):
And with the government shut down like you're going and
the race is still on, but now a lot of
the touristy stuff you might want to do you can't do.
So I don't know. Maybe I lucked out not being
able to do this one, or we would have just
been sitting up in Washington, mildly bored, not able to
do the things that we wanted to do. I don't know,
it's possible, but I'm trying not to beat myself up
too much, not trying to have too much fomo, as
(01:41):
the kids say, because I won't be there for the
fiftieth Marine Corps Marathon. But if you are up there,
or if you were just up there, or if you're
planning on hidting that way, man, good luck enjoy that race.
I'm sure even with things being mildly shut down ish,
it's still going to be a fantastic event. Though. What
the eighteenth mile, the Blue Mile is still going to
be there. Good luck keeping a dry eye as you
(02:02):
go through that. I know I sure didn't. That is
the mile where they have all the signs of fallen
soldiers with the families standing right there. And we're not
talking like one or two within a quarter mile. I
mean I'm talking like every ten to twenty feet there's
another sign with another family's. It's massive and it is
very emotional when you run through that. So again, if
(02:23):
you hear this before you run the race, look out
for that mile. You know what, slow your pace a hair,
take it in, take it in. I'm not saying enjoy it.
I'm saying take it in. It is an experience. So
for all of you heading up to the Marine Corps,
good luck, have a great run, May the wind be
at your back. Take in that mile, get your metal,
(02:44):
and you've earned it. You've earned it. It's not an
easy race. Marine Corps Marathon is not an easy race.
It is difficult. There are hills, the weather can be
what the weather can be. When I went in twenty fifteen,
I wouldn't say it was easy because it most certainly
was not. You do have the time constraint of beating
the bridge, so make sure you take take a look
at that again. When I went, it was different. It
(03:06):
was you had to be at the bridge by five miles,
and that was twenty miles in now you have to
be on the other side of the bridge. You have
to be done with the bridge at that five hour mark.
And I mean, I'm not saying it's a full mile
that they've added, but it's a little more. It's a
little more challenging of a time requirement than what I
did way back when. So just again, good luck everyone.
(03:30):
So this week on the Run a Few Dare series,
we're talking about night running. It's what we were supposed
to talk about last week, but again, change things up.
We're gonna talk about night running this week. So you know,
we've got cooler nights because thankfully summer is overfall is
now in full effect here in Kansas City. I hope
it is where you are as well. So you've got
cooler nights, you have quieter streets. Okay, when when the
(03:51):
days get shorter, people just tend to get home from
work and stay in. There's a lot less going out,
especially in the dark, especially in the cool so you
need headline as you know, you're kind of cutting through
the dark. And then that's kind of what we're gonna
talk about, is running in the dark. And there's definitely
several different aspects of it. So we're gonna talk about
why runners love night runs, safety tips, then there is
(04:13):
some science of training in the dark. No, Karen is
not coming on to do that. I will cover it
in my very limited fashion. And then just some cool
night races because we love talking about the night races.
So why do runners love running in the night? So
just a few reasons that I know pertain to me.
If they pertain to you, super great. The peace in solitude,
all right, I love it. This is definitely why the
(04:34):
fall is my favorite season to run in and I
definitely run after the sun goes down. Peace and solitude,
there is less traffic most of the time, and there
are fewer distractions. And when I say distractions, like running
in my neighborhood, of which I am like in a
little suburban subdivision, HOA, just very a standard neighborhood during
(04:58):
the summertime, that's where if you're running, you know, and
it's still bright outside and it's a nice evening whatever.
That's where you've got people on the sidewalks. That's where
you got walkers coming the other way. You got families
out on a stroll, you got people walking their dogs.
There's a lot of distractions, just a lot of things
to trip you up, a lot of things and get
in your way, force you all into the road, off
the sidewalk, or you know. There's just there's this stuff.
(05:20):
And I'm not saying it's bad stuff. I'm just saying
it's stuff. It's stuff you have to deal with. It's
potential obstacles for your run. There is less of that
when you're running in the fall, when it is cooler
night outside, maybe even to the realm of almost quote
unquote cold and it's dark. There's just less of the
people out kind of in your way. Cooler temps and
(05:41):
lower sun exposure equals easier breathing and reduced heat stress.
And I know that goes under the head name of
no Dug Kyle like we're aware of this, but it
is something to keep in mind. When the cooler temperatures
are out and then sun is not beating on you,
it will feel easier. So if the very oppressive heat,
which lasted a very long time in this area, if
(06:04):
that got in your head in you're like, oh my gosh,
I am never gonna be a good runner again. I
just I suck. I can't breathe. I can try it now.
Try it now, now that the sun is not beating
on you, now that the temperatures have cooled a lot,
I think you're gonna get out there and find oh
all that summertime training did get me ready for fall,
and I am having an easier time running this race.
(06:26):
So as I record, I have a five k tomorrow morning.
It is supposed to be very cool, supposed to be
in the fifties cancer rain, which I'm not thrilled about,
although we need it in this area, but I can't
wait for a five k and fifty degree ish weather.
I am expecting to actually have a decent run now.
That's assuming my knee holds up. That's a different story entirely.
But conditioning wise, after running several five k's in previous
(06:50):
weeks and then the half marathon last week, I feel
I should have a decent five k tomorrow. Monstered ash
because of the temperatures, because of the weather, because Ken
City have marathon was hot and it was hot. Now
we've got cool. Now. I'm hoping all those runs in
the heat up to an including just a week ago,
will make for a better five k come Saturday morning
(07:13):
in fifty degrees and potential rain, we'll see mental clarity.
The dark creates a meditative a kind of you're a
meditative state, so you focus on rhythm and sound. Now,
if you run with loud music blaming in your ears,
this of course does not pertain to you. But I
do like, I do have my music on I don't
have it on loud. I'm not like cranking it. And
(07:36):
I do wear shocks. Okay, so the open ears if
you're looking, oh wow, this is cut off half of
my face, can't tell them using a digital background, but
the one that go over your ears, but not in
if you're watching the video on YouTube, which you should
be there you go. It's great for that. It's great
because when you turn the volume down on that, you
still have open ears to hear around you. And yes,
(07:58):
it is quiet. It is more meditator. And if you
want to listen to the rhythm of your feet, and
sometimes that's a very good thing to do. There's certainly
some runs where I want to listen to my rhythm
and I want to listen to my breathing just to
kind of see where I'm at and how it's feeling
and what's working for me. I normally do this as
I get ready for maybe a big race, a half
marathon or a full, because if I can get my
(08:19):
breathing down and I can find that pace where I
continue to breathe kind of the way I want for running,
you can extend yourself out farther. My best runs are
when I get my breathing under control early. And I
don't just mean, you know, like run and huff and
puffah blah blah blah. No, I mean find the rhythm.
And if you are a runner of any length of time,
you've had races where you just you found that rhythm.
(08:41):
You found the perfect pace to keep your breathing where
you wanted it to be, so that you're not eventually
getting to the huff and puff and gasp, but you
can continue at a steady pace with steady breathing. And
when you hit that sweet spot, and it's a sweet spot,
and you don't always hit it. Ask anyone who's ever
swung a bat. When you hit that sweet spot, man,
(09:01):
you feel like you can run forever. But it's not
every run. Just beware, not every run. Next a fresh perspective,
familiar routes feel new at night. This is mildly true
where is really really true is when the Christmas lights
go up, so keep that in mind. I love December
(09:21):
running because my neighborhood seems completely new again because everyone
does Christmas lights, either a house redes what they've done
from years before, a house who didn't do something. Finally
does you get like a new route almost every time
because there's an addition to there's a change of and
then towards you know, as you get closer to the
actual holiday, everything is lit up. It's beautiful, it's very
(09:45):
pretty outside. I am super stoked. So side story that
you don't care at all about, but I'm gonna tell
you anyway. Back in June, they closed the park that
I run in, Okay, so I run in I think
it's called Garrett Park. They closed it to completely redo
the whole thing. They redid the whole part, but it
was closed from June first and said it wasn't going
(10:07):
to open up until mid December. Now I have seen
on Facebook and advertisement that they're gonna have the grand
reopening in November, so apparently they got it done a
little earlier. But I can't wait to have my park back.
It will be new because it's been redone so I'll
have my new park, I'll have the holiday lights coming up.
I will start to finally have some new running routes,
(10:29):
even though it's the same sidewalks I'm used to. But
keep that in mind. You know, when you go out
and we get close to the holidays, it is going
to feel new ish as the lights go up and
you just kind of get more of that seasonal feel.
Now for people who aren't big runners, you know, I
like kind of throwing out the everyday connections like a
quiet evening drive or walk. Night runs offer reflection and
(10:49):
stress release after a long day. So if you are
just you know, if you've had a bad day, go
for a walk and in cool weather, it's it always
feels so much better. I just walked my dogs last night,
actually put on some long sleeves or some running pants.
Oh it was glorious. It was glorious as I listen
right now and the rain has started. Oh finally, man,
it's been so dry. All right. Safety in the shadows, okay,
(11:11):
because we do have to be safe. If we're gonna
do all this night running, you cannot mess around with it.
You must be safe. Too. Many runners are getting wallowed
by cars out there because the car drivers aren't ready
for the change in season. And then runners, I swear
to Aisha if I see another one of you out
in the dead of night, all right, when it's pitch
(11:33):
black and you are running in all black with no reflectors,
no lights, no nothing, I am gonna pull my car
over and berate you. We have to be smarter than this.
And I am seeing way too many people in my
own neighborhood running in all black clothing after the sun
has gone down. Y'all, you are asking to get hit
(11:55):
by a car, all right, And I don't care if
this piss is somebody off. I'm telling you all straight
up and down. If that's you, If you went out
on your last run and you were wearing dark colors
and the sun was already set, Hey, wake up, fool.
We can't be doing that. Don't get mad at someone
if they smack you with the car and you out
there trying to run around like a ninja. Nope, that's
(12:16):
not how it works. We get one or the other.
We dress appropriately and we get pissed at the driver
when they hit us, or we dress inappropriately and it's
our fault that the driver hit us. Sounds like, either way,
we're gonna get hit by a car. No, we're not
if we follow some of these safety rules here. Okay,
let's talk safety safety in the shadows, visibility, headlamps. Hello,
think about it when you've been driving around in your
(12:37):
car and you see off the side of the road
and you're glaring, not like, what the hell is that
is that? Ah? That is that a runner wearing a
lamp on their head? You noticed, you noticed. So if
you're the runner with the headlamp on your head, then
the driver's gonna notice you. He's gonna ask the same
questions you were asking, what the heck is that in
front of me, bobbing up and down? Oh, it's a
runner with a headlamp on. Okay, now I get it.
(12:58):
But they noticed you, they saw you. So a headlamp
with strong a lumens reflective vest. And even you can
go with blinkers. I've seen them, blinkers that attach to
the bottom of your shoes. But again, if you are
a driver and you're going down the road and you
see someone all lit up, bobbing up and down over
on the sidewalk, you see them. You at least see them.
(13:18):
That's all you can hope for. That's what you want,
that's what needs to happen. There's also reflective ankle bands
which make movements easier to spot. Like I said, the
bobbing up and down, we see it. Situational awareness. Run
against traffic and stay alert to cars in cyclists. Yes,
stay alert. I know that we love to run and
(13:40):
getting our own heads and getting our own thoughts and
tune out the world at night time. You got to
keep at least half an eye kind of to your right.
If you're running against traffic, make sure you're watching those headlights.
Make sure you're looking for turn signals if you're coming
up to a street that someone might be needing to
turn down to go home. That is the biggest, biggest
thing in my area, okay, because I run against traffic
(14:01):
every time, every time, consistently. I am always running against traffic.
But you have to watch for the turn signals. If
that guy has taken the right turn to go down
the street to get home after a shit day and
you're trying to cross the same streets, just watch, keep
an eye out for turn signals. I most of the
time will yield unless I know they saw me. If
they give me the wave if they come to almost
(14:23):
a stop and then I jet across. But I Am
not going to ever ever take it for granted that
they see me if and so another sidebar. Whenever I'm
teaching someone how to ride a motorcycle, and I've taught
several people, my first rule, always assume they don't see you.
Same thing, runners, same thing, runners at night, runners at dusk,
(14:44):
runners in the evening, runners during off season quote unquote times.
Always assume they don't see you, and that it helps.
All right. So once you're very sure get across, keep
music low or use bone conduction headphones. That boy hot,
I said that just a moment ago. The bone conduction
that's the shocks that go over the ears. And then
(15:05):
keep it low. Yep, you got to be able to
hear what's going on here for the cars and the
noise around you. It's a little safer. And then tell
someone your route and expected finishing time. That I don't
do because missus back in the back podcast couldn't care less,
and so I'm not gonna worry about that. I'm also
a guy, ladies. More important for you, we've been over
(15:27):
women's runner safety. Let's hearken back to that. Just make
sure someone knows kind of where you're going ish, when
you're gonna be back ish and then companionship, invite a
friend or run club buddies. There's also the Chasing Rabbits
rung Club. Our next meeting is on Thursday, October thirtieth.
It is the night before Halloween. Costume night and yes
it arraves in the mail today. We will have a
(15:49):
prize for who is voted the best costume as voted
by all the fellow runners from the Chasing Rabbits. You'r
on club. So Thursday, October thirty, it's six thirty pm
Discourse Brewing ninety seve with the metcalf be there. Wear
a costume, you could win a price. AnyWho mention local
group options like the Chasing Rabbits run Club, Yeah, that's
what I just did. Chasing Rabbits, the Run eight, one six,
(16:12):
let's see nine, Run three Brew Crew. There are there's
options all over And look, I know I'm mentioning my competitors.
I don't have competitors. There's no competitor to the Chasing
Rabbits Run Club. There are other run clubs that I
just mentioned. If you go to them, I hope you
enjoy Everyone run together and be safe. Okay, that's that's
(16:34):
really all it is. I don't care what run club
you're at, of course I want you to come to
mind when you can on the every other Thursday. But
whatever one you're with, make sure you're safe. And if
someone in your other run club is not being safe.
And look, I'm not worried about the ones I mentioned.
They know how to be safe. But if someone is
being unsafe, educate, help them out, get that situation solved.
(16:54):
Don't let fellow runners run unsafe. If someone shows up
to run club in all black, their ass all right,
I'm serious about this. I am serious as a heart
attack is. That is my a number one pet peeve
for other runners. When I see them running in all
black when there's dark outside, I will lose it every time.
And so yeah, okay, we'll just bring ourselves down a
(17:16):
lot of bait, all right, and then being proactive about
safety and running mirrors how we stay mindful and prepared
in life's unknowns. Yeah, it takes preparation to run at night.
So when you are willing to prepare to run at night,
you're willing to prepare for other aspects of life, and
that's never a bad thing. That is always good, all right.
So some of the sciencey parts of running, first off,
vision and focus. Lower light forces the brain to rely
(17:39):
on hearing, and oh boy, I can never say this
propri eception anyway. Because you can't see as well. Your
other senses kind of ramp up to take some of
the burden off your eyes, so you hear better, you
kind of sense better. You kind of just got that
feeling of what's around you a little better. Now. You
(18:00):
can also kill all that by bluring the music by
I don't know. I've actually seen people wearing sunglasses as
they're running at night. And look, I am a huge
proponent to pro proponent of running in sunglasses. If you
see me at a race on a Saturday or Sunday morning,
you can guarantee I'm wearing sunglasses because it just helps
(18:20):
me get my own little world during the fall. Running
at night, that world has to stop. We have to
run without the sunglasses. And yes, that means people will
see kind of the look of fatigue and panic in
your eyes as you're running in your tire. But we
can't be running with sunglasses at night. Our future is
not so bright that we've got to wear shades right right.
(18:41):
Hormones and performance. Evening runs often see slightly higher core
temperature and muscle flexibility, leading to a faster pace. Can
I tell you why No, But studies have shown sleep balance.
Light stretching post run helps prevent adrenaline from interfering with sleep.
I found that interesting. I had no idea that that
(19:03):
was a thing. So some light stretching. I'm not saying
you got to go do sixty minutes of hardcore yoga.
Just get some light stretching after you run. You might
sleep a little better, which is kind of nice. And
then understanding your bonds. Bunny's natural rhythm can help with
stress management and energy timing even outside of running. So
just a few signsy things. Now to the part that
(19:23):
everyone really cares about. Let's do some spotlighting here on
notable night races. And of course I've done this one
in the last two years. I won't be back in
twenty twenty six, which breaks my heart into a million pieces,
but I will get back there eventually. The Rock and
Roll Las Vegas half marathon and five K that is
probably the biggest race that you can do at night,
(19:45):
and you're doing it under the lights. Of course, the
Las Vegas five K takes place down on Fremont Street.
It starts right as the sun is setting, and they
have a huge party before the race, and they have
a huge party after the race. And years you're not
running through the most glamorous part of Las Vegas because
you've got to get the three point one miles. But
you start right off of Fremont Street by a block,
(20:06):
you wrap around some areas, and then you finish when
it is dark outside, coming down to Fremont Street. In
Fremont Street, if you don't know, it's Old Vegas, but
it is still very neon light driven. It is still
very much in the atmosphere and environment that is for
Las Vegas type of fun, whatever that is to you.
That's what they're kind of hoping for on Fremont Street.
(20:27):
And that's on the Saturday. Then on Sunday evenings, starting
around four pm or maybe I think the race starts
at four. If you are like me, you're probably not
starting till four thirty or four to forty five because
it takes that long to get all the waves going.
But right at dusk the race begins for the half marathon.
You run ninety four percent of it in the dark,
(20:49):
and then of course it's up and down the Las
Vegas Strip, the entire strip, and the entire strip is
closed down and the entire strip is lit up in
the fountains at Bellagio are going and everyone's got the music,
and they've got the spotlights, and they've got the neons,
and they've got everything working. It is an absolute blast.
I love that half marathon. Done the last two years,
(21:10):
I am still mad because I have never had the
performance on it that I feel I should. It's also
in February, when kind of your training might be at
its worst, because depending on what kind of winter you get,
training is difficult. And this is at the end of February. Now,
at the end of February and twenty twenty six, I'll
be getting on a plane and going to Tokyo, Japan,
so there won't be Vegas for me. But I do
love the rock and roll Los Vegas Half Marathon. If
(21:31):
you ever get a chance, go for it. The next
one is the Electric Run. There are multiple cities that
do this. They do one kind of in late spring
early summer in the travels around the country. It's a
neon lit five K party with glow tunnels, music zones,
and light shows. I don't know if an Electric Run
has ever made it to my neck of the woods,
but it's possible. It's possible, and I just missed it.
(21:51):
But apparently it travels around another traveling series, the Firefly
five K series, various US locations. It is in the
summer and in the early fall. It is glow sticks,
black lights in a family friendly party atmosphere post race.
The next one Night Nation Run Worldwide. This one is worldwide.
It is in the spring in the fall and is
(22:13):
known as the world's first running music festival. More a
rave than a race race SA So again, Night Nation Run.
If it's about raves, then no wonder. I haven't really
heard of it or done it because I'm forty five
years old. That is not my scene. The next one,
there is something called the Vampire Run. It travels to
various US cities, always in octobers. The runners humans try
(22:37):
to survive the chase from volunteers dressed of vampires. I
think we talked about that two weeks ago. Zombie ones, Well,
this one's vampire themed. The Helsinki Midnight Run. I've heard
of this one hell in Helsinki, Finland late August early September,
one of Europe's largest night races through a beautifully lit
city center. I think this is the one Helsinki in Finland.
(23:00):
This is the one where it's also like it's sunshine
twenty four hours there for that little period, so while
you're running at midnight, the sun is up, it's beautiful day.
So that is one that I've heard of before. There
is the Hotter than Hell night trail run in Texas.
Kind of varies by the city summer nights brutally hot, dark,
dusty and true badge of honor for night trail racing.
(23:23):
So again, you're running at night, which is difficult. You're
running a trail at night, which is difficult. You're running
a trail at night in summer, which is more difficult.
You're running a trail at night in summer in Texas.
That would be hotter than Hell. Yeah, yep, agreed, And
then one I threw on here it doesn't happen anymore.
I hope that they will bring it back at some
point in time. I think it did try and make
(23:45):
a comeback a year or two ago, but it's not
back as a yearly tradition, we had the glow Run
in Kansas City. I really enjoyed the glow run. That
was the one that I liked doing. When I did it,
I think it was out at Arrowhead Stadium where they
can kind of set up the glow stations and you
ran a five k kind of around the entire stadium.
And I enjoyed the glow run. I liked it. It was
(24:07):
at night, black lights everywhere, everything was all lit up.
It made for really cool post race pictures because your
metal glowed in the dark. And then they had black
light photos stations where you and your running buddies or
whatever could go take really good after race pictures with
your glowing metal, and I enjoyed that. I always thought
that one was really fun. It hasn't been around for
(24:28):
a while though, all right, So last one mindset metaphor.
Running in the dark is a perfect metaphor for trusting yourself.
You can't see the whole path, but you can keep moving. Yes,
when I'm going down the road that leads me to
that park, I can't see the park when I start
that road because it's a long straight shot. When I
get to the park again, I can't wait for it
(24:49):
to open up. Maybe they've added lights. Oh, now, that
would be cool. But what's really cool, I guess, really
a thing. I don't know if it's cool or not.
When I would make the right turn to go off
the sidewalk into the park, you couldn't see because it
was very tree line. It was very dark in there.
You just had to trust the path in front of you. You
had to trust that you kind of knew where you
were going, you knew how to get there, and trust
(25:11):
that it was going to be there. Now, when the
park opens back up and I go from my first
round there, probably not going to do it in the dark,
because I got to see how much it's changed. But
it really was. I had to trust where I was going,
and I had to trust to know what I know,
and I knew that when I made that right turn,
I went down a little to the left, over the footbridge,
another left down the path, very tree line, but you
(25:31):
couldn't see it until you really got to it. And
that's kind of a perfect metaphor for night running right there.
Let's see if you train after dark often, you know
it teaches you both confidence and focus. I am confident
to run in the dark, which is less I don't know,
it feels less safe or it's less secure than running
in the light. And then focus, You do have to
(25:52):
focus more on what you're doing, so that you don't
trip on the uneven sidewalk, that you don't accidentally step
off the curb and break your ankle, So that you
don't run in front of the car that you didn't
even see coming, so that you don't you know, step
on the skunk and he sprays you. Whatever the case
might be, you do have to you have to focus
more on what you're doing. And then you also are
kind of embracing the mental discomfort and even some people
(26:17):
could even call it the fear. And you're not stopping.
You're embracing running in the dark. You're embracing running more
into the unknown. You're embracing running into more into the uncomfortable.
Maybe fear is too strong of a word, but it
can be uncomfortable that you can't see exactly where you're going,
you can't see exactly what lies A heading view sounds
exactly like life. And so this this will actually help
(26:37):
you train for not just running, but for life. You
can't beat that, all right, so I like the night running.
I hope you do too, But I cannot emphasize enough.
Be safe, Be as safe as possible. Thursday night when
we're at the Chasing Rabatuurren Club, I've already told people,
and I'm gonna tell people more. Bring headlamps, bring reflectors,
bring lights, bring something. I want everyone to be seen.
(27:00):
And I know that on our route that we take
on a street called Lowell, there's some little shaky sidewalk parts.
They're not exactly one hundred percent perfect. There's some parts
that could reach up and trip a runner. There's some
parts where you could take an awkward step, because I'm
thinking of one where you have to make a sharp
left turn, stand the sidewalk, and then take the right
turn to go across the street. If you just continued straight,
(27:22):
you're going ankle first into a gutter. Great system that
has a very very big drop on it. That's why
they move the sidewalk over because it was such a
big drop for the Draantage system. You gotta be careful
about these things. So I want everyone to be wearing
their lights when they come to the Chasing Rabbits Run Club.
But it is fun. It is an adventure, but I
want you to be very safe. And if you go
(27:43):
out and run this week in the dark, you take
a picture and put it on the back of the
back Facebook page, you know, postay, hey dinner night run
and you'll have your head lamp on, have your reflective
gear on, whatever, show off to everyone. Kind of what
you're setup is when you're running at night. Nothing wrong
with that, right. So next Friday, I know it's Halloween Day,
we will put out an episode. It's just gonna be fun.
(28:04):
It's gonna be silly, probably talking more about Halloween themed
races and you know, spooky stuff like that. It is
not gonna be long because I want you at the
door to help all the trick or treats or it's
gonna be you know, I want you out with your kids,
so not messing with this stuff. Okay, that's gonna do it,
like go team go right. Fall is here as it
(28:26):
is now cool and rainy right now at my place,
which I love. Fall is here. So that's gonna do it.
For this week's episode of the Backpack Podcast, Second Win,
I'm your host, Kyle Walker. It is my pleasure as always.
We'll be back next week with another Halloween themed episode,
and then we continue right on and then we'll be
by be back Monday with a brand new episode of
the Back of the Pack podcast. So everyone, have a
safe week of training. We will see you next week.
(29:01):
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