Athletics: How To Run and Enjoy the Marathon - Chapter 9. Night Moves: Exercisers Need A Visible Presence

(A Practical Guide To The 26.2-Mile Journey) By James Raia
Web site: www.byjamesraia.com  
E-mail: James@ByJamesRaia.com

Runner's Web Editor's Note:
We will be running one chapter of this book on the Runner's Web each week for the next 15 weeks.

Introduction
How to Run & Enjoy The Marathon, a series of 15 self-help and service-oriented articles about running marathons - the proper shoes to running etiquette - is written by James Raia, a journalist and veteran marathon and ultramarathon runner in Sacramento, Calif. A contributor to many newspapers, news services, magazines and internet sites, Raia began to run long distances in 1983, the same year in which he completed his first marathon, the California International Marathon, in 4 hours, 12 minutes and 30 seconds.
How To Run & Enjoy The Marathon is based on the author's more than 20 years of writing about the sport -- its nuances, its elite athletes and the running masses.
Since he began training for his first marathon, running has become an integral component of the author's lifestyle. Raia has completed nearly than 70 marathons and ultramarathons, including several 50 milers and double marathons. His fastest marathon, 3:07:42, was run in 1990. A two-time finisher of the Boston Marathon, Raia for the past several years has completed many of his marathons in the 3:45 range.
Raia, 48, has traveled to more than a dozen countries on assignment for myriad publications, Runner's World to Modern Maturity, The New York Times to USA Today. He also writes syndicated cycling and running columns, publishes two electronic newsletters, Endurance Sports News and Tour de France Times, and is the author of The Tour Within The Tour de France, a travel/sports e-book about the prestigious cycling event. He lives in Sacramento, Calif., with Gretchen Gaither, a teacher and sculptor.

For additional information on his two free newsletters or his other e-book, visit the author's web site, www.byjamesraia.com or contact him via e-mail at RaiaRuns@aol.com.

Table Of Contents
1.Marathon No. 1: It's not all about pain
2. What Marathon? Plentiful choices abound
3. The Basics: Common sense for the masses
4. Marathoning For Dollars: Running is fitness on the cheap
5. Want To Finish: Join the club
6. Fleet Feet: If the shoe fits, wear it
7. Need Motivation? Take a break
8. Now Hear This: Just Say No To Headphones
9. Night Moves: Exercisers Need A Visible Presence
10. Women Marathoners: Running Safe Means Running Smart
11. Running vs. Walking: Marathoners Can Do Both
12. Runner's Creed: Share Thy Space
13. Marathon Time Limits: The race directors' dilemma
14. Marathon No. 1 (Revisited): Don't Forget The Little Things
15. Reference Guide: Where to Find Out More About The Marathon

This Issue - 9. Night Moves: Runners Need A Visible Presence

During the season when nightfall comes early and the inclement weather makes roads slick, runners need to take extra precautions that they're exercising safely.

Fred Kaiser and Pam Cantelmi, two veteran long-distance runners, know winter's running hazards all too well. While training on a rainy December night several years ago in Sacramento, Calif., the duo was struck at a suburban intersection by a pick-up truck.

Details of the accident were bizarre, with the vehicle driver and the two runners unsure exactly what happened. Kaiser was only slightly injured, but Cantelmi suffered head and shoulder injuries and was hospitalized. Fortunately, both runners were able to resume their exercise routines.

The accident was particularly ironic, however, since both runners were wearing reflective gear. Other outdoor exercisers - some wearing reflective vests, some not - have been less fortunate.

"I had on a reflective vest, I had a flashing light around my waist and I was carrying a flashlight," recalls Kaiser, a real estate attorney. "Sometimes, it just doesn't matter. Drivers aren't looking for runners and sometimes they're not going to see you, regardless of what you're wearing. You have to look for them. It can be pretty scary out there."

Exercising before sunrise and after night nightfall is discouraged by national running advocacy organizations. However, daytime training isn't always an option for those with busy schedules, particularly during the shorter sunlight days of winter.

Although it's no guarantee of safety, wearing reflective gear is the top priority. Dozens of options - vests, flashlights, blinking shoes, reflective strips, arm bands, etc. - are available at most running apparel stories and through mail order catalogs.

Wearing reflective gear on your arms and legs, rather than on your trunk, is also important since drivers are more likely to see the reflective or glowing light when it's in motion.

"We're out there with only the thickness of our T-shirts to protect us," recalls Kaiser. "There's no body armor involved in the sport of running. The car is going to win."

But night exercising not only presents potential vision problems for drivers, athletes' vision is poorer at night, too. Potholes, branches, wire fences and slippery leaves are all difficult to see, particularly as dusk becomes nighttime.

"The two key things about running at night are to see and to be seen," says Susan Kalish, former ARA executive director. "You need to know where you're going, what you'll find there, and whether drivers can see you coming."

Runners training at night should also adhere to other common sense guidelines. Consider:

* Run against traffic. It's easier to avoid traffic if you can see it.

* Don't wear dark colors at night. White attire is the easiest to see at night, but orange and yellow are also appropriate. Black, brown, dark blue or green are not recommended.

* Run behind vehicles at intersections. Even if a car or truck has stopped at a stop sign, there's no guarantee the driver has seen you.

* Don't wear headphones. Wearing headphones diminishes an exerciser's ability to hear a car horn, a voice or a potential attacker.

* Wear a billed cap and clear glasses. The bill of a cap will hit an unseen tree branch or another obstacle before the obstacle hits your head. Clear glasses will protect your eyes from bugs and other unseen obstacles.

* Vary your routes. A potential attacker can watch for runners' patterns and loom in a particularly dark or isolated area.

* Exercise with a partner. There's strength in numbers.

* Fitness enthusiasts with inner-ear problems or other equilibrium conditions should avoid training at night when maintaining proper balance can be more difficult.

* Try to make eye contact and acknowledge a driver. The exchange, however brief, could save your life.

And remember, as Douglas Lentz, an ARA editorial board member, advises: "When exercising at night, light yourself up like a Christmas tree."

© Copyright 2003, James Raia

Posted with the permission of James Raia.

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