Here are some safety tips to keep in mind before running in the dark. As with anything done at night or in early morning hours, it’s important to be extra careful to avoid getting hurt.
Bring Your Phone
You’ll be able to find help if you get hurt or feel unsafe. You can also use it to tell friends where you are via Find My Friends.
Know your (well lit) Running Route
Take a well lit path. You can also wear a headlamp. With a headlamp, look up and shine your light at cars to make sure they see you.
If you are traveling and know you’ll be out early or night running, plan ahead! Strava’s Global Heatmap or MapMyRun’s Route Genius are apps you can use to find safe places to run.
I subscribe to Strava for the Beacon feature alone- it allows me to give my Husband, colleagues when I travel, or whomever a real time heatmap of where I’m running.
That’s way better than a note on the counter, ya heard?!
If you are running from home base, stick to paths you know are safe! Save adventure runs for the daytime.
Wear Reflective Clothing
Wearing reflective tape on your running accessories or clothing with reflective properties. You may be able to see cars coming but they can’t see you!
If you don’t own any, borrow your husband’s PT belt!
Pssst-reflective tape can be put on your shoes, handheld water bottle, or hat for running in the dark. No laundry issues there!
One Bud or No Headphones
Keep volume low or take the opportunity to run without Run Lift Mom podcast or music. The more aware you are of your surroundings, the faster you can react!
Bring Extras
I’m talking pepper spray and identification.
If you don’t have pepper spray, get some! Repeat after me: it’s more important to be safe than nice! I like this one with the hand strap but real talk: any style can be put in your pants or vest pocket so you don’t drop it.
It’s always good to have some sort of ID on you in case you get hurt; road ID is ideal because other runners and cyclists know to look for them. In a worst case scenario, you can write your emergency contact on a laminated strip of paper, holepunch & tie into your laces!
Those are my top tips, having been a 5 am runner since the triplets we’re born! What did I miss?
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