Over the past few weeks, the darkness has forced me to take my evening runs off the trails and onto the sidewalks of my village. It’s been a different, but unexpectedly enjoyable running experience for me. I love the silence, the solitude, and the way the shadows dance in the streetlamp lights.
It’s this new-found love for running in darkness that has stopped me from joining a gym so far this winter. I’m not only very comfortable and happy while running outside on the dark winter nights, but lately, I’ve been tempted to venture away from the relative safety of the well-lit sidewalks.
With this in mind, I’ve found myself seriously contemplating the possibility of investing in a head torch. Given that I don’t know anything about them, I decided to head down to my local running shop – which had conveniently announced a late-night opening for a Christmas celebration this Wednesday evening. Armed with a Santa-hat, my ulterior motive and I trotted down to the store to join in the merriment of their Christmas evening, prize raffle and organised run.
The evening began with an easy and jolly 5k group run, which saw a group of us jogging merrily around the city while nattering away about Christmas, running and certain things we promised to never mention again. Upon our return to the shop, while preoccupied with nibbling the top of a mince pie, a certain bewildered runner in a Santa hat was announced as the lucky winner of… a brand new head torch!
Clearly, it was meant to be. Last night, I took my new gadget for a test run in my local park, and I absolutely loved everything about it. The torch itself is small and light; I didn’t even notice that I was wearing it, apart from the light bubble it created just in front of me. The solitude and stillness were extreme and beautiful, and the crisp grass beneath my feet and my frosty breath in the night air were wonderfully refreshing. The familiar surroundings of the park suddenly became mysterious; a new territory to be explored by night.
I really hope that my gym isn’t missing me too much, because at this rate, they won’t be seeing much of me this winter!
(A massive thank you to Run4It for a lovely evening and an awesome new toy!)
Girl Runs Wild 