Night Run

I regularly go out on a Thursday night mountain biking (since at least the start of 2007) and absolutely love it. We strap big lights on to our bikes and hurtle around the trails. On the PWR running site there had been discussion of night running. In turned out that Jerry was organising a night run. This I had to do.

I've been looking forward to this run for weeks. I know there will be a couple of pints in the pub afterwards so I decide to get the bus there. The 10 minute car journey takes me 1:10 and two changes.

I arrive at the Fox pub in Keston and meet some friendly, fellow runners. No Jerry yet but everyone is buzzing. Eventually Jerry shows and after a few preiminaries we are off. Instantly I am loving it. I have an led head torch on but it soon becomes apparent that this is insufficient. I have the triple led light from my bike. I switch the light on and the woods light up.

It's a pain to hold but at least you can see. I suspect it is ruining the fun of some who would revel in struggling with a small light.

I know the route up to the Old Jail Pub will be a big slog uphill. We run up through Keston, a route I know well from the bike. As we get near the Wilberforce Oak, Jerry gets a call on his phone. We've lost Duncan! Jerry goes to retrieve him. I get the other guys to hide in the bushes and plan to jump them as they run back to catch us up. Alas our reflective clothing gives the game away.

A sensible policy of numbering off and a back marker is put in place. The good thing about the route is that Jerry has leveraged his ultra experience and a number of times we are literally running through the middle of a field (scarring a few horses!)

Having to concentrate on the dark means that I soon forget about the running. A sense of flow develops. The calf and ankle hurts but I crack on with it. I think maybe some r+r next week.

Eventually we reach the Jail. We all walk in to the pub. The locals look bemused. We explain the escapade.
"So how far have you run to get here?"
"5 miles"
"And how far are you running back?"
"5 miles"
They look at us like we are painted green and speaking Flemish.
Some people go for a half pint, some stick to the Lemonade. I have a pint. It is Saturday night after all.

The run back a detour is taken via Cudham. There is a hill in Cudham which is famous in cycling circles as it hits 25% as there is a sign to this effect.

Bouyed by my pint, and the fact that I like hills I embrace the hill. Some of the group start to struggle. It's a beast of hill, but I enjoy it.

On the return route the pace slows and it starts to become a little frustrating. I also note that we are getting closer and closer to pub closing time. Part of the fun of something like this is the post-run pint.

Eventually we forgoe the last bit of the run and take the direct road route. Realising that we don't want to all hit the bar in the pub at the same time, I bravely push on at the front. At then end I finish with a sprint.

We finish with a beer. Jerry kindly gives me a lift home and it takes 10 minutes. The bus home would not have been much fun.

A fantastic night out. Lesson learned across the board. I really, really hope these night runs keep going. It's not something you can do by yourself.

10 miles time hard to guage.