Race Report: Torchlight Run 05/12/2011

For the first time the route organisation for this weeks torchlight run fell to me, which is where things started to go wrong. I had all good intentions of planning an interesting 10k or so cross-country route ready for this evenings run but a combination of work and a weekend away got in the way.

Heather, Perry, Chris, Paul and Michael back at the Hawk Inn. 
It's just Ribena and protein shakes in front of us. Honest.

However, we all met in the club car park as usual. It was a cold and dark winter evening so

extra layers were a must. After a quick discussion we decided to repeat the route from last week which started from Paul's house in Haslington and, as if by magic, finished at the bar of the nearby Hawk Inn.

I was keen to test my new LED Lenser P7 torch which I bought recently after being impressed by a similar torch belonging to Perry. 

The first part of the run takes us along a path and track and as we moved out of the range of the nearby streetlights I turned the torch on. I was immediately taken aback by just how much light was being generated by such a small torch. If money were no object I would be sorely tempted by one of the headtorches they produce which according to reviews are comparable to a car headlight!

The section of the route across the golf club is the only part of the route with any kind of incline/decline on it. Although they aren't what you would call hills, over here in flat as a pancake Cheshire we have to take what we can get. It certainly felt a lot easier to me this week after not having run a marathon the day before.

Before too long we were back on the path heading towards the bright lights of the main street in Haslington. The night runs seem to pass much faster than a Wednesday night run and we speculated why this might be. Perhaps it's a combination of the dark and the terrain focusing one's mind on every step. Perhaps it's the thought of the roaring log fire and the glass of Shiraz or large Scotch awaiting us on our return.

The night run schedule might be a little over the next few weeks might become a little fragmented due to Christmas, but we do have some very interesting routes planned in. If you haven't yet had a go at night running I'd urge you to consider it. All you need is a hi-vis jacket, a headtorch (I can usually find you one to borrow if need be) and the willingness to try something out of the ordinary. We run as a group at a steady pace, and we certainly don't leave anyone behind.

Michael