Running under full moons on crisp winter nights has always been a favorite time. The cold air on you face, billows of cloud vapors pouring from you mouth and nose, and the sound of grass blades crunching as the frost crystals explode under your running body. There is a feeling of a freedom, oneness, and an abominable spirit on runs such as these. But running at night on the evenings when the clouds cover the moon, or when the moon is nigh, the event is different and lacking.

In fact these runs in the darkness of an oily night are often filled with trips, stumbles, curses and near crashes as the runner finds his way along a dark lonely night. This sort of running has plagued most of my running life. Growing up in Washington state, in the winter months it is dark, completely black by 4:30pm and many of my runs were run on faith that I would miss the potholes, mud puddles, curbs and other runner destroying obstacles. My faith was challenged as my steps often found the potholes, mud puddles, and who know how many sudden curbs, sidewalks and unsuspected elevation changes sent me flying out of control trying to stay on my feet. I remember squinting through the sheets of rain on dark nights trying to see as oncoming car lights blinded my vision. Yes, in fact I have run more runs in these conditions then I have in the beautiful light of a full moon, and I figured I would for the rest of my life.

But this is not the case. A few days after last Christmas the stumbling, fumbling and bumbling all came to a screeching halt. My wife and I each bought each other the same small headlamp. We gave each other the TIKA Plus, made by Petzl. The first few nights running with our new 2.25 oz headlamp I could not stop raving about how incredible it was to see at night. Soon we were venturing down trails that I would have not dared without the light of a full moon. And those trails only worked because there are no trees that would block the light of the moon. Our world opened up, to endless possibilities of night running. Being night owls by nature our nocturnal habits were freed as now any street, trail, or alleyway are easy pickings with the addition of a headlamp.

If you love running, and even if you only occasionally run at night we suggest that you invest in a lightweight LED headlamp. Once you run with one, you will never begin a run at night without one, unless of course you enjoy the stumbling, bumbling and fumbling that comes with no light. I hope your night runs become illuminated.