Safety First

Over the years I've logged a lot of hours running in the dark.  What still amazes me is how many people still walk or run with no reflectors or lights of any kind.  Well maybe their shoes have small reflective patches on them.

It's 5:45 am and the driver is rubbing sleep out of their eyes as they quickly head to work early to avoid any traffic.  It's early and not many cars are on the road so they don't really care if they actually stop at the stop sign.  Do you really think that the driver of the car is looking for dark, shadowy runners on the road?

NO.  The only thing that might catch their weary eyes are LIGHTS.  Please wear bright reflectors AND a light of somekind.  Whether it's a wearing a  headlamp or carrying a flashlight just do it!

Bad Luck on the 13th

In the warm sunshine this intersection looks innocent enough.  But at 5:30 in the morning with nothing but the light from a headlamp, it's a dangerous place to run.

As my husband was running around this turn in the road he experienced his first fall of his running career.  He doesn't know exactly what happened to cause him to fall and roll but my guess is that loose gravel+speed+dark=disaster.

His hands took the brunt of the fall but he has road rash on his hip and back too.  However, when you're in a profession that requires you to wash your hands numerous times a day, deep cuts on your hands are NOT a fun thing to endure.

So, when running through construction zones treat it like you would when driving through them: SLOW DOWN!