Insomniac Trail Running Series - Adrenaline Night Run 54km

There's something about running at night that I can't quite put into words. I love that stillness of the night, the endless silence, where the only sounds are those of my own breathing and my footsteps hitting the trail. Occasionally, my thoughts are interupted by the hoot of an owl, the gentle barking or howling of nearby coyotes, or a rustling in the bushes of some unknown creature hidden in the darkness. I actually feel more alive as the sounds of the wild come to life, my senses becoming far more alert, far more acute. I don't feel afraid when running alone on the trails at night, not even when I hear the rustlings, not even when I'm convinced there is something watching my every move in dark as my headtorch illuminates what I think is a set of eyes hiding in the bushes as I pass by. 

Then there is the night sky - that beautiful midnight blue - one of my favourite colours. Living in Phoenix, we are blessed with the most amazingly clear night skies with millions of stars scattering the skies as far as the eye can see. When out on the desert trails where there are no city lights to spoil the view, those vast open skies and endless stars make me realise how small and insignficant I am when compared to the universe that exists out there. 

Last weekend, I made a last minute decision to run the Adrenaline Night Run 54km Trail Race, which is part of the Insomniac Trail Running Series. I was excited at the thought of racing at night but having never ran desert trails in the dark, I was apprehensive about encountering the wildlife which since my arrival in September last year has consisted mainly of snakes, snakes, snakes and scorpions. And yet as soon as I started running at 7pm, I lost all fear and anxiety, and instead became completely lost in the moment.

McDowell Mountain Regional Park - Pre Race

The 54km race consisted of 4 loops in the order of a short 10k ish loop, followed by a 15k ish loop, before repeating the short and long loop once again to the finish. The short loop took us along the Scenic Ridge Trail, and with sunset at a little before 7.20pm, the views of the setting sun as we looked across the McDowell Mountains was breathtaking, and I was completely entranced by how beautifuly stunning it looked. I forgot that I was in a race, I forgot that there were people closeby, and it really felt that I had the whole world to myself as ran along.

By 8pm things were starting to get a little dark and with some of the runners having already switched on their head torches, I was fast losing my night vision as their heads bobbed along the trail and I got caught in the beam.

The short loop had been a little hilly and quite rocky in parts, but the second longer loop was more undulating and far less rocky, as it twisted and turned along both the Escondido and Cinch Trails. By now, I really was running on my own and I was trying to focus on the trail ahead. My immediate view was lit extremely well with my headtorch, but my peripheral vision was completely black and I couldn't see anything else around me. I started to hear the sounds of the night as the owls started hooting, I started to hear rustlings in the bushes, I could see the tiny little bugs crawling around in the sand beneath my feet, and I also spotted a couple of Corral Snakes as they slithered their way across the trail. I remember seeing them and thinking how tiny they are but being amazed and astounded by their beautiful coloured stripes - venomous they may be, but still extremely beautiful to see in their own natural habitat.

The past week had seen temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, and during the race, the heat was still pretty intense even as night fell, with temperatures still in the 80's well into the night. Now that the sun had gone down though, it didn't feel quite as hot, but there was a brisk wind blowing which was kicking up a ton of dust. My throat and mouth became extremely dry despite drinking as much as possible, and in the beam of my headtorch, I could see just how much dust was in the air as the particles danced before my eyes as I ran along the trail.

The purpose of this run wasn't necessarily to race but rather to treat it as a training run. I needed to do lots of miles over the weekend and so opted to do the 54km so that I had some company and could take advantage of the aid stations - as well as avoiding the crazy heat. I will admit to having looked at previous year's results, and having seen that the course record was 5 hours 29 minutes, I figured that I would likely run between 5 and 6 hours. However, being a night run and not really knowing the course, I wasn't really sure what I was capable of running. I thought that maybe I could break the course record, but it also depended on who else turned up on the night as to whether I could claim that record.

I set off at a nice steady pace - the legs felt fantastic, the breathing was controlled, and apart from feeling really hungry at the midway point (it was past 9pm by then and I'd not had any tea!), it was a perfectly paced run for me. I took a look at my watch as the half way point - 2 hours 15 minutes give or take - and I finally finished in 4 hours 34 minutes - a loss of just 4 minutes or so in the second half and a race win and new course record as a bonus.

Of course I fell again - the third time in about a month - but I'm hoping that that's it now as my goal race at Bryce Canyon is getting ever closer and I really can do without battered toes and bruised, bloody kneecaps! I also ran out of water towards the end but thankfully there was only another 2 miles or so to go, but I really did have the most amazing time out there experiencing the night time trails.

The exciting thing is that I do get to do it all again in October - this time over 100 miles - when I compete in my next main goal race of the year - the Javelina Jundred. 

Many people love to run early morning and greet the sunrise, but I really do enjoy running in the evenings. Watching the sunset and reflecting on each amazing day makes me extremely happy, and when twilight arrives and the wildlife starts to wake up as people start to get sleepy and prepare for bed - to me it's the best part of the day.

Thanks once again to Aravaipa Running for organising yet another great race, and extra special thanks to all the volunteeers that were out there until the early hours waiting for everybody to finish safely. I should also thank the medical personnel who were there to clean up my wounds once again and mistook the bristly hairs in my kneecap as cactus spines that had made their way in following my fall and tried to pull them out - yes, I was laughing hysterically! 

Thanks to those of you that have taken the time to read this far and enjoy hearing about my "adventures" - sometimes I get writer's block and have no idea what I'm waffling on about!

So until next time, for all you runners - happy trails - and for everybody else, stay happy and keep on smiling :-)