Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I don’t like running in the dark. I trip and fall well enough in full light, so I don’t really need darkness.Racing is another matter, though. For as long as tracks have been lit, track meets have been scheduled at night. Road races are also occasionally scheduled at night, too. This isn’t a problem as long as the streets are well lit. If you run late enough there will be less auto traffic to deal with, and during the summer months weather can be cooler for night races. And if you’re going to race at night, why not Midnight?
Many races do just that. Most notoriously, in New York City the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run takes runners on a four-mile tour of Central Park, starting at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. Call it crazy, but it beats hanging around Times Square courting pickpockets and frostbite.
It doesn’t have to be New Year’s Eve to be up and racing at Midnight. In Dunedin, Florida the Kiwanis Midnight 10K has started at the moment the calendar turned to July 4 for each of the past 31 years. Luminaria light the runners’ way over the causeway to Honeymoon Island.
A little closer to Tallahassee, Columbus, Georgia will host it’s 30th annual Midnight Express 5K on August 28. Thousands of runners compete in the Midnight Express, which also features live music and performances by the Columbus State University cheerleaders. Columbus likes its night runs, having also held the Miss Georgia Pajama Run 5K on June 19, starting just short of midnight at 11:30pm.
Even more in our backyard is Panama City’s 31st annual Midnight Chase 5K on September 4. Tallahassee itself hasn’t had a major midnight race yet, but last New Year’s Eve Bobby York and some friends put together a small run that took place after the midnight fireworks at Kleman Plaza. Not many people ran, and it wasn’t a race, but maybe it’s the seed from which a major event will grow. If 3,000 people are running through the streets of downtown on New Year’s Eve in 2020, remember where it started.
Links:
- Original publication
http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20108070331 - Good Evenings
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/07/good-evenings.html
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