Night time barefoot trail running

Chaserwilliams

Chaserwilliams

Barefooters
Dec 15, 2010
866
114
43
#1
I went for my first true night time barefoot trail run Sunday night. I wore my Princeton Tec "EOS II" head lamp that I brought home from work as my only source of light after the sun went down.

The trail surface I was running on was somewhat technical. Very rooty in places, with lots of leaves and other foliage covering the entire trail. This makes it very interesting in the day, so at night it was really cool!

Anyone else have any experiences with barefoot running in the dark on trails?
 
#3
Yeah, I think Im starting to

Yeah, I think Im starting to get over streets... lol. Ill still run them, but with the combination of my injury, and roads around here all being boring, trails are sounding better and better. Plus since 99% of all ultras are on trails Ill need to get used to them anyways...

On my run Sunday I turned the HR alarm off and ran the last mile pretty hard and averaged around a 7:20 pace. It was really exhilarating to say the least. Had a smile from ear to ear the whole time!
 
#4
There is a trail that is just

There is a trail that is just one property over from my house I've run on at night, but havent attempted it bf yet dont beleive I am up to that level. I've run it a few times at night before my bf transition and a few times during the day since (but wearing vff). Its part gravel part natural path and this time of year full of obsticles covered in leaves. Its too short though, but a nice add on to start or finish a run at my house, .7mi short loop and I think the long loop is 1.5 or something like that. Nice thing I have yet to come across another person during all my runs... its pretty rural here not alot of folks around.

I've got a lesser known but very highly recommended headlamp I use, a Zebralight H51. Its a prety sweet multi function light (works equally well as a headlamp, handheld, and compact enough for an pocket every day carry) has 7 brightness levels from moonlight mode .2L up to 200L (cool white version, 172 for nuetral white) plus a strobe mode and runs on just a single AA. All aluminum crushproof and waterproof to IPX8. Only problem for running is it has a somewhat tight hotspot, (but they do sell a floody version too) and the stock stretchy headband bounces a little so I bought a different headband that works great. If anyone is in the market they are very worth checking out.

I want to get a second one to have a hand held light too, since the lower light angle is suppose to cast shadows better (usefull especially on trails to see rocks, roots, etc) compared to a headlamp where your perspective if right inline and see no shadows. I think the right-angle Zebralights are perfect for that as well, I hate a straight flashlight I have to twists my wrists unnaturaly to point the light down. For around the house thats fine but for running multiple miles its annoying to hold my wrists like that. I havent tried it yet but I think the right angle light would allow my hand to be in a normal running position and be pointing the light in the right direction.
 
#5
Thanks for the info Tristan,

Thanks for the info Tristan, Ill look them up, 200L is really bright! lol.

The trails right by my house have I think 8 miles of trails total, but this weekend I plan on hitting one thats like 15 miles and supposedly very clean as far as roots and stuff go.
 
#6
Couple weeks ago I did my

Couple weeks ago I did my daily runs in the late evening, partly asphalt, but most on dirty roads near open filelds, often carved by tractors (and similar moving stuff), so I suppose that also counts as semi-trail. Knowing the way pretty well I did not even take a headlamp with me, which probably sounds more dangerous than it actually is - with an adapted eye you still see enough to prevent running into a deer suddenly showing up;-) Overall a lot of fun that I don't want to miss, always enjoyed night runs when everybody else is settling on their sofas. Wish that stupid ear infection had'nt kicked me out for a while, but sooon....
 
#7
Tofu - I have run at night

Tofu - I have run at night without any light as well, at least on a brightly moonlit night. With night adapted vision and moonlight I can see the road just fine. I have not tried that since barefoot however, I want to pay more attention to what I am stepping on now! And one thing that surprised me was just how many spiders were on the road (at least during the summer/early fall)! You can only see them with a headlamp because their eyes reflect back when the light source is close to your eyes. There are some stretches where I would see a dozen spiders in 10 yards... Also unless I am running after midnight there is still the occasional car that I want to be fully illuminated! I usually run with my headlamp on one of the medium levels, but when I see a car comming I often turn it to max and point it at the horizon just to be more visible. Its a good feeling when a car is still about a quarter mile from you and dim the high beams (and I'm the only other thing on the road).

Chaser - yeah 200L is pretty bright and I think they are about the only manufacturer able to get that out of a single AA - although that requires a good one (battery I mean), either lithium (energizer ultimate) or a good Nimh like Sanyo Eneloop. Standard and alkaline wont be able to drive that light at high, and they run out of juice pretty quick. Mine is the nuetral white version so its 172L. I dont like the cool-white bluish tinted ones, they are more annoying to the eye and render colors poorly but they are a bit brighter. ZL is also supposed to be releasing an all flood newer version with the latest led thats supposed to be 300L on an AA. If youre into more advanced batteries like 18650 lithium ions then they even have a 750L headlamp thats just a little bit more $ but I like to stick to AA. I usually use it on one of the mediums, so actually less then the max of your EOS II. Its not a traditional looking headlamp either, many dont like the looks, but it is quite usefull.
 
#8
I looked into them yesterday

I looked into them yesterday and I actually like the style they use. I like that thy can double as a headlamp or a hand held, and their set at 90 degrees. Oh, and the fact that their from Texas is also pretty bad ass!
 
#9
Tristan, how did you come

Tristan, how did you come across Zebra Light? I had never even heard of them.
 
#10
Night time barefoot trail

Night time barefoot trail running? That's for amateurs, unless you're blindfolded and dragging a honey badger on a leash.
 
#11
I dunno man... The honey

I dunno man... The honey badger is bad ass! I dont think I could handle that.
 
#12
A honey badger on a leash

A honey badger on a leash would provide some good motivation to keep running really fast, perferably faster than said honey badger.



I wish I could run on the trails at night but they close and have people patrolling them. Oh and cameras too so they can keep track and send patrols out if people use them too much at non allowed tim. I already get yelled at on occasion for going out before 7 which is when they open :-(. So far I've talked myself out of tickets but I'm not sure how long I can pull that off for. I can't wait to get out of SoCal.
 
#13
Chaser, the Zebralights are

Chaser, the Zebralights are one of the highest talked about headlamps on candlepowerforums.com (a forum for flashlights and related topics), them and also Spark are probably top of the headlamp talk, but the sparks are a little bigger/heavier and more of a dedicated headlamp. You wont find either at a department store or even most sporting goods websites. As a member of CPF I got a slight discount from www.illuminationgear.com also goinggear.com sells them too, plus ZL's own website. I also got a different headband for a few bucks on amazon called a nite-ize headband. I want to try the stock ZL headband again now that I run smoother maybe the bounce wouldnt be as noticable.



AJB - I hear ya about the closing at dark thing, most all the city parks do. I think technically the one by my house does as well but no one is ever there and they dont 'patrol' it or anything. I'll have to check around there is a pretty popular trail course somewhat close by called the Mohican I'll have to see if its open at night. Its a bit more dangerous with ravines and cliffs though maybe night time isnt the best idea! I guess maybe you'd have to go into the mountains - thats the ultimate trail run anyhow! But most all those should be accessable 24x7x365.
 
#14
I've been told by the cops

I've been told by the cops three times now (yes, I am a slow learner) that they don't mind my parking offsite and running on the paths at night, they just don't want me to park in the parks' parking areas after dark. Geez cops, thanks for thinking of my safety.
 
#15
I don't think this honey

I don't think this honey badger would give you too much trouble.

honey%2Bbadger.jpg
 
#16
This one might though. 

This one might though.

honey-badger-ratel-2.jpeg
 
#17
those suckers are mean and

those suckers are mean and fast! i watched one documentary about one they followed through netflix. the darn thing ran up a huge mountain in like 90 mins. then back down again. they couldn't keep up with it. they wander some huge amount of a miles a day maybe upwards around 60.
 
#18
Man, trails that have hours

Man, trails that have hours of use on them.... Thats real "natural" isnt it? lol...

Tristian, Ill check that forum out. Thanks!

TJ, have you not seen the Honey Badger video on YouTube?
 
#19
My hubby has and tried to get

My hubby has and tried to get me to watch it, but I'm too much of a baby and would probably cry if I saw another animal suffering, even if it was in the wrong. I haven't even watched the persistence hunting video that's been out for a few years now either. I'm a big sissy.
 
#20
Suffer? Who suffers? Im

Suffer? Who suffers? Im confused...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Support Your Club

Xero Shoes Amuri Z-Trek

Forum statistics

Threads
19,158
Messages
183,651
Members
8,705
Latest member
Raramuri7

Latest posts

Share this page

Share this page
Top Bottom
Back
Menu