In an effort to alleviate this I've noticed the surge in popularity of head-torches for running, and having a simple LED one for my daily work as an electrician in cramped dark places, I appreciate how useful they are and would be a useful tool for night-time running.
You can spend a fortune buying a head torch by Petzl or other 'brand' manufacturers out there, but I don't have the resources to go drop the best part of £300 on a head torch, so looking around for an alternative I turned to what I use on my bike for lighting as a starter.
My riding set-up is 2x Cree Q5 LED torches on the front of my bike, one set on mid beam and the other on flood to illuminate the road from directly in front of the wheel to what's a good 50 yards away and the life on the batteries is pretty good. My mates have been impressed with them and a couple have bought them just to use as torches as they are only around a tenner on E-Bay, the size of a MagLight and WAY more powerful. Thinking laterally I had a search to see if there were any Cree Q5 based head torches out there and lo and behold I stumbled across this bad-boy on Amazon for £9.98, putting it firmly in the bracket of 'if it's rubbish then at this price it don't matter!
I went off on my canal 10k route which is in total darkness with no street lighting for 98% of the time, and switched it on at the first spot where the road turns to track and the puddles and pot-holes begin.
The view given by the torch on its flood setting was fantastic, emitting a cone of light that shines upon the ground in front of you to a distance of about 10m, although it takes a little bit of getting used to the tunnel-vision of staring down the cone of light that's coming from your head... The weather conditions were misty, so you could really see the whole beam reflecting off the mist and made you feel like a Dalek! It also makes you realise that you have the same problem as when you drive your car in the fog when you use this; the light rebounds off the fog particles and glares back at you rather than lighting what's in front.
I managed to traverse the common, spotting the sleeping Highland cattle on the path and able to run around them rather than running in to them, and I was able to traverse the muddy woodland and the water meadow without incident. Its amazing how different a familiar track seems when you view it at an alternative time of day. The highlights of the run were when you catch the glowing eyes of wildlife staring at you from in the undergrowth!
At the end of the canal there's the road section that takes me back to the woodlands and at this point I was glad for one of the other features of the head-torch: The battery-pack light. When you turn it on, the battery pack lights-up with its own LED glowing red in colour so you are more visible to those behind you on the road - a very good idea. I also wore a Hi-Vis vest to maximise my visibility to other road users as well.
I was not feeling too cocky so did not hurdle the fallen tree from the storm that now blocks the path in the woods, nor try running across the cattle-grid on the common, so following common-sense I went round one and walked the few steps over the other rather than coming a cropper with the marathon on Saturday!
Checking the time when I returned home I was less than 5 mins slower than my PB on this 10k route; definitely a decent showing for the first time of use! In fact I've run that course a lot slower during broad daylight, so the fact it was night and I was wearing a torch did not really have any affect on my running pace. The torch was very comfortable to wear and you did not feel like you were carrying any weight on your head, and the battery pack with its rubber casing remained in place the whole time, the only thing reminding me of what was on my head was the beam in front of me! The fact that the light has a hinge on it meant you could adjust the angle of dip on the beam for when you want a better view of what is immediately in front or what was further-off on the flat surface of the road.
Judging by this initial use, its definitely a successful purchase and has opened-up the opportunity of running XC's no matter what time of day it is, although I will stick to routes I know rather than run the risk of coming a cropper somewhere unfamiliar. Definitely a recommend for what it's worth!
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