I'm doing a 50K (31 miles) race in April. Races of this distance are done in the woods on a single file trail. Since they take so long, the races start in the dark and everyone wears a headlamp. I did my first training run in the dark this weekend. Our group started a 19 mile run at 6:30am so we had about 1 hour of dark time. The trails have rocks, roots, low hanging branches and fallen trees to contend with. I made it through the darkness fine. You tend to focus on the path because of rocks and roots. That was the case when I ran headlong into a low hanging branch. The runner in front of me didn't duck so I didn't either. Unfortunately she's only 4'11". It sounded like a gourd hitting a wall. Yikes, it hurt! I got a standing 8 count and I was on my way.
