Fell running at night

[Grouse]

I think so too, but fells were definitely safer bet tonight because of severe ice on roads and pavements, 3-4 inches of snow on the tops here, but still fell on me arse. Ouch.

[Baggins]

I find running at night a bit slower depending on terrain, on my grassier runs not much difference really but on the rockier fells it can be quite a lot, again weather plays a big part in it, mist that would not bother you in the daytime can make even well known runs confusing.
If you want to train for speed the fells at night aren't a good idea but I don't fellrun at night for training

Bill

I tend to move onto the roads in Winter, pace being the very reason. Although I love fell running in summer and winter weekends. I would rather spend my winter evening running on the hilly roads around Darwen. I have a great loop that gets me 1800ft of ascent in 10 miles. I find this is done much faster than on the fells with a head torch. So in my personal opinion, Im getting a better workout.

[IainR]

If you want to train for speed the fells at night aren't a good idea but I don't fellrun at night for training

Bill

Totally agree, we get out every thursday night with Eryri, the training is no doubt some help but the hour or 2 training wise could be better spent. But I just love being out at night, it really is a unique experience, it is also getting used to being out in the dark, navigating in the dark for a possible PBR attempt later in the summer.

I think one of the best runs I've ever done was over the hills north of the clyde between Erskine Bridge and Dumbarton (Kilpatrick Hills?), full moon, snow on the ground, it was like Daylight, a brilliant evening run.

Sadly this year has been such a bad winter (wind wise more than rain), especially Thursday nights, that although we've always done an off road run, we've only once done the planned route up to a summit.

RichT: Not sure, I think they may be 1300? Really not sure, I'll have a look, it may be worth investing in some better batteries. I just picked these up from B & Q as I passed the check out.

[IainR]

RichT: Just checked my batteries are 800, which explains things then. I'll go out and by some better ones today.

[Stevie]

The milli amp hour rating of the batteries is an indication of how long they last, not the voltage they give.

As Rich T says, rechargeable cells like Nickel Metal Hydride have a very flat discharge curve and run out very suddenly, but 1300s, 2500s etc will only be longer lasting, not brighter. Your 800s will be just as bright as Rich T's 2500s - until they run out.

Brand new rechargeable batteries can be brighter because they produce up to 1.4V (compared to 1.2V rating), but the performance falls off to provide 1.2V in the long term.

[IainR]

Cheers, maybe I'll stick then just make sure I recharge after every run.

[Fellhound]

IIf you want to train for speed the fells at night aren't a good idea but I don't fellrun at night for training

Bill

Well said Bill.

I hate road running so much that it's a choice of the fells in the dark or no training at all - so it is a better workout for me!

Speed wise, I'd sum it up by saying the weather/visibility will slow you down more at night but in decent conditions your pace is limited more by experience/confidence than anything else. As you do more night running you can find yourself going virtually as fast at night as during the day.

Your headtorch must make a difference (obviously) but I don't really think a big Silva 480 or something is required. I have a Petzl Duo with 14 LED module and it's quite adequate - even for a fast descent of Coniston Old Man the other night! Come to think of it, Bill's Petzl Myobelt XP must also rank as "adequate" as he was right on my heels all the time!

[BillyNoMates]

I was thinking about this thread last night during our little jaunt in the Black Mountains.

My headtorch is a cheap and nasty 3 LED 'toolstation special', but even this often adequate for most evening runs. As the batteries run down the LEDs appear to turn more bluish and this affects the amount of light reflected from mud and grass. I have noticed that some torches used by other runners produce a softer white light which is better. I also find that spotting hazards such as rocks, tree roots etc is tricky because of the lack of perspective you get from having the torch on your head - it is often better if you hold the torch in your hand on the uneven bits - this way you can also cast the light around without having to look away from your path!

As for timings, I find that descent times are a lot slower because it is very difficult to run fast on tricky terrain when you can only see a small spot of light (running on well made up paths is different). Ascent times are not all that bad, but still slightly slower than the daylight times - sometimes due to the inability to pick the optimum path due to lack of long visibility.

I compared some times from last night's ascent of Pen Cerrig-calch, we made the trig point in about 33mins compared to 29mins as part of the Black Mountains race, which is about 14% slower (but some of this could be attributed to icy conditions !!). Other routes have proved to be about 20% slower overall, but times improve with practise.

[Baggins]

- it is often better if you hold the torch in your hand on the uneven bits - this way you can also cast the light around without having to look away from your path!

Not always.
I was once coming down off Pillar and had been holding the torch in my hand due to the mist, came out of the mist on the steep descent heading towards blacksail and I slipped, threw my hands down to stop myself and my torch clattered against the rocks and broke off from the strap, its very difficult trying to attach a headtorch to a strap when you can't see what your doing

Bill

[Joe]

Not always.
I was once coming down off Pillar and had been holding the torch in my hand due to the mist, came out of the mist on the steep descent heading towards blacksail and I slipped, threw my hands down to stop myself and my torch clattered against the rocks and broke off from the strap, its very difficult trying to attach a headtorch to a strap when you can't see what your doing

Bill

That reminds me that I should carry a spare headtorch!