Midnight Howl 5k - Run5k

The race was scheduled to start at 11 pm. It ended up being delayed for a short time due to volunteers still being taken out onto the course. As I mentioned before, I've never done a nighttime race so didn't really know what to expect. They gave all of us blinking lights along with our race bibs. We got lucky with the weather though - still mid-50's at 11 pm. There was a bigger turnout than I had expected for a first time race, probably partly due to the nice weather.

I placed myself in the usual mid-pack position although I wish I had started a little further up. After the mass start, we were funneled into a 3 foot wide lane along the road for about a 1/4 mile until we got back to the neighborhood that most of the course ran through. There were spots where I had to almost drop to a walk because there just wasn't room to get around anyone. We were specifically told that if we went outside the barriers, we would be pulled from the course. I didn't see anyone actually get pulled, but most people tried to stay in the lane. Once we got past that issue, it was a nice run. The neighborhood was pretty quiet, but was also pretty dark. Not much in the way of street lights. There were flashing construction lights along the course, and lots of volunteers with glow sticks to show the route. It's strange to run when you can't really see too well where you're going. All you could really see were the bobbing lights from the runners up ahead. It was kind of neat to look up though and see all the stars. It was a fairly clear night and when I looked up I could see Orion up above. Couldn't look too long though - didn't want to run into anything or anyone!

Even though this course was pretty hilly, I actually felt really good the whole way. I don't know if that was from having to go so slow at the beginning (preventing me from going out too fast) or just a good night, but I was able to easily run each uphill and try to make up some time on the downhills. I felt like I was constantly passing people and the only ones who passed me, I easily caught up to on the uphills.

We were funneled back into the 3 foot lane on the way back to the finish line, but at least we were spread out enough at this point that it didn't matter. I don't know what I expected to see on the clock when I got to the end, but I was a little disappointed with my time as I crossed the finish. I felt like I had run better. But it's still a good time for me, especially on a hilly course.

Not much - just some walking around looking for water. They had nothing for us post-race. They finally brought out some gatorade and some bottled water, but not nearly enough for the number of people that were there.


I'd love to do this race again next year if they have it, and I realize that with this being the first year, it's not going to go perfectly, but there are a couple of things they need to work on. First off, the 3 foot lane just doesn't work when you have over 250 runners, even if it is just for the first 1/4 mile or so. Also, I can understand not having bagels, etc for a nighttime race, but water and/or some kind of drinks really should be provided. Some fruit or maybe granola bars (nothing big) would have been nice too.