How many folks can say they’ve run in the Wissahickon at night? With only the small illumination of a headlamp in front of them? Well, now 17 more women can confidently raise their hands in response to those questions.
On 3/15, the Women In Ultrarunning series added a bonus Night Run event. We kept the group size small to ensure runner safety, and took to the trails at night. Many ultras involve some form of running at night, whether it’s at the beginning or end of an event, over the course of an entire night, or even multiple nights in a row. No matter the distance, confidence in running at night can be key in many races. However, getting confident in this area can be tricky, especially when it comes to female runners feeling safe while running at night. I firmly believe there is power in numbers, and this was a huge driving force behind wanting to add this bonus event to the series. If we came together as a group to run the trails at night, women would feel safer, more prepared, and more confident in their night running abilities.
I am so immensely proud of the women who chose to forgo traditional Friday night plans, and spend a few hours running in the Wiss with us. They faced night running fears, were pushed a bit outside their comfort zones, and hopefully learned a few things about themselves and their abilities along the way! Running at night is a magical and empowering feeling. You are more in tune with your senses (I swear the woods smells different at night), you feel your mind calm and relax, and you can truly get lost in the beauty of the run. I truly feel more people should experience this.
Huge thank you to Wild Sense Goods for the run glitter to help us “light up the night,” and Spring Energy and Goodr for raffle prizes for a few lucky winners!
The next Women In Ultrarunning event is Sunday 4/7 at 8AM at Valley Green Inn in the Wissahickon. The topic focus will be nutrition, and attendees can expect a 75–90–minute trail run, topic discussion, tons of nutrition products to sample (Tailwind, Untapped, Naak anyone?!), and a giveaway from HOKA. Please register here: https://link.heylo.co/dZXS
Lastly, as always I highly encourage anyone interested to join the Women In Ultrarunning community on Heylo. Joining the community provides you with access to a group of likeminded women interested in the world of ultrarunning to discuss various topics, find training buddies, and more! It also allows you first dibs on ordering gear and helping guide the topics of future events! Join us here: https://heylo.group/women–in–ultrarunning
