Witchy Wolf in Pursuit!!

Before tonight, I'd only run after dark once. That was in the summer on a flat rail-trail. I was running with my husband who had a headlamp on. We did maybe four miles.

Tonight I upped the bar a little. Instead of flatness underfoot and a warm breeze surrounding us, we ran on snowy (icy at times) wooded trails, both wearing Yak Trax and headlamps and bundled up from head to toe. It was awesome!

I'm not much of a night person. Once the sun goes down, if I'm in, I'm usually in for good. I don't see well at night (I know - who does?) and I never feel safe. Then my husband started talking about this trail race that starts at 6:30pm next Saturday - the Winter Wolf Run. Fifteen snowy, icy miles after dark with the Witchy Wolf in pursuit! My immediate response was, "No way! I'm out!" But more and more trail running friends kept talking about it and I was beginning to feel like a whimp! So tonight I asked my Matty if he'd go on a short test run after dark on the trails near our home.

Now I'm still not sure I want to do this race, but the run tonight made me slightly more confident. I now know I can run comfortably with a headlamp on my head and Yak Trax on my feet. I just wish the headlamp were brighter...

Here's a partial list of what the website has to say about this race:

• Full of the moon January 23rd 2010

• Surprises, some support, wild animals and more.

• Headlight and taillight required.

• Encounters with the wolf guaranteed.

• Reward if you capture the wolf.

• Notification of next of kin, if the wolf captures you.

• Survival not guaranteed

• Fun unusual awards and treats

• Freezing temperatures and snow!!

Encounters with the wolf? Survival not guaranteed? EEP! :-)

This will certainly make for an interesting race report if I end up running.