© Brendan Polin

had wound my way through trails and ended up on a tiny country road where I thought I could get back to my car quicker by taking the road around the mountain instead of trying to run up and over it. But I got lost and had to ask for directions at a country convenience store. It took an extra two hours to get back to my car.

Runs along the Central North Carolina Railroad tracks at night are another favorite. I can sleep two or three hours in various places and easily turn around and return to my vehicle. Of course, this holds true for the beach run, too. Railroad runs are particularly good for me since North Carolina has an abundance of railroad tracks that seem well-maintained but are used infrequently. It takes a while to get used to running on the wooden sleepers, but once you have the stride pattern right it becomes very easy to run in the center of the tracks. However, one drawback is the high number of times certain lines cross roads: navigating railroad crossings can be a bit hazardous at night.

Amusing incidents

During night runs, I usually find things quiet and still. But sometimes I encounter an odd situation. There is not much in the middle in terms of activity. For instance, during anightrun on the Chattahoochee River Trail in Atlanta (while visiting my in-laws), I ran into police at 3:00 a.m. doing some sort of stakeout of an apartment block adjacent to the trail. They had guns drawn and warily kept their eyes on me as I passed by before calling me to a halt to search and question me. Apparently, they were on the lookout for a fugitive. Another time I had a beer bottle thrown at me by some louts in a pickup truck, and

<4 Early morning on the American Tobacco Trail, Wake County, North Carolina.

many times I stir up dogs while passing isolated country houses, occasionally causing lights to come on in the residence.

On another occasion, on my first extended run of my local portion of North Carolina’s American Tobacco Trail, at 3:00 a.m. I suddenly found the trail merging into a large shopping mall parking lot (Durham’s Southpoint Mall). Almost immediately a police car drove up and I was questioned on what I was doing. I was not carrying ID at the time, so one of the officers called my wife to verify my identity. She was not happy about this (hence I always carry ID now). I had to chuckle on hearing the officer say into his radio: ““There’s a guy here running around the South Lot with a banana.”

Can it last?

really don’t know how long the night runs will be convenient. Already my middle child, Brendan, has dropped his afternoon naps; only my youngest son, Quin, is taking the 1:00 p.m. nap. When he drops that naptime I’ll lose the opportunity to recoup sleep, and I’m just not sure if I could go through the next day without a siesta and also act sane around three children! My wife, too, is getting a little irritated at what seems to her strange behavior. “The neighbors are starting to wonder what you are up to every Friday and are asking questions. I really don’t know what to tell them.”

The night runs are a fantastic part of my life now—my form of meditation and relaxation where I can refresh my mind in the peace and solitude of the night. I don’t want to give them up, but if I have to, rest assured that when the opportunity arises (perhaps when my kids are in college), I’ll be back out there to greet my nocturnal animal friends in the forest. 2)

September/October 2015 M&B Sneak Peek

Here are just some of the stories we’re working on for the next issue:

¢ Marsha White examines everything that’s wonderful about fall marathons.

Phil McCarthy totally dissects the world of fixed-time races.

Cathy Tibbetts investigates the case of the kidnapped triathlete.

Joe Head takes us back to the 1968 Olympic Marathon Trials.

Sam Smith stretches the imagination with a Triple Ironman.

¢ We review a marathon where monkeys fly. Honest.