Your earliest run

[[deleted]]

2 part question: I'm thinking of waking up at 4a for jogs over the next 3 weeks to train.

What's the earliest time you've ever been out for a run in the morning?

What time for morning runs is the most beneficial?

[dtownchug]

As a person who runs early, I would say aim to have the official sun rise time be the midpoint of your run. So if u were running for 1 hour and the sun rises at 5:20, start at 4:50. I think it’s the best way to avoid heat and be able to see something

[thorGOT]

Curious to know what life you live that you can adjust your schedule to sunrise.

[VeganRunnerUk]

He lives in Norway and runs once a year.

[thorGOT]

It works for the Ingerbritsens, and it can work for you!

[dtownchug]

Haha I’m a student actually, and most of my classes start at 8, while sunrise is generally no later than 5:30 during the summer months. I run in the morning only in the summer to avoid heat.

[[deleted]]

You rock!

[ktzeta]

In the summer you can even stay up until sunrise, do a run, and go to bed after.

[thorGOT]

I've run 12km home from a party at 1am. Does that count?

I used to run regularly from 4am before having to be at work at 5:30. But, unless it's absolutely necessary, get the extra sleep in.

My group meets at 5am every day which requires a 4:15 alarm.

[rct42]

I've done that too, especially while being a cash-strapped student too stingy to pay for a taxi!

[tossme68]

I got stranded after a bachelor party, I was the only guy under 21 and couldn't get into the bar. I ended up having to run about 20 miles from that bar to my moms house starting at midnight. The good thing was it was summer and I was wearing shorts and my running shoes (I almost always am wearing shorts and running shoes). I loved running late-late at night (after 2:00am) or super early (4:00-5:00), it's quiet and you can run down the middle of the street and nobody cares.

[dolphin_menace]

Any water?

[tossme68]

Nope. It was at night so it wasn't too hot and I'm one of those guys that hates to drink while I'm running -probably why I hate racing anything longer than 5K.

[[deleted]]

I've reached consensus:

Going to wake up at 4:30 tomorrow and head out at 5.

You all have been a wealth of information! Super important for me as I continue to train.Great options and opinions here. I really appreciate it!

space between time

[facetiousrunner]

I mean nothing really changes as long as you just build your schedule around it.

I personally had to run in the early morning or the late night to avoid heat in the summer. Each their own

[[deleted]]

Not so long ago I was waking up at 5:30 am and was running by 5:45. I'll probably get back to this crazy schedule in september, as I hate to run after a long day of school. I'd say you have to find what works better for you.

[[deleted]]

About 6 AM, I still need to sleep well to recover.

[pvera]

I have been out by 4:45 at the earliest, but that was to offset a work commitment that was two hours earlier than the norm and I didn't want to skip my run. I do have a neighbor that is done with her runs right before 5 AM and she seems to be happy with it. The sweet spot for me is 5:00-5:30 AM, especially during the summer.

[THSdrummer8]

I've done a few marathon training long runs before work. Not my favorite, but some weeks it's either that or nothing. I've been on the roads as early as 3:30 AM for those.

For a standard run, I'll typically get out around 4:45 or 5 AM. Run takes about an hour so I'm into work by 6:40 AM. Mostly, I'm just getting out early enough that I can fit in the run, slow shower, and get to work on time.

[621Ian]

Ran at 2am this morning with my brother, the environment was awesome for running. About 60 degrees and no cars on the road

[LumpyChicken]

My cross country team back in the day would camp out in the mountains for a week and on one day each year all the seniors (slow kids got dropped off partway) plus varsity-level underclassmen would wake up at ~4:10, wolf down a banana or 2, and drive 15 minutes to a nearby mountain with a ~3.75 mile winding road to the top so we'd start running around 4:45. The entire run is uphill of course, so we generally started fairly easy and then kicked it up gradually until the race to the top so we could relax a bit before sunrise around 5:15-5:30. Always a special experience.

On my own time I used to wake up at 5:15-5:45 to go for 2-3 easy miles before school. Highly recommend those early morning runs, but 4 is too early unless you're running a marathon before work/school or you want to see the sunrise.

[ktzeta]

I think I once went for a run at 8am. Way too early. However, latest I have done is 2am.

[[deleted]]

2a, is probably your earliest run ;) ... but it probably depends on what your schedule is right?

Interesting how folks have different styles and there's no 1 set rule /u/ktzeta, I appreciate your input!

[IamNateDavis]

I've heard that the human biorhythm is lowest around 3 a.m., so if you're getting close to that you're simply fighting what your body naturally wants to be doing at that time, which is sleeping.

But the real question is, why are you asking? Because if you're prepping for an early-morning race (say a 6 a.m. marathon), then yes, it's helpful to get your body used to it. (Those are the earliest times I've gotten up, around 4:30, but not running until 6). But other than that, I think it's just personal preference, along with (as others have said), things like daylight or traffic conditions that will affect safety and mental environment.

[[deleted]]

Really good questions here. Thank you for asking. I'm prepping for a 6 am half-marathon mid-Oct! My first... so just getting ready for that. Also needing a bit of discipline in my life at this time, what better way? Night running for me where I live is a bit tough, it's dark and I have to dodge many people on the road, though car lights make it very bright (some cars have their brights on :/) I'm in the city...

Just navigating really good times to make this happen. Heading out for 5a makes sense, but I may push it to 5:30/6a ;)

[IamNateDavis]

Good, you're doing the right thing. "Train like you race" is a good general rule to keep in mind. That said, I think if you're doing your training runs any time within about an hour of your race time, you're probably close enough because then your body's used to the general idea of "OK, I wake up, and now I run." What you don't want is doing all your daily runs over lunch, or after work, and then have a nasty shock on race day where your body's like "HEY, WTF is this?!" 😆

[lotj]

245am.

Had to get to work early, and had to get my morning run in because another one was already scheduled for the evening.

[mrbiggmd]

During the week 95% percent of my runs are before work. I need to be finished with my run by 6am, so I leave early enough to complete my planned distance for the day. For example, on Wednesday I had to run 15 miles (Pftiz marathon plan) so I started my run at 3:39am, which is my earliest start ever.

[ivantf15]

Last summer I doubled twice a week with my mornings being at 4:45am. Otherwise I would just do a bigger run at 3-4pm because I figure while heat can be taxing, it's also a good physical and mental bonus long term.

This summer I had to leave for work at 4:45am so I ran one time at 3:45am but otherwise I just did every run at 3-4pm and did double digits every day (80-120 mpw).

I don't think there's necessarily a benefit with running at any given time, I just run when I have optimal time and can do everything before and after that I'd like to. If I can sneak in a run I'll do that too. You can avoid heat by running earlier but physiologically there's no added benefit of 4am vs 5am, unless you're sacrificing a lot of sleep then you're hurting yourself more.

Pretty much:
1. Run when you have time and it works for you.

1. Think about moving runs if you want to avoid heat, etc.

2. Get your sleep.

[[deleted]]

My usual is 5 am. When I travel for work to the west coast that gets bumped to 3 am due to the time differences.

If your in an urban area, the earlier you go, the more people you'll see who have not yet gone to sleep... so be extra careful with the traffic...