Weather Underground does not give us a great weather forecast for the event: http://tinyurl.com/2009-night-o

40°F-47°F with 100% chance of light rain.

The conditions do not look dangerous enough to cancel the event, but use your best judgement in deciding if  you want to run.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Hypothermia is one of the things to look out for. Bring a rain coat, gloves, etc. Have a change of clothes in your car, to quickly change from the wet stuff before you get cold. Dress warmly if you plan to walk; if you’re a runner chances are you know how to dress for these conditions. The rule of thumb I follow when running in clear weather is to dress as if it were 10°F warmer (and 10°F colder if you are biking). Light rain will not modify this number significantly, heavy rain and/or wind will. With temperatures well above freezing, chances of hypothermia are minimal as long as you keep moving.
• Watch out for slippery conditions. Wet trails are muddy and more likely to make you slip. Do not trust wet wood (like roots or downed trees) any more than you would trust ice (for those of you from North Carolina, that’s the white cold stuff that you sometimes find on your car in the morning).
• Have a backup flashlight. Make sure you have enough juice in both the primary flashlight/headlamp and the backup one for at least two hours of continuous operation (in case you get lost). Running the flashlight for 2 hours prior to the event to see how good the batteries are will probably not help; a fresh set of batteries will.
• Bulky flashlights provide more light, but also a possibility to hit yourself with them (as history has shown). Headlamps (with bright LEDs) work well, although some find them not bright enough; they will, however, free one of your hands and that can help.
• Make sure you let us know when you finished the course. Please do not leave the park without notifying us. This way we will know who is still on the trails.
• My cell phone is printed on the bottom right corner of the map – call me if you have an emergency. That means you should carry a cell phone with you – consider putting it in a a waterproof pouch/bag.
• Try to be back on time.
• If you can, please consider helping with control pick-up. I will have a long wet day ahead of me, I will appreciate any help.
• We will provide map cases, but please consider returning them at the end, so we can reuse them. If you wish, you can bring your own (new or previously used) map bag.

I am looking forward to the event, let’s all make sure we can enjoy it without complications.

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