Rob Rose Running Column 02/22/07

I have reached the point here in late February of having

enough of winter. It's not the cold or the stark landscape but

the darkness that has eroded my patience. As an early evening

runner I have been starting or finishing at night since October

and I can't take it no more! Darkness restricts one's choices.

Running on trails or routes with traffic is innocuous during the

day but becomes precarious at night. In addition to those

drawbacks it's also lonely out there. When the sun shines, there

are usually people out and about whereas in February, headlights

are the only sign of civilization.

I shouldn't complain, considering the warm temperatures that

we had on the front end of the season in December and January. I

ran in shorts throughout December. However, there's good news

coming on the back end. Winter will be ending sooner this year

... at least for some of us.

Daylight saving time will be arriving early in 2007, moving up

three weeks to March 11 and back one week in the fall to

November 4. The Punxsutawney groundhog can take no credit for

this one. A law, passed by Congress in 2005 in order to

facilitate greater energy savings, is the reason. On March 10,

sunrise will occur at 6:06 a.m., the next day it will be 7:04

a.m. Likewise, sunset happens at 5:43 p.m. on March 10 and 6:44

p.m. the next day. I'm ecstatic about the change but are all

runners?

Crepuscular runners have a stake in this but mid day runners

such as Attleboro's Bill 'The Legend' Dunphy don't. "Since I run

most days at noon, I could give two hoots," he said dismissively

of the time change.

Early morning runners did not greet the prospect of three more

weeks of darkness with acclaim. "I know the crew that I run with

sometimes in the early morning will not be too excited about the

change," said Mansfield's Tom Rooney.

"I forgot about this change," said North Attleboro's Kathy

McNally, "I prefer the sun rising earlier as I am an early

morning runner, 6 a.m. As a result I run on the treadmill till

it gets light or warmer. The dark is bad especially when it is

cold. I'm not sure if I will run in the dark or not. If it's not

too cold I guess I will be brave."

Wrentham's Don Jackson will have to continue to travel for a

bit longer with his arsenal of lighting accouterments. "Looks

like I'll have to stock up on batteries for my blinkers," he

said. "I have a front blinker, back blinker and headlight

blinker. 747's have landed on Rte. 140 confusing me with the

approach lights at Logan!"

Late day runners, however, reveled in the news.

"Psychologically the time change is good," said Plainville's

Larry Taylor. "There is nothing worse than going to work in the

dark and coming home in the dark. Being a chance it might be

light out when I get home, the daylight might energize me for an

early evening run. I am more apt to do something in the extended

daylight thus being more productive." Wrentham's Mary Regnier

was on the same wavelength. "I like the earlier change as it

allows me more flexibility to run in the early evening," she

said. "It also puts an earlier end to winter and gives you more

energy"

For Mansfield's Don Burke, March 11 will be like an early

christening. "I'm looking forward to being able to run in the

evening in daylight," he said. "The first daylight run is always

a sign that spring is right around the corner. It's good for the

mental health."

The mental health theme resonated with many a.m. runners but

there were other reasons that some embraced the change. Morning

runner Steve Baker of North Attleboro frequently commutes to

work in Foxboro by bicycle or scooter and safe passage home

would improve with the change. "I always appreciate more light

for the trip home since that is when I encounter the most

traffic and the roads seem the most dangerous"

Mansfield's Rooney, a golf pro, sees expanded recreation

opportunities. "As a golfer, we like the change because it

stretches the days out longer to finish those late rounds."

Even for the dismissive Dunphy, extended daylight had its

appeal. "I'd rather have the daylight at the end of the day than

in the morning," he grudgingly conceded.

For me, the change can't come soon enough. Fourteen days

until the headlights are gone and civilization returns.

Footnotes - the Mt. Washington 7.6 mile road race will open

its website (www.gsrs.org) on March 1 for entry into the lottery

for the June 16th race; there are only 1100 available slots and

you need to return your lottery application by March 15 ... if

you missed any of my past columns, you can catch up on them now;

they're on the Wampanoag Road Runner website,

http://wamproadrunners.tripod.com/robroserunningcolumn.htm