National Running Safety Month a time for reflection

Morning runners delight in the switch to daylight savings time. No more slogs in pitch-black conditions, at least if you're not running at 4 o'clock in the morning.

But for post-work runners, this time of year means running in the dark, and more concern about how to make sure they can be seen while getting in their miles.

Cue National Running Safety Month, a movement started four years ago by the Independent Running Retailer Association, a trade group of independent specialty running stores.

Parker Karnan, executive director of IRRA, says that two main factors played into the creation of National Running Safety Month, and putting it in November.

"One was you look at activity of runners and you realize that a lot of runners taper off their activity in the fall or going into low light conditions," he said. "We view running as a way of life year round, and we want to keep people active. We also realized safety was a concern of runners, especially running at night alone."

As part of the month, which is sponsored by Brooks and Nathan Sports, most member stores are holding night-time events themed around visibility and light - things like "night life" and "glow" runs, according to Karnan. They're also offering tips on safety at laceuplocal.com. Stores that are members of IRRA are competing against each other in a contest for best visibility-themed display. Winners will be announced at The Running Event, IRRA's convention held in December.

The second reason behind the event is also IRRA's purpose: to promote independent specialty running stores. "We want to get people out there in November, which is a relatively low retail month," Karnan said.

That's another reason behind the #seethelight tag line, which the campaign is using on Twitter. "It's a rally cry of seeing the light of what the specialty running community brings to the industry. The economic landscape would be so different if it weren't for these specialty running stores and what they bring," he said.

Runners dropping their activity levels or going into running stores in November may not be as big an issue in this area with the Philadelphia Marathon and Philadelphia Half Marathon being held on Nov. 22, and runners still training. Both Philadelphia Runner and the Running Companies of South Jersey are participating through displays of items like reflective shoes and apparel along with lights and headlamps, though both stores said they haven't finalized plans for events just yet.

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