If you go
› July 11, 18, 25 (Mondays): Greenway Farms under the Outdoor Chattanooga building near the garden and old tennis court. Parking is available near the Outdoor Chattanooga building and throughout the park.› July 13, 20, 27 (Wednesdays): Baylor School soccer fields near the back gate (second entrance).› Each workout will be 1 hour in length starting at 6:30 p.m., although runners can stay as long as the park or fields allow. The workouts are free, but you must sign an online waiver first. Water and Gatorade are provided at each session.
Night running tips
› Always go with a group or a buddy.› Always tell a friend or loved one at home the exact route of the run and when it will be done.› Always bring your smartphone.› Wear a slim, snug belt designed to hold keys, phone and a water bottle. A fanny pack can throw off your stride and a mugger will notice it.› Hydrate before and after and bring water along on the run.Source: Laryssa Martinovich
Even runners with ripped bods and seemingly zero percent body fat feel the heat once the mercury hits 97 degrees and humidity soaks the air.
By 6:30 p.m. on Monday evening last week, it's still hot and sticky as more than 80 runners gather at Hixson's Greenway Farms. They enjoy the shade of the rec center's porch as a pickup truck rumbles up, carrying drums of water, tanks of tangerine Gatorade and a huge blue bowl of bananas and clementines.
As the sun edges down and the blazing sky deepens into twilight, the teams revel in the cooler air. In Tennessee, night running is so much easier than running under a boiling sun.
But it may not be safer.
This is the fourth year Front Runner stores have sponsored these free summer-evening runs. Last year, about 30 people would show up for the night runs, event planner Laryssa Martinovich estimates. This year, 90 runners are the norm.
Front Runner has hosted classes geared for women and tackling safety worries that female runners have, especially when running at night. But in these violent times, men also worry about attacks from bad guys, so the class has evolved into one with tips both men and women can use.
"The best tip for anyone night running is never run alone," says Martinovich. "Run in a group if you can. But at least bring along a friend and run together."
In a June class for women only, women were taught self-defense techniques that Martinovich describes as "basic moves for women to use if someone grabs them by the arm or tries to block their path."
At last week's meeting, coaches divide the group into beginners, intermediate and advanced, most of whom are experienced at cross-fit training and marathons. Bill Gautier, former men's cross country and track coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (the school dropped the sports last year), stands on back of the pickup and offers advice.
"Each of you need to pick a buddy within your group to keep an eye on," he says. "If your buddy falls behind, help him. It would be terrible if one of you got stranded on the trails here and we didn't find you for 72 hours."
Marissa Skembo, spokeswoman for self-defense trainer Krav Maga Worldwide, says it promotes in-depth training in mixed martial arts for women who run at night. Krav Maga was developed by an Israeli Defense Forces officer who incorporated his own experience as a boxer and wrestler into real-world situations. The approach focuses on how to fend off surprise attacks by striking the throat, liver, eyes and other vulnerable parts of the attacker's body.
"For most of us running is therapy; we put our favorites tunes in, we lace up and it is just the open road and us," Skembo says. "Many runners find themselves trading in their afternoon run for a nighttime escape. As peaceful and tranquil as this sounds, it is also important to understand the dangers of running once the sun goes down. Becoming the victim of a physical attack is something that runners should all be prepared for."
Tyler Baldonado takes a different tack. Her beautiful golden retriever, Scout, came along with Baldonado to the Hixson run. Scout waits patiently as Baldonado hydrates herself at the Gatorade tank. Martinovich, who weighs 120 pounds and is also a runner, recommends that women drink one ounce of water for every pound they weigh during the day. Baldonado drinks water before, during and after a run.
"I make sure Scout stays hydrated, too," Baldonado says, filling a cup with cold water and holding it for the dog to lap up. "Scout is my running buddy on night runs."
Martinovich accurately observes that Scout is adorable, but she has reservations about how effective dogs are as a deterrent to criminals.
"A friendly dog may not realize someone is trying to harm his owner until it's too late," Martinovich says. "If a person's dog wants to go on a run, great. But bring another human along. That's safer."
Emetria Arnold came to the park wearing a shirt that reads, "My husband has an awesome wife." She already has her buddy system nailed down.
"I always bring along a big man-buddy at night," she says with a laugh.
Jan Gautier, Bill Gautier's wife, also was on hand at Greenway Farms. Coach of cross country teams at Baylor School and a qualifier for the Olympic marathon trials in 2000, she helps runners hook water bottles to their belts in ways that won't interfere with their running strides. Some runners leave their phones locked in their cars but, in their gyms shorts, the shirtless men with washboard abs and muscular chests have nowhere to tuck their phones. Martinovich recommends buying a light, elastic belt with a snug, secure pocket for phones.
She strongly feels that it is not safe for men or women to leave their phones behind when running. If a runner on a trail becomes overheated and passes out, the phone's signal might be the surest way to find him, she says.
And women should never tuck their phones into their bras, experts say. Breastlink, a nationwide network of medical centers devoted to breast cancer and breast surgery, is troubled by research that shows women who habitually place their phones in their bras may have an increased risk of breast cancer. The University of California at Irvine published a case study of four female non-smokers ages from 21 to 39 - too young to be considered a high-risk age group - who had no family history of breast cancer but each had invasive breast cancer. They had one habit in common.
"All patients regularly carried their smartphones directly against their breasts in their brassieres for up to 10 hours a day, for several years, and developed tumors in areas of their breasts immediately underlying the phones," wrote Breastlink surgeon Dr. John West in 2013.
Martinovich is blessed with a devoted husband who bicycles alongside her and carries her water bottle and smartphone in the bike basket.
Surrounded by rolling green hills of Greenway Farms and under a sky darkening from powder to cobalt blue, it's easy to remember that the mental and physical benefits of night running outweigh the dangers. And Martinovich wants couch potatoes to know that, if a person decides to become a runner, it's not like joining a cult of grim exercise fiends who obsess about hazards in the street and on their plates.
"Runners know how to have fun; I promise," she says. "Running makes you feel better. That's why we do it.
"Knowing how to handle potential danger makes you feel empowered. And..." she nods toward the big bowl of sweet fruit"we don't eat only fresh produce. I've been known to binge on Krispy Kreme."
Contact Lynda Edwards at 423-757-6391 or ledwards@timesfreepress.com.