Paul Long: Early morning becomes the ideal time for most runners as summer’s heat and humidity rise

The pre-dawn streets are becoming crowded.

Somehow in the heat of summer, 7 a.m. is not quite early enough to start a run. The early birds are digesting their worms, the fog has lifted, and the sun has risen.

So we awake even earlier, and start running while the moon is in the sky. We add a headlamp to our running outfits, and keep a closer watch on the traffic.

In the summer, the mornings are our friends. We seek out an ever-earlier start to avoid the heat of the day. We sacrifice the high humidity to enjoy the cooler temperatures.
We run to beat the sun.

But during a season when the sun rises as early as 6 a.m., the question arises: How early is too early?

“The earlier the better,” said Kelly Klein of Independence. “During the week I start at around 4:30, and the weekend can be ever changing. What is too early? Is there such a thing? A group of us just this morning met at 4 a.m. for a night trail run at Ault Park, then watched the sunrise; my day started at 2:45 a.m. Is that too early?”

“My earliest ever has been 3:30 a.m.,” said Michael S. Jones of Cincinnati, “but the area I was running in was safe. I wore reflective gear and a headlamp. I also made sure I was awake before I started.”

Said Tony McCormick of Union: “For me, 5 a.m. is the perfect time to start during the workweek. It’s great because you can get up, maximize the sunrise, the coolest air, (and) enjoy the birds. It’s also early enough to avoid the drivers who don’t pay attention to runners while they text, eat doughnuts, and smoke their cigarettes on the way to work.”

But for others I spoke with, that is just a wee bit too early. For some, just the idea of waking up while the sunrise is hours away is too much to bear. Others said that sleep and rest are as important as getting in the miles.

“Starting at 7 a.m. is about as early as I’m able to make myself do,” said my daughter, Corey Long, who now lives in Louisville, where the early morning humidity may be even worse than Northern Kentucky. “Do I start to feel the heat towards the end of longer runs? Yes. But I think sleep is an equally important part of training — especially for longer events — so I’m willing to be a bit uncomfortable at the end of a run to ensure I’m getting adequate sleep as well.”

And John Marshall of Florence questioned the very idea of a pre-dawn run being more comfortable.
“Here in northern Kentucky, at 6 a.m. the temperatures may be cooler, but the humidity is 99 percent,” he said. “That humidity, plus the moisture from the morning dew, makes it feel like I’m running through a wet towel. I wait until around 9 a.m., so the sun has had time to burn off the moisture. The temperature may be 85, but the humidity drops to around 80 percent — much easier to run.”

He’s right, you know. As least about the first part. During the evening and into the night, as the temperatures fall, the humidity rises. But whether it’s the hot sunshine or the high humidity that makes running harder is a matter of personal taste.

I come down on the side of lower temperatures. The difference between an early morning 70 degrees and a later morning 85 degrees is enough to make even a night owl such as me to go to bed and arise early. This past weekend, I awoke at 3:30 to start a 5 a.m. run. Yes, the humidity slowed us down, but the sun never got a chance to blind us.

We ran eight miles, and we were done by 6:30. I was home by 7 a.m,, making my pot of tea and considering what would be on the breakfast menu.

Kelli Gilliam of Cincinnati agrees with me.

“I agree about the humidity, but I don’t like running in hot sun either,” she said. “And that sun is blazing hot by 8 a.m. sometimes. So I’ve learned to adapt to the high humidity better than running in summer sun.

“I can’t wait for fall weather.”

Of course, if you start later in the day, you miss some of the natural glories about the early morning.

The sounds of nature are loud but appealing. The birds, the insects, and the assorted wildlife are up and about. One sees baby animals alongside their adult kindred. In the most unlikeliest of places — such as across from Graeter’s on Buttermilk Pike — one can see a family of deer running down the street. And the big payoff, of course, is watching the sky change from a misty grey to a clear and sunny blue as the sun begins its ascent.

“I love watching the sun come up and the world come to life on my runs,” said Gilliam, who runs with the Runners’ Club of Greater Cincinnati. “It’s the best part about getting out of bed that early.

Paul Long writes weekly for the NKyTribune about running and runners. For his daily running stories, follow him at dailymile.com or on Twitter @Pogue57