One problem with running in the colder weather is, it tends to be darker earlier in the evening and get lighter later in the morning. It isn’t uncommon for some people to spend all of their daylight hours indoors, which means that they’ll need to take extra strides to not only see during their evening workouts outdoors, but also to be seen.

If you are going to be running with traffic, then you are going to want to wear clothes that reflect vehicle headlights back at the drivers. There are a lot of good options for wearing things that are reflective.

Look for shirts and running jackets in bright fluorescent colors that have reflective strips on them. They are usually very visible, especially if you choose an obnoxious color such as fluorescent yellow. I have a bright jacket that I will even wear in the middle of the day when it’s foggy out or snowing.

As much as you can wear that is reflective, the better. These days, many pairs of running tights and pants have reflective designs that can add a little extra visibility to your body as you run.

Don’t settle just for reflective pants as your sole method of being seen, though. If a car is coming at you, the driver probably will not see your lower body no matter how reflective it is because they aren’t going to be looking towards the road surface. Concentrate on having a reflective head and torso, which are more likely to be at eye level for somebody in a car.

Another option is to wear lights. Flashing lights are the best for drawing attention to yourself and being seen, while solid lights will allow you to see where you are going while providing a little extra visibility in the dark to anybody coming towards you.

Some hats will come with lights built into the brim or the back where you can adjust the size, but in my experience they aren’t really bright enough to provide much use. A cheap and simple solution that I have found is to look for a tail light for a bicycle that can be clipped to your pants or an arm band.

When you are running in the dark, you are definitely going to want to get a headlamp. You can get a cheap headlamp at your local appliance store that will probably work well enough for running on streets, especially if there are a lot of houselights or street lights along your route. If you are going to run on trails or in areas where there is no ambient light, then you will probably want to spend a little more money on a good headlamp that was designed for running.

Depending upon conditions, you may want to vary where you place the headlamp. If it is clear out, then wearing it on your forehead and having it angled to hit the road 5 to 10 feet in front of you will usually be sufficient.

If it is foggy, raining or snowing, however, you may find that the light reflects off of the water droplets and actually makes it more difficult to see. In those cases, you can try dimming your light or wearing it in a different part of your body, such as around your chest or your waist. You can just stretch out the head band, or if it is too short then you can purchase a tri-belt that you can attach the light to. For the best visibility, wear 2 headlamps, one at your waist and one on your head.

Whenever I am running on the roads and there is enough light to see but not really enough to be seen, I will usually set my headlamp to blink rather than to just illuminate my path. That is very visible to traffic and will draw attention to you, making it less likely that you’ll be hit. The driver may not know what you are but he will know that you are there. That’s the important thing.

The last piece I’d suggest picking up is a reflective vest. It’s a handy tool to have on hand because it can be thrown over anything that you are wearing no matter what time of year. I usually keep one in my gym bag year round even though most of my clothes are reflective just in case I pack the wrong clothes or need to take a quick hike and don’t want to change outfits.