Be safe and be seen while running

We always need to think about safety when running, and being seen at night. The most important thing is to make sure you can be seen.

Dark clothes and shoes can make you virtually invisible to motorists, particularly if you're trying to cross a busy road or if you're running along the edge of a narrow road without a footpath.

• Wear bright clothing and light colours; at the very least wear a white t-shirt as a top layer. You are best to look for wind jackets, tops and tights with reflective strips that are highly visible even on the darkest road.

• Alternatively, invest in a lightweight reflective running bib in luminous green or yellow with reflective strips around the middle. You cannot be missed in these cheap but highly effective tops that tie at the sides; even if you are padded up in many layers on the coldest of days, they will still fit.

If some of your routes are along darker streets and roads, you could try a head torch which will light up both you and your path. There are a number of designs that are small and compact enough to run with and bright enough to see and be seen. You'll find head torches at your local mountaineering or outdoor shop. They are relatively inexpensive, and could provide a novel solution to dark roads, particularly if you live in a rural area with few streetlights.

All that said, running is by no means a dangerous sport, you just need a bit of common sense to stay on the right track.