Today's columnist is Nick Katsarelas, an Amway Global editor, an avid runner, and a consumer of six different NUTRILITE supplements. In the fall of 2007, I went for a five-mile run along the bike path that runs near our house. Dusk was closing in, but my first half-marathon was two weeks away, and I wanted to rack up some more mileage.
Thinking I'd be back before dark, I declined the advice of my wife to "take a flashlight along, just in case." As it turned out, I was running in the dark for the last mile or so. The bike path isn't lit, and I relied on ambient light from houses or the occasional passing car to light my way. I could barely make out the path. I was concerned about stepping into an indenture. Since I was doing a "there and back" run, I was also wracking my brain to remember if there was anything on the way out that I might trip on.
I was only a quarter-mile from home when it happened: I stepped on a fallen tree limb. The full force of my 185 pounds came down on a right - and soon to be broken - ankle that was bent sideways. I thought it was a bad sprain. I limped-hopped the rest of the way home, hoping that the path in front of me was clear. 
I was so embarrassed at not taking Pam's advice that I quickly showered, put my ankle on ice, sat down with my foot elevated on an ottoman, covered it with a blanket ... and said nothing to my wife. One of my children, however, ratted me out. Pam was restrained, and insisted we pay a visit to the med clinic.
I spent the next 13 weeks with my right foot in a boot. I gained 13 pounds. And it was a full four months before I was able to run again.
Whether by choice, work schedules, or family obligations, many fitness enthusiasts can only get outside after dusk or before dawn. The risks are manifold, from unseen potholes to cars and cyclists who don't see you, to fallen tree limbs. In tomorrow's post, I'll review the many tools, apparel, and gadgets that can enable all of us to see, be seen, and, in the case of an emergency, be heard.