Social Workout

Night Shift

Another Runner in the Night

Night Running! (via Squeaky Marmot.)

Coming back from a party late last summer, ever-so-slightly inebriated, I convinced a long-suffering friend that the night was too beautiful to waste on a cab. What's 20 blocks on a night like this, I argued? And so we weaved up Central Park West, and stumbled (literally) into something unexpected: Coming at us, in full Underarmour with matching headphones and water bottle was a midnight jogger. Scratch that: It was 1 A.M.

Friend and I looked at each other, then at our jogger, and then back at one another. Not acceptable, we thought simultaneously, assuming our man as a freakish one-off. But soon we saw another runner, and then another. Since then, I've made a minor study of the thing, and let me fill you in: New York City is home to a whole subculture of fitness buffs who prefer to sweat in the dark. And, you know, maybe it's not so crazy.

Many NYC facilities stay open late, of course, to accommodate the night workout crowd: Chelsea Waterside basketball court is open until 1 A.M.; the Hudson River Park Tennis Courts are open until 12:30 A.M.; and Laughing Lotus has a midnight yoga class. Of course, there is also 24 Hour Fitness, and all the other 24-hour gyms, which  cater to the night shifters. I've been there in the middle of the night, and can attest that there are people. Perhaps the most compelling champion of the nightshift is our Spirit Guide Mike Saes, who says he runs to come down from a night of partying.

Anyway, point is, just FYI: It really is the city that never sleeps....