I kind of like running in the dark. I already get up at 5:15am for work so I'm not getting up any earlier. I run around 5:30 at night, and it's dark then, too. But it's nice. I have a petzl that I wear around my wrist, strap the leash on my 85-lb chocolate lab, and away we go. 5:30 on a June night, and everybody's outside. 5:30 in November, it's like a ghost town!