Welcome to Lyon - This is #PetzlNightRunning

At night, an entirely different world appears. Beyond training, running at night offers a unique experience to explore an almost foreign environment, to see the city in a different light. Yoann Stuck came to understand this peculiarity after changing his lifestyle in 2010 and discovering a passion for running. During the following interview, he shares his experience running at night in his current city of residence, Lyon, France. Will his adventures inspire you to don your running shoes after sunset?

Yoann Stuck

Petzl: Yoann, why do you run?

Yoann: I started running in 2010 as part of an overall effort to change my lifestyle. I stopped smoking, stopped eating pizza every night for dinner, and stopped drinking so much. At the time I weighed 90kg (I weigh 70kg today). Running was a reasonably accessible, quick, and simple activity. It was physically demanding, but over time I began to enjoy it. Little by little I started to go on several runs per week. I escape through running. Today, I feel clean and healthy.

Petzl: What makes your city different at night?

Yoann: The streets and roads completely change. Sometimes it feels like an entirely different place. Now that I live in Lyon, the transformation is even more amazing. France's "Capital of Lights," contains so many incredible locations, such as the top of Fourvière hill, and the city's classic architecture looks so different under thousands of lights. Building surfaces and outlines really change.

Petzl: How do you share with others what you experience when running at night?

Yoann: I play with the shadows as well as with the different styles of lighting. I often organize group runs and try to place lit up areas behind us to further accentuate the atmosphere that lighting creates in the dark. I find that this is the best way to share the experience of running at night with other people. This also creates more variety and makes it easier to break the ice between the runners in the group.

At night, the city quiets down little by little. In Lyon, it is amazing to think that just a little while ago the hustle and bustle of rush hour was everywhere. 

At night, the buildings and their architecture reveal new shapes; the lights frame them in a different way. Here, we see another side of Confluences Museum.

Going on runs with friends is a great way to share your passion. 

I look for a new staircase on every run. I like the type of effort required, which is completely different from your average hill climb. A headlamp is pretty much mandatory at night, especially when running down a set of stairs.

My runs always involve linking sections of steps/bridges/streets. I stay away from flat terrain in effort to avoid the monotony of repetition.

Yoann's favorite words to describe running at night: