A reader writes that she has been taking 30 minute night walks and it is helping her lose weight. But her friends tell her that night walking could give her bronchitis and urge her to walk in the morning instead. Are her friends right?

There is no health reason to avoid taking night walks. It sounds like the friends are citing old wives' tales rather than research. Some people with asthma may find that cold air is an asthma trigger for them. But so is almost everything else about the air outdoors - pollen, pollution, mold, etc. Exercise induced asthma can strike at any time of day, it is not specific to night.

Even if cold air is an asthma trigger for you, the old wives' tale is specifically wrong because if you check the Hour by Hour forecast at Weather.com, you will see that it is coldest outside just before and after sunrise, not at night. Walking outside from 8 pm - 2 am you are walking in warmer conditions than you would be walking at dawn.

Precautions for Night Walking
There are real hazards in the night - drivers are less likely to see you or be expecting pedestrians at night. And you can trip over things in the dark.
1. Wear reflective clothing to be visible to traffic (preferably a safety vest or my beloved Glo Gloves).
2. Walk in areas that have good street lighting and/or wear a headlamp or carry a flashlight so you can identify sidewalk hazards, holes, etc.

Evening and night exercise can improve sleep quality, according to some researchers. But some people may find they need an hour or more to unwind after night exercise before they can go to sleep. Allow enough time for sleep and enjoy night walking.

• Night Walking Strategies
• Best Time of Day to Walk

Photo © Wendy Bumgardner

A reader posted a comment that she hadn't been training and was only a month away from walking the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. That event features a half marathon each day for two days - 13 miles a day. With only four weeks to go, will she be able to make it? Should she try?

Since it is the Avon Walk, yes, she should. It is a very forgiving event -- you can easily catch a shuttle to the finish area each day from most of the water stops. They have an extremely long finish time window. She won't be putting undo stress on the event by having to end at six miles or 10 miles. If this were the Disneyland Half Marathon with a time limit of 3.5 hours, I would tell her to drop it or try to switch to a 10K or 5K event instead. It is unethical and dangerous to walk an event when you aren't trained enough to be reasonably sure you can make it to the finish within the cutoff time.

How can she start training so late so she can make it as far as possible? That will depend on where she is starting from. If she is already walking for 6 miles (10K) at a time regularly, then she can probably increase her mileage enough in a month to be able to make it through at least one full half marathon. I say this based on personal experience. But she won't have time to really toughen her feet for the longer distance, so foot blisters will probably be an issue after the first day.

If she hasn't been walking at all, she should still start now with walking for 60 minutes and building her distance by 1-2 miles each week in the time remaining. At least she will be able to enjoy a good portion of the walk. Above all, I recommend that breast cancer charity walkers know when to stop walking so they don't end up in a $500 ambulance ride to the hospital from heat sickness rather than crying tears of triumph through the finish celebration. Only walk the miles you can walk safely.
Training for a Half Marathon in Only a Month