Given a growing demand for amateur street corridors looking for more flexible options to reconcile sports with routine, the organizers of the tests have increased in recent months the offer of nights held at night – and until dawn.
According to those responsible for the competitions, the public that usually participates in night events has a different profile from the one observed in the daytime tests.
They are usually young people who are less concerned with athletic performance, with the greater motivation to experience a different experience, in a climate of fraternization with other competitors.
The test, of course, is performed under milder temperatures. And after the crossing of the arrival line, there are musical performances with live bands, DJs, fireworks and beverage distribution, with the proof environment becoming a kind of ballad.
Survey of the Ticket Sports platform indicated that in the first half of 2025 only 111 night races were held in Brazil. The number is not restricted to the events of Ticket Sports itself and already exceeds the 97 events held throughout the last year, an increase that comes in the wake of general growth in the number of running practitioners.
“Night races attract people who had never participated in a race. If the daytime tests have an average of 30% to 40% of new runners, in the nights they are between 50% and 60%,” said Ticket Sports CEO Daniel Krutman.
Among the night events recently organized by the platform is Music Night Run in Sorocaba in late June, which featured a rock band show.
According to Krutman, “the night race takes the weight of performance a little and ends up giving more space to the enjoyment, to be with friends on a Saturday night.” The events are basically composed of amateur athletes, with evidence that does not usually have cash prize.
“For me, the biggest attraction of the night race is not having a commitment to wake up early, especially in very cold time,” said physiotherapist Priscilla Santos, 43.
Already Filipa Sousa, 31, who works in the marketing area and completed his first 10 km race in a night race in Sao Paulo, said he ran without a watch, “not to be so much” from herself.
“I think there is another energy in the race at night, by exploring the city in another way. I feel the most excited people, there is the issue of the colors of the lights too,” he said.
Coach of Olympic medalist Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, Ricardo D’Angelo noted that it is uncommon professional runners to participate in tests at night.
“There are risks, especially from a safety point of view. It is necessary to redouble care, especially with the issue of visibility. Being seen when running on the street is very important, so you need to wear appropriate clothes,” said the coach.
“But there are also the bonuses, with a cooler temperature, without the sun incidence, with the climate to your advantage for performance.”
Bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, in the 4 x 100m relay, Sandro Viana also sees the night events with “a more commercial concept”.
However, according to him, today coordinator of high performance sports at the Secretariat of Sports of the State of Amazonas, there are high quality athletes: “Street races have gained many supporters in recent years, and we seek to follow to identify new talents.”
TFSports Director of Operations, a company responsible for Track & Field Run Series and Experience Running circuits, Rafael Yanes has pointed out that night events tend to attract a more accustomed audience to train at the end of the day and early evening. These people seek evidence to replicate these conditions.
TFSports promoted at nine nocturnal tests in 2024, a number that will jump to 23 this year. “We have shows in all events and we realize that the audience ends up getting more in the arena, has a greater interaction.”
There are, however, logistics challenges.
“Registration of night tests tend to have a higher value, because the cost of the organization becomes louder as well, with the need for more investment in lighting, safely along the way, with more evidence and traffic agents,” said Yanes.
A barrier to the growth of night racing is the limitation of spaces to receive them. In Sao Paulo, they usually focus on places like the Latin America Memorial and around Charles Miller Square in Pacaembu, with a limited distance, between 5 km and 10 km, on average.
In order to circumvent capitals mobility restrictions, TFSports has been conducting nightclubs since 2019 on airport tracks. They are races that have the start in the middle of dawn, at 2am or 3h, when there are fewer flights and the tracks are closed for landings and takeoffs to give way to the corridors.
The tests are held in partnership with the Motiva (former CCR) dealership and have already taken place in Joinville, Teresina, São Luís, Londrina and Goiânia, with the debut this year in Belo Horizonte, at Pampulha airport. They even attract 3,000 participants.
Night race practitioners, of course, do not only perform it in organized competitions. Many of them establish their own paths and cross cities in their own way.
Others gather in groups, such as Let’s Hop, founded by graphic designer Gledson Neix, 39, in 2019, in São Paulo. Part of the activities is carried out in Minhocão, raised in the central region of the city that is closed at night for car traffic – there are in these significant races of women, who prefer to run accompanied.
“A lot of people can’t train earlier because of work, and this moment of finding and meeting new people after a tiring day is invigorated,” Neix said, better known in the middle as Glé.
“The night has its charm, the lighting, the freshest climate. It’s a more festive atmosphere that ends up attracting people.”
