Pros:

• No sun
• No sunscreen
• Nobody’s out on the trail
• Minimal traffic
• 18 miles done by 6 AM
• The ambient temperature is actually still decreasing until like 5:30 AM, so there’s that to look forward to rather than a constantly increasing temperature like I’d get if I left at my usual 6 AM

Cons:

• Getting up at 2 AM
• Moose encounters (namely, the heart-stopping experience of seeing a silhouette slowly emerge in your headlamp beam and realizing that it’s a big-ass moose that’s looking right at you)
• Bowness Park is pretty creepy in the pitch black