"Runner in the Night", written by Maureen Darbyshire and composed by Brian Wade, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed by the sextet Ryder, led by Maynard Williams.

Quick Facts Eurovision Song Contest 1986 entry, Country ...

"Runner in the Night"
Eurovision Song Contest 1986 entry
Country	United Kingdom
Artist(s)	Maynard Williams Dudley Phillips Paul Robertson Andy Ebsworth Geoff Leach Rob Terry
As	Ryder
Language	English
Composer(s)	Brian Wade
Lyricist(s)	Maureen Darbyshire
Finals performance
Final result	7th
Final points	72
Entry chronology
◄ "Love Is…" (1985)
"Only the Light" (1987) ►

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Ryder won the right to perform at Bergen by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe, where they were the sixth act to perform. At Bergen, the song was performed fifth on the night, after Norway's Ketil Stokkan with "Romeo", and before Iceland's debut effort, "Gleðibankinn", by ICY. At the end of judging that evening, "Runner in the Night" took the seventh-place slot with 72 points.

The song was a contemporary rock offering, departing from the norm at the time in that the sextet played instruments themselves (including a set of electronic drums and keyboards) and did not use an orchestra. The song itself is about a man "running in the night" to a woman he has previously left, hoping he is not too late and that his former lover will forgive him and take him back.

The song placed at No. 98, not charting on the UK Singles Chart (the Top 75 songs) but as an addenda on the "Next 25" version of the charts. This was the worst commercial showing for a UK Eurovision entry since 1964, in which the entry that year didn't chart on the Singles Chart at all.