Do people really say that you don't need to ride long distances in order to ride 24 hours? I think it depends on the context. For me it's just a waste of a good night's sleep, but I think a newbie should try some long rides that go into the night before they try to ride all night.
The one failure I see the most is not making sure their lights work all night. You don't even have to ride with them a long time at night, just turn them on and go ride a long ride in daylight.