def next_run_in(self, utc_now=None):
        """ :param utc_now: optional parameter to be used by Unit Tests as a definition of "now"
            :return: timedelta instance presenting amount of time before the trigger is triggered next time
         or None if the EventClock instance is not running """
        if utc_now is None:
            utc_now = datetime.utcnow()

        if self.is_alive():
            smallest_timedelta = timedelta(days=99, hours=0, minutes=0, seconds=0, microseconds=0, milliseconds=0)
            for event_time in self.timestamps:
                next_trigger = event_time.next_trigger_frequency(utc_now)
                if next_trigger - utc_now < smallest_timedelta:
                    smallest_timedelta = next_trigger - utc_now
            return smallest_timedelta

        else:
            return None