AN MD80 CREW DURING TAXI FOR TKOF AT DTW; TAXIED ONTO ACTIVE RWY WITHOUT CLRNC.

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TAXIING FOR TKOF AT NIGHT TO RWY 23L AT CLE. FIRST TKOF ON THIS RWY SINCE I BECAME A CAPT AND STARTED 'DRIVING' THE ACFT. I BECAME CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT WAS RWY AND WHAT WAS TXWY; AND WHAT WAS PAVED AND WHAT WASN'T. I SUDDENLY REALIZED I WAS TAXIING ONTO RWY 23L WITHOUT CLRNC. I STOPPED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE; BUT THE ACFT NOSE WAS PROBABLY OVER THE RWY EDGE LINE. I DIRECTED THE FO TO CALL TWR AND TELL THEM WE WERE READY. TWR CLRED US FOR TKOF WITHOUT COMMENT. THERE WAS NO CONFLICT WITH OTHER TFC. IN FACT; WE WERE PROBABLY THE ONLY ACFT MOVING IN THE AREA; AIR OR GND. COMPANY PUBLISHES A WARNING ABOUT THE CONFUSING RWY CONFIGN AT CLEVELAND; BUT EVEN A WARNING DIDN'T PREVENT A BIG MISTAKE. FACTORS: 1) USING RWY 28 FOR TAXI TO RWY 23L. USUAL TXWY LIGHTS AND MARKINGS ARE NOT PRESENT. TOUGH TO FIGURE OUT. 2) DARKNESS. 3) NO ACFT TO FOLLOW. 4) CAPT'S (ME) INEXPERIENCE. ABOUT 280 HRS AS CAPT. 5) SIMPLE LACK OF FAMILIARITY. 6) IT'S JUST A VERY CONFUSING RWY CONFIGN. SOMETIMES; EVEN GOING SLOW AND STUDYING THE MAP ARE NOT ENOUGH. STILL; I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING BETTER.