Running in the Cold

Running on a treadmill just is not the same as running outdoors. While many people get started running on a treadmill (myself included), once you start running outside, it is much harder to run on a treadmill again. It is simply not as fun being in a hot room, being stuck in the same place for a long period of time. Outside, you get fresh air, and you get to see different parts of the world around you.

As the weather turns colder, many people will move from running outside to running inside on a treadmill (or else stop running all together). This is one of the worst times of the years for those that love to run outside, but you don’t have to run inside too often. You can actually keep running outside even as the weather changes - running in the cold just takes a few extra items and a different mindset.

The first year of running in the cold can seem a bit daunting - being cold is generally not something you look forward to. Realistically though, you’re only cold for about 5 to 10 minutes before you’re plenty warm when running in the cold. Once you get warmed up, you’ll be more than warm enough for the rest of your run, so you’re not going to be cold for very long - get moving quickly.

The following is a list of items that we’d recommend for running in the cold. In the area that we live, it gets down to about minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit at the coldest in the winter, and there’s plenty of snow on the ground - hopefully that helps you get an idea of what items you might need depending on the climate you live in

• Long sleeve shirt - You’re going to want a long sleeve shirt for running in when it’s cold. Something breathable, but that keeps you warm. There are a ton of great options out there, but if it gets cold, then make sure you’re investing in something that is made for running in the cold.
• Compression undershirt - For those really cold days, you’re going to want to layer up. A compression undershirt is great to put under your long sleeve shirt. You can also just wear the compression shirt with a short sleeve shirt over top as well if you’d like, but only on days when it’s not too cold outside.
• Long compression pants - When it’s 10 degrees below, you don’t want to simply be wearing your shorts out running. You’ll definitely get cold. Invest is a solid pair of compression running pants. They’ll keep you warm, and can simply be put on underneath your standard running shorts.

• Running gloves - Having a pair of gloves to keep your hands warm while running is critical. If your hands are cold, you’re going to feel like the rest of your body is cold. In fact, we’ll often wear just these gloves along with our standard shorts and shirt as things start to cool down just a little bit because cold hands are the worst while running. For colder days, you can put a pair of regular gloves over your running gloves to really keep your hands toasty warm.
• Headband or Head cover - The headband is what we usually wear as the temperature cools down, but for really cold days, we’ll pull out the full head cover. We usually find ourselves taking the head cover mostly off about half way through the run, but until your body really warms up, it’s nice to have your head totally covered. The headband is another item we’ll often wear along with our gloves as it starts to cool down - keep your ears warm.
• Running pack - Unless you want to carry gear around, you’re going to want somewhere that you can put it as you take it off, or if you want to carry extra pieces just in case. For example, if you have two pairs of gloves, but find your hands too warm, then you’ll want somewhere to put those extra gloves - same for shirts and other clothing.

With the above gear, you can run in most any cold (layer up as needed). Obviously, there are temperatures where it starts to be dangerous to be outside for too long, so don’t run outside if it gets that cold in your area. Similarly, when it has just snowed overnight, you’re unlikely to be able to run outside until snow is cleared from the roads. As someone who runs early mornings, that often means that I end up on the treadmill on those days. Outside of those two events though, you can run outside, even if it’s below freezing.

There’s no reason you have to run on the treadmill all winter long. You can get outside and run, even when it’s cold. Layer up, and enjoy seeing some of the beauty that winter brings while getting that fresh air.