Cold Weather Runs: Why Athletes Should Lace Up and Face the Chill

There are a lot of benefits to runners getting out in the cold and continuing to do their work.

Dan Quinn of Glendale runs through the snow down North Lydell Avenue in Whitefish Bay on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. The Milwaukee area and much of eastern Wisconsin is seeing its first snowfall of the season as heavy, wet snow dropped during the Thursday morning commute. / Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the weather changes, some adjustments need to be made in workouts. Going outdoors with temperatures sinking is something no one wants to do, as they will opt to hit the treadmill as an alternate.

However, if the possibility to get outdoors and continue your training exists, it is worth taking advantage of. There are a lot of positives that a person can gain from running in the cold, as long as it is done safely.

Over at Runners World, Cindy Kuzma shared some insights from experts on how to take advantage of the colder seasons, and not put yourself at risk of illness or injury, and the benefits they will provide.

The first day of the cold season will be a shock to the system. The fight-or-flight response will kick in to save you from freezing. As shared by Daniel Craighead, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota, “Your blood shuttles inward from your skin and extremities to preserve your core temperature and your vital organs.”

However, the more you are outside and acclimate yourself to the weather, your body will start to adjust and lower the stress response. Running can help generate body heat to keep you from shivering as well.

That is referred to as cold habituation. There are no performance benefits provided, unlike heat acclimatization, but it will make handling other outdoor tasks much easier.

Seasonal sadness is a real thing that millions of people deal with. The sun isn’t out as long, negatively impacting people’s circadian rhythms. Being outdoors in the daylight can certainly help and is worth braving the cold weather.

“Cold-weather running can serve as a salve, Dawson says—an antidote for “nature deficit disorder,” a term coined by author Richard Louv to refer to disconnection from the world around us. In addition, exercising outdoors may also decrease fear and uneasiness; in one large 21-year study, Swedish cross-country skiers were about half as likely to develop anxiety as non-skiers,” wrote Kuzma.

Cold weather running can be a hack for anyone looking to kick themselves into shape as it can increase metabolism. The activity can trigger nonshivering thermogenesis, which will increase metabolism through brown fat, a special tissue in the body.

Exercising and cold air is the perfect combo to overcome inactivity during the cold seasons and keep your body operating at peak performance.

Training for races takes a lot of work and discipline. There are some major races, such as the Boston Marathon held in April, where weather can be drastically different every year.

If you put in the work training during the cold months and preparing your body, a blustery April day won’t have as negative of an impact as on people who didn’t train when it was cold.

Mental toughness is as important as your body being physically ready for the event.

“You get this really nice sense of, I am mentally tough, I can do this,” says Kimberley Dawson, Ph.D., a mental performance consultant and professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in chilly Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. “If I can navigate this, then I can navigate that spring marathon in terms of whatever it throws at me.”

Last but not least is cold weather running takes off some of the edge. There are going to be things outside of a person’s control at this time of year, such as conditions outside whether it be snow, slush or rain.

Your body is going to react differently to cold weather than warm weather. Performing at peak in frigid temperatures is difficult, which means these runs can be for fun and enjoyment.

“When it’s a sunny day and conditions are ideal, you think, ‘I need to really take advantage of that,’” Dawson says. “I love a winter day because it demands nothing. It simply says that success is getting out the door.”

Of course, if you are going to run at lower than-normal temperatures, precautions need to be taken. Layering to ensure your core body temperature doesn’t drop too much is imperative to not getting sick.

Don’t ignore the warnings and advisories provided by weather forecasts. Keep an eye out for ice and dangerous conditions as well, avoiding them on your route when possible.