About to move from sunny CA to rainy, cold Seattle. Any running advice?

Just ran by your area yesterday. Tons of good running around North Seattle, lots of trails from technical to flat paved. You'll need lots of changes of wicking clothing, and on cold wet rainy days (like today), some lightweight windproofing. Find out where the wind is blowing from and be sure to run protected from it when running that direction, as even a 7 mph wind is horrible if you are wet and exposed. Running in Seattle is great in the winter once you get used to it, very few "no-go" days.

Get in touch with xenonscreams - she is the queen of Seattle running.

Be sure to tell everyone you just moved from sunny CA, they love welcoming newcomers.

@blue alien -- thanks for the tips!

@Chewbacca -- that would be sarcasm, no?

xenonwejo wrote:

Get in touch with xenonscreams - she is the queen of Seattle running.

Not even close- start with Doris Heritage or Regina Joyce.

Please don't move here. We already have too many people and a massive influx of more. There are about 100 LetsRunners in the city and only 2 of them have taken up my offers to hang out.

When you said "Sunny CA" I assumed So Cal. The Bay Area is CA, but not Sunny CA, it's Foggy CA. You can buy a nice rain jacket with the $50,000 per year you'll save on rent, though.

I lived in Seattle for 3 years in the early 1980's, lived near 145th and Aurora, worked at UW, ran around Green Lake, and a cemetary around 135th? and Aurora. Sometimes I ran north to a JC that had a beat up track in the back, or at one of the very nice high school dirt tracks (my favorites). The good thing is that a lot of tracks were usually open and available, though I'm not sure if that's still the case.

The bad thing is that it's cold, wet and raining all winter. I worked from 7:30 am to 4 pm, and by 4:15 it was dark and pouring down rain all winter, which very quickly got old. The only time I saw the sun was days off. There are many places you can't run on the streets or you'll get run down by cars, as there are no sidewalks, and no place to go. I lasted 3 years and then moved to Tucson.

I'll second one poster's "layers" idea. Get yourself a good Columbia or North Face waterproof but breathable running jacket, preferably with some fleece inside or Columbia's "Omni-Heat" lining. I ran this evening in the icy rain and wind with my Columbia running jacket. Running tights are great, or get some of the tapered polyurethane running pants that are almost like tights but not so, well, tight. I have both. The reason you want tights or tapered pants in Seattle is that wet weather means wet, heavy pants--the more material you have the heavier it gets. And wet, windy weather just adds to that. Get a good running headlamp because you're going to need it. Wear some reflective gear so drivers can see you from the back. Just common sense, really. In winter, it gets dark a lot earlier in Seattle than it does in San Fran because it's much farther north. Seattle sidewalks and roads are really crappy and uneven, and like one poster said, a lot of the city streets don't have sidewalks. Hell, a lot of the city streets are so narrow, with cars parked on both sides, that two cars can't go down the street at the same side in opposite directions. As someone already mentioned, just east of UW and all around that area there are some really good places to run where the UW XC team trains.

Green Lake is a great place to run, but not on a nice day unless you're just doing an easy recovery run. Too many people on bikes, roller blades, walking with strollers, walking dogs, and just plain crammed together. I think it might be really nice if you go very early in the morning or after dark on a cold, wet Seattle day. But if you don't live near it, don't bother--Seattle traffic sucks, and the crazy thing is, when it rains it doesn't seem like they know how to drive in it. A few drops on the windshield and I-5 becomes a parking lot. Go figure.

Have a positive attitude. You'll need it. Hopefully you're not one of those people who get mood disorders in the winter when you can't get a lot of sunlight. They have special lamps for that disorder, though, and my sister uses one. I've never had a problem with that, but I still hate always having to run in the cold, wet dark except on weekends when I can run in the cold, wet light. But as another poster said, there really aren't any "no go" running days as long as you dress right, wear a light, and don't get uptight. :-)