How cold is too cold?

I always thought that the low temp threshold for nordic racing was because classic kick wax doesn't work very well at low temps.

nordic racer wrote:

I live in cold country.

V02 max starts to decline markedly at -3 or -4F, so that's a good sign that your body is adjusting to conditions that are perhaps not meant to be pushed. The international cutoff standard for nordic ski racing is -20 C, which happens to coincide with -4 F.

That said, an acclimated and properly dressed athlete can do threshold workouts down to -10 or even -15 F (-23 to -26 C) without too much difficulty.

Easy runs, anything below about -20 F (-29 or -30 C) is getting pretty miserable.

1955 wrote:

I've gone as low as -21F, wind chill -80F, but i did not wear anything on my face, just a wool headband for my ears. My face was numb after 1/2m or so.

I have to admit that lately anything below zero bothers me, but mostly because my eyes get dry and I'm constantly having to blink. Odd and distinctly unpleasant.

Usually tights for my legs, a t-shirt and an old gore-tex jacket is OK for up to -10F.

Living in the Arctic, I call BS on this one. Wind chills of -80F are extremely rare. If you are an working for an oil company up on the north slope (or similar), then it's possible, but it's not every year that places like Deadhorse get readings like this. Now the -21F.. that's not too cold. It's a lot colder outside my window right now (-42 air temp). Going 13 miles tomorrow afternoon in it.

I live on the Canadian border in up state N.Y.. it routinely is below zero in the winter time. I have been running in this weather for over 50 yrs and am 70 yrs old. I have found the only major consequence is a sore throat from breathing in cold air at below zero temps. I ran a 9 mile training run 2 days ago at 17 below with no ill effects. Dressing properly in layers, tights, a face mask, wool tuque and a good pair of mittens not gloves is essential. when windy always run into the wind at the start of a run and with it on the return. Injuring your lungs for the most part by breathing in below zero air is a fallacy unless it is really cold 40-50 below. The reason being that you only exchange approx. 25 per cent of the air in your lungs with each breathe. Keep on running!!

LeadvilleNative wrote:

I always thought that the low temp threshold for nordic racing was because classic kick wax doesn't work very well at low temps.

nordic racer wrote:

I live in cold country.

V02 max starts to decline markedly at -3 or -4F, so that's a good sign that your body is adjusting to conditions that are perhaps not meant to be pushed. The international cutoff standard for nordic ski racing is -20 C, which happens to coincide with -4 F.

That said, an acclimated and properly dressed athlete can do threshold workouts down to -10 or even -15 F (-23 to -26 C) without too much difficulty.

Easy runs, anything below about -20 F (-29 or -30 C) is getting pretty miserable.

If it ever gets to -40 where you are, you may have some problems.

But at least you won't have to specify Fahrenheit or Celsius. At -40, they're the same.

How can you possibly run fast in these types of temps. I'm from the South, but I can't imagine doing anything other than mileage below like 30 F. If I need to get a winter workout below that, I hit an indoor track or a treadmill.

long time cold weather runner.

with gear these days, you can pretty much run in any cold weather. to a point ( ten below and calm)

back in the 70's 80's i did so much suffering in winter in sub z's soaked layers that i don't know what i accomplished other than gaining some 'toughness advantage'.

went out for a morning run in boulder canyon loop in '83 - and i did not look at the temperature before heading out - it was 25 below and i got hit with a wind gust that very nearly flash froze me, i went down on my knees and barely made it home. had to have been a 40 mph wind - that was bad.i had an 'ice cream brain freeze' for three more miles. . .

later that winter hammered a seven mile boulder meadows loop in the cold dark,about 15 below, and got frostbite on my nose.

found that my body starts to shut down at about ten below air temp.

don't see many birds flying when it gets that cold either.

maybe thats a sign.

I grew up in Buffalo and spent a total of about six years in Rochester, MY, Ithaca and Vermont.There is plenty of good advice here and I'd only add one thing: we don't need to use our fingers or hands when running, and the fingers stay much warmer when they are not separated, as gloves do.When it's sub-zero F., I've found the fingers stay much warmer if covered by a pair or two of wool socks than any type of gloves.

You're probably right about the -81F wind chill; I quoted that from memory but looking at the wind chill charts it does seem unlikely. The -21F actual I'm sure of, though.

Canadian here.

I used to routinely run at below -30 degrees Celsius. I've dressed appropriately you should be fine, but balaclava up if there's more than even the slightest wind. The only negative I've really experienced is that your nose freezes and essentially grows icicles, then when it melts it's fairly easy to get a nose bleed. Had this happen to me many times though and there doesn't seem to be any long term damage.

I'd think anything below -40 C to -50 C would be absolute hell. I've experienced it before, and it's bad enough just standing outside in that kind of weather.

South Dakotan here, done a few cold runs in my time in the state.

Senior Year of high school ran in -16 -40 windchill for four miles. Never again.

Freshman year of college had a lot of snow/ice storms that with a good wind can make it hard.

Sophomore year ran in -25 windchill a couple of times, zipper stuck to my skin on my leg and left a sizable absence of flesh on my ankle.

Also, coach made us do a punishment drill for the late practice once inside. Not knowing this I showed up in winter clothes and sweated a ton. Ran 11 outside that day in a roughly -20 windchill and didn't feel my leg for an hour after the run, even with a shower.

Junior year was weirdly warm and I redshirted

Senior year (now) had a few -10 to -15 days but nothing serious.

If you have

Hat that covers ears

good gloves

a winter base layer (tights and compression shirt)

baggy windbreaker

nut glove or wind pant

face mask

good sock and non holy shoes

Then you can run in anything under -25 maybe -40 windchill. -17 real temp would be as low as I would recommend. Then it is becoming less benificial.

No classic wax works well below 0. I've done classic (non-internationally sanctioned, just local events) at -20F. Not much fun, but sometimes they hold those on super cold days. You just don't need as much wax. Swix VR30 is one of the better waxes.

Skating is usually miserable at -5F or colder and at that temp or colder classic will often be faster.

It depends on you acclimation mostly.

I'm a collegiate runner from the a northern state and we often ran in some pretty cold weather. If wind isn't a factor, you can get out in some pretty cold weather. A few times in just temperatures of -15F. A few long runs we have done with -5 to -10 with some pretty strong winds getting into the -30F for sure.

You mainly need to take care of your hands and junk. I have naturally good circulation in my hands. My hands will sweat in 0 degree F weather with a very thin pair of gloves.

Usually your core will warm up if wind isn't a factor again.

John O'Donnell wrote:

I've found the fingers stay much warmer if covered by a pair or two of wool socks than any type of gloves.

THIS. If your climate hits below 0 degrees Fahrenheit in the cold months, use boot socks instead of gloves. Thick, wooly ones.

Also, guys should be conscious of their groin. Yesterday was -2F here and one of my hand-socks had to become a dick-sock.

I'm a wimp, I'll only go to 10 degrees. Triple layer upper body finished with windbreaker. Two layers below, but triple up over the weenie or pay the price. Hat & gloves.

Ran my best indoor 1500 after lots of Jan workouts on snowy packed streets. The phone poles are maybe 75M apart. I'd run 4 - 8 phone poles at mile pace or better. Repeat ten times. Maybe 4 phone pole jog between. Rolling New England country roads. Actually a very fun and challenging workout.

SserPrun95 wrote:

32 degrees F with no wind.

HAHAHAHAHA.

That's nothing. I would wear shorts and a long-sleeved technical top in those conditions.

Let's just saw that if you're using fahrenheit you probably don't know what real cold is. (i.e. You're from the US.)

When I lived in Siberia, I used to run in -50F weather regularly. Having moved to America, Ive become wimp.

Go out and run. No such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothing.

Just to add a coda to this, in 2001 the NWS changed how they calculate wind chill. Under the old charts the calculated wind chill appears higher. The -81F wind chill would have been possible under the old charts -- e.g., -25F actual and winds of 25 mph.

It doesn't really matter, but at least I feel better that my memory wasn't entirely off-base!