How cold is too cold to run in?

yeah, I live in northern Michigan...while not as cold as Canada can still get downright chilly. The biggest thing I've realized about running in the cold, and someone else mentioned it, is to make sure you cover your "private areas" very well.

I remember in high school i went for an 8 mile run, it wasn't real cold, probably below 10F, but the wind was real strong. I didn't have enough clothes on my lower extremities and by the time i got back I was in tears and seriously afraid that I had done permanent damage to my weenie...i mean it was painful.

So my point is make sure you bundle up down there, your legs don't need it but the old third leg certainly does!

This thread reads like so many others. Like, "I'm going to run a 5k, should I wear my camelback?"

Somebody posting something crazy just to get a reaction. I live down south and no body is worried about running when it's 30 degrees. Maybe your more recreational "fitness" runners will take a day off, but that's it.

"30 degrees is not cold!" - it isn't exactly warm, either!! :-)

"Temperatures in the 20s (F) are just about ideal for running"... I don't think I've ever run below 30, so I don't know as I haven't tried the complete range I guess, but for me, ideal is around 70-75 and starts to get non-ideal around maybe 55. I have also run (long runs) in excess of 100 and didn't find that too big a problem. Although, I did have one run when I got back and couldn't open the front door, near fainted standing there trying to get in, which I think was from stopping very suddenly. Had to walk myself around the house for about half an hour, couldn't cool down.

Anyway, you have my respect for running in these temperatures as I would hate it. Then again, you might hate 100!

...speak for yourself.....when it is below 30, I am in the club running on a treadmill, warm and toasty while talking to the hot babes on the 'mill beside me! Ha

I think 30 is cold - I was just quoting what someone had said.

It's currently 40 here.

it did recently drop to -72 degrees Fahrenheit in the interior of eastern Alaska... however it did miss the alltime state record of -80 set in '72 at Prospect Creek. -30 to -40 is fairly common in parts of the north during the winter.

previously banned poster wrote:

I like Americans calling out Canadians on the weather - that is truly hilarious.

Montréal: Issued 03:45 PM EST Monday 17 January 2005

Tonight .. A few flurries ending early this evening. Clearing later on. Winds northwest 20 km/h. Low minus 24. High wind chill minus 34.

Tuesday .. Sunny. Winds west 20 km/h. High minus 19. High wind chill minus 36.

Wednesday .. Cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 23. High minus 9.

Thursday .. Sunny. Low minus 15. High minus 10.

Friday .. Cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 16. High minus 12.

Norman Wells: Issued 4.00 PM MST Monday 17 January 2005

Tonight .. A few clouds. Low minus 36.

Tuesday .. Sunny. High minus 32.

Wednesday .. Sunny. Low minus 34. High minus 30.

Thursday .. Sunny. Low minus 32. High minus 28.

Friday .. Sunny. Low minus 34. High minus 27.

Alaska's in America. I heard it's pretty cold there.

A friend worked at the South Pole station (just yards from the very underside of the world) for about a month a few years ago and he sent back pics of himself and a couple others in their running gear. Every inch of skin was covered along w/dark goggles (against glare off the ice/snow pack). They didn't run more than 30 minutes and held a 'race' at Christmas to determine who'd get to 'race' at the McMurdo base (along the coast) on New Years.

They have indoor exercise equipment to use...big surprise.

I'd say the South Pole is too cold to run in...on any kind of regular basis. Conditions probably wouldn't allow anyway.

I'm from Mississippi...30 degrees feels fine to me. Temperatures in the mid-teens start to get uncomfortable for me, but not unbearable or anything. Besides, when your teammates are mostly from Canada/Michigan/Wisconsin, you can't really get away with complaining about the weather.

Wisco Runner wrote:

Today was a rather balmy -3 with a wind chill of -12. I do respect that all temperature is realitive to where you live so 30 in Miss. is cold.

The key is to keep your head, hands and toes warm, buy the right gear and your will be fine.

Thank you for admitting it's all relative. All you tough guys can come down here in July and August and see how far you can make it in 90-100 degrees and 90% humidity. When you have weather like that from May to September then 30 degrees is cold.

My wife and I were in Maine in July a few years ago. There was a "heat wave" up there that week(it was in the 80s) and everyone we talked to was whining about it. The people next door to the house we were staying in even had an air conditioner put in while we were there. We loved it. Dry air and 85 degrees? It didn't get much better coming from the South. We would run in the middle of the day every day. It felt so good and we had a great time thinking we were superior to the natives. We did, however, understand that if some Mainers came to visit us in the winter they would be laughing at us. We would be freezing at 15-30 degrees and they would be in shorts and t-shirts. Just remember, IT'S ALL RELATIVE.

so which is colder, the North Pole or the South Pole?

How does the extreme cold (recognizing this is a relative term) impact your pace? Particularly if you are attempting a hard workout. We did a 14 mile MP workout this AM with mid-teen temps. Despite proper clothing and feeling fine the pace seemed harder to hold onto than usual.

For those in the southern states, if you'd like to get a daily updated visual of a cold place, try

http://www.copperharbor.org

Copper Harbor is near the tip of a peninsula as far north in Michigan (in the Upper Peninsula) as you can go. Right now it's -8 degrees there and if you click on the 'web cam' you'll get a shot of their harbor, iced over w/a snow cover. They get a LOT of snow up there. It's beautiful, pristine back country w/some breathtaking views...in warmer months.

It's 0 degrees in balmy southern MI now. It is NOT too cold to run.

Runner from the South wrote:Just remember, IT'S ALL RELATIVE.

I'll grant you that. I HATE running in high heat/humidity. I'll do it, but I won't enjoy it, and I'll gripe about it. My high temperature pansy cut-off would be something like 90 F with high humidity, or 100 if it's dry.

I REALLY HATE racing in heat and humidity.

.....don't run in the cold....It will make you sick!

I love the heat. Although my only real exposure to running in it was in Arizona where I guess it is a dry heat. Maybe being from Canada makes the experience seem different and fun (ie. not having to suffer in it all the time).

Ottawa wrote:I love the heat. Although my only real exposure to running in it was in Arizona where I guess it is a dry heat. Maybe being from Canada makes the experience seem different and fun (ie. not having to suffer in it all the time).

I lived in Ottawa a couple of times, and I found it quite hot for my liking through much of the summer. Never hot enough that I wouldn't run, but hot enough that it would force me to slow down 30-60s/mile to maintain normal effort. Winnipeg would get hotter, but never as humid.

We're not all affected equally by different weather conditions, though. I think I'm generally more affected than the average runner by heat and humidity. I'll take a cold day over a hot day, any day. You can put on an unlimited number of layers, but there's a limit to how many you can take off...

I live in the Chicago area and have run a few times in -20F (not including wind chill) around here. It wasn't comfortable but was tolerable. I won't do that anymore. I used to tell people "don't let the weather dictate your run". I have frostbitten both hands, damaged my nose and I have permanent numbness on the outside of both legs by my knees.

I just can't tolerate the cold like I used to.

ps: You know that -30C is -22F.

I will admit, I can run when it is cold and when it gets to 90 with humidity it isn't fun at all to run hard. Running at an easy pace is tolerable, but hard is another story.

I was in Phoenix for Christmas. My wife and I ran in the morning with shorts and tshirts with temps around 60. We saw a local with a down parka, wool hat, and coveralls. Seriously!

It is relative.