are northeast winters or southern summers worse?

I have lived in Cleveland, OH, Boston, MA, Atlanta, GA and now on the Gulf Coast.

There are big differences in the South between places like ATL, Raleigh, Nashville and more coastal places like Miami, Houston, etc. Summers in the more northern/southern towns do get hot with a couple of weeks of 90+, but they do not last that long and you do get an occasional front in the summer to break things up. In the more coastal places, summers are a solid five months. May to October are 90+ most every day and late July through mid Sept can be brutal.

But you adjust. When I first got back down to the south, I could barely make it through a 6 mi run in the summer. A few years later, I was doing 20+ milers in the summer with no problem. It isn't fun, but it is doable.

Endless 90+ degree days seems horrible when you come from the north, but it is actually just fine. You just have to be in the water during the hottest part of the day. In the late afternoon, the humidity drops and it is actually very pleasant out in the evening (bug spray required).

I would take the heat over the long, cold and dark winters of Cleveland, OH. Summer in the north is just too short for me.

Most everything sucks in the northeast so just point in a direction and GO!

I'd take a northeast winter for sure. The worst part about it is running in the dark and the occasional storm that makes running outside literally impossible for a couple of days until things get cleared out. But the cold itself is fine.

Running in the south is rough, though it depends where exactly. You can easily go 45 days without a high temp below 90 or a low temp below 70, with dew points in the 70s every day. Even easy running can leave you exhausted in the evenings. I've always preferred evening running because even if the temp is much higher, the dew point is slightly lower and relative humidity is way lower, so your sweat actually evaporates a bit. First thing in the morning, it will often by 74 with a dew point of 74. Glasses will fog, and your feet will squish with every step by the third mile. Yes, you get used to it. The same way people get used to 2 hour commutes or weekly prison rapes. It's still not what I'd choose.

Depending on exactly where you're at in the south makes a difference. The closer to the coast the exponentially more humid it becomes. Summer running in Houston or New Orleans is incredibly tough. Takes the same energy to run for an hour as it does to run for 80-90' in better locations. It will be 90 degrees with a 70 dewpoint at 8pm. In the mornings at 8am it'll be 80 degrees with 90% humidity. If you are closer to Dallas or Shreveport or Birmingham it is much more manageable.

Been through plenty of both. Northeast winters are far worse.

Lived in the Northeast for many years and now on the Gulf Coast. I'll take the heat all day every day over the winters in the north.

It depends on if you prefer running in the 'heat,' or running in the dark.

If 'heat,' just run in the late-ish evenings. If dark, welcome to what much of the country also deals with a lot of the year. And be glad you don't live in the Midwest.

This is Jim Kiler wrote:

It depends on if you prefer running in the 'heat,' or running in the dark.

If 'heat,' just run in the late-ish evenings. If dark, welcome to what much of the country also deals with a lot of the year. And be glad you don't live in the Midwest.

I'd rather run in the heat than the dark. There must be a lighted path for runners somewhere in some major US city, but I don't know where it is, which makes any workout besides intervals on a lighted track tough at night. I have a job that starts balls early, but I'm usually off by mid afternoon, which means only in like Nov, Dec, and Jan am I brushing up against darkness and I can usually get all but the last few mins of my run in the light.

For normal 9 to 5'ers though, I'd say move south if you can. Dealing with good temps in the winter makes it just a bit easier to have the motivation to train at night.

F**K the south weather

but also F***K the north east winters

I live in the deep south. You couldn't pay me enough to run through a northeast winter.

I like running in northeast winters. I do my best training in November and December when it's a little cold but still a little too early in the season for snow. Heck once you get working hard 40 degrees is shorts and t-shirt weather (though you need gloves for your hands).

Winter training gets worse once it snows but roads get plowed so I might only have to use the treadmill 3-4 times per season. And I'm not a fan of temperatures under 20 degrees, those hurt my face.

But on the other hand once spring hits, any time it's over 75 degrees I'm a sweaty mess and my tempo runs go to sh*t. For me a tempo run at 40 degrees is probably 15 seconds per mile faster than one at 75 degrees.

Same. The number of days I would not run because its too cold/hot/windy/wet/icy would be far higher in the north. I just wont go when its 20 and windy. Sorry. I will go when its 90 and still. I wont like it, but I'll get it in.

After the worst arctic chill from the North and an 11 degree day in Tennessee,coupled with the death of a popular community feral cat in the cold winter for the Southeast, I would rather sweat a creek than ever have that regularly.

I don't want to drive on slush all winter

I don't want to see animals die of hypothermia

I don't want to have to dress in 4 layers just to go for a 20 minute trip to the store

I came from San Marcos, CA to Murfreesboro, TN

And so many said the humidity would kill me.

Nah.

Sweat is sweat. So what. As an athlete you do that. Just prepare for a slower stopping rate for sweating.

Hydrate more.

It's a breeze; forget the freeze.

I feel very hot and uncomfortable running during the summer in the northeast. I would feel even more terrible running in the summer in the southern US. When I exercise, I generate an abnormally high amount of heat. I am that crazy person running outside in shorts and sports bra in 40 F weather and feeling great and comfortable. However, this creates huge problems when running in warmer temperatures. In hot and humid conditions I sweat a ton, making me become quickly thirsty and dehydrated. I sweat much more than any other female athlete I know, as I have calculated my sweat rate 2.5L/hour.

If you like cool weather and hate the heat, do not move to the southern US!!

Please don't move here. We're not taking any more new people.

you don't have to shovel heat

Having done both, the Northeast by a mile. Caveat that it can suck if your area doesn't plow well or people don't shovel. But the cold is really no big deal until it's like ten or below, which is rare now.

But you don't ever get used to 80+ dew points, no matter what people say.

Growing up in Richmond VA I never realised how humid those summers were. Tough tough running conditions for sure. Still remember running in 125 degree heat index conditions back in 1995. Give me cold any day!

I live in the Northeast

I always do my best running in the fall-spring cold period. I go into maintenance mode when we get to the point in the summer when dew points are 65+ every every day.

I can't imagine choosing to live and run where dew points are in the 70s for half the year. I would have to find another sport.

I live in a city so the best running is always plowed - only unrunnable 1-3 days per year.

Look at it this way: how many elite running groups are based in high heat/high humidity areas?

Choose ice and snow.