Winter running can have a wide range of effects on people. For some it might mean actually having to wear a shirt on those chilly 65 degree mornings. For others it might mean growing a glorious beard to protect against the snow and wind (at least that's what I tell myself). I get a lot of questions about winter running, but one of the main ones is, how do I dress for this stuff? To me that's a loaded question because there's a lot of variables going into it. In November if it's 32 degrees I'll be wearing tights because it's so cold! If it's 32 in January? Shoot, I'm breaking out the half tights and debating wearing a shirt (ok, I'll put a shirt on), but will probably be wearing half tights on a day that warm in January!

In all seriousness, how we need to dress depends on our exposure to the elements. For instance, today was 11 degrees with a pretty brisk wind. However, despite it being that cold, it was actually the warmest it’s been in a while. I actually felt a little over dressed!  On the flip side, today it snowed in Florida! The folks who live there probably thought it was the end of the world today. They probably couldn’t put enough layers on. In fact, I would bet there were people dressed with more clothes on in Florida today, than the Hanson’s Brooks team had on our wind chill advisory morning here in Michigan. Given all that, I still think there are a few truths that we can all use, regardless if winter is a few days a year for you, or if you feel like you’re in the arctic circle with no sun for six months.


The wind is worse than the cold.
If you can block the wind, I feel like you can take away a lot of the  discomfort in cold weather running. These days there are a lot of wind resistant shirts and lightweight jackets that don’t add a lot of weight, but block out that bone chilling cold. Also, consider something for the legs, or at least the most sensitive region below the waist… Seriously. Find good briefs/undies to run in, especially ones with a wind panel in front.

Focus on extremities like the head/face, hands, and feet.
Your head loses most of your heat and your face takes a beating in the wind. Offering up protection to your noggin is crucial for those cold and windy days. When I run, my hands are always the first to feel the effects. For others it is there feet. Investing in really good gloves and mittens is a must if you want to brave the elements for any length of time. Even a good glove with a mitten shell will work wonders for blocking the wind and keeping the body heat in around the fingers. As for the feet, you need to be careful. As some teammates found out, you can’t just put a bunch of socks on and shove your foot in your shoe. They did this for a few days, but found their shoes were now too tight and hurt! Get some good light wool running socks.

Dress in layers.
I recommend your base layer be pretty form fitting. This pulls your sweat away from the body right away and can be dissipated better through the second (or third) layer. The second layer should be fairly loose to allow your body heat to be trapped and be a natural insulator. If wearing a third layer, then this should be your wind breaking layer. For the legs, you will probably be wearing tights. If you find your legs still getting cold, then go ahead and put a wind pant on over the top. They are lightweight, will trap body heat towards legs, but still allow sweat to evaporate. Plus, you’ll get that ever important wind block.

Dress like it’s warmer.
The rule of thumb is dress like it’s 20 degrees warmer than it is. Now, I understand that if it’s 5 degrees F, then does it really matter if I’m dressed for 25? Well, no, it’s still cold! But if it’s 20 degrees out and you dress like it’s 40 degrees, that’s a big difference. So, take it relative to what the air temp is. The colder is, the less this will matter, but can really make a difference when you are in that grey area. You might be a little chilly the first mile,

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