What is the Coldest Temp You Will Run Outside in? (Read 1001 times)

Minnesota here...-22 with no wind is totally doable.. Less than that... to me it's like.... oh my... I love running in the COLD but I truely think there is a breaking point... Interesting.

I think the coldest I've run in was windchill of -8...actual temp was right around 0, IIRC. I would run in colder, though. The worst part was trying to find stuff to protect my skin without making my sunglasses (to protect my eyes from cold/wind/snow, not so much for sun in these parts this time of the year) fog up so bad.

I've run down to -20F (-30C), but looks like those runs were in the 30-45 min range. Several -10F near 1 hr and lots near 0F (-15C), including one to 4+ hrs. (Spent 4-5 hrs trailwork at subzero F, but had to run/ hike about 3 mi to get to place where we started the brushing.) My recollection on those -20F runs was that I dressed, went out, did a short run, and came back - no attempts to do much time or distance or intensity - just do it. But I also have better gear now than when I did some of those. Treat the temperatures and wind as two different items. Have sufficient insulation for the temperature and intensity level. Have wind protection to deal with the wind. I'll wear a top shell and wind pants over sporthill xc running pants and some tights (weight depends on temperature). We've been fortunate to have snow when the temperatures get that low, so I snowshoe run. And I use neoprene overbooties when I do that, so my feet are usually fine. I'll sometimes put a strap-on traction device over by overbooties if I'm not ss running. My feet are usually my weak link. I'll use a neoprene half face mask when it's cold and windy, and may use a windstopper hat or just a beanie / toque type hat. Be sure ears are covered. I'll use vaseline on face, but if it's really windy I need something on face besides that so use the face mask then. The mask I use (don't know what brand) allows me to breathe reasonably. Be sure all skin is covered since that is getting into dangerous territory. I haven't worn my really heavy layers yet and I've had several runs at 0F. Just got back from a beautiful moonlit snowshoe run (about 1.7 hr) on trails - near 0F, no wind. Both top and bottom had one base layer, one insulating layer, and one shell. I peeled my heavy (windpro) mittens about 10 minutes into the run, and used lighter weight ones for the rest. I was very comfortable the whole run, although I did stop to watch the moon from a couple places, and that helped prevent me from overheating. This isn't where I run, but I like to use it as an example of how runners that run in cold environments (down to -50F) do it: http://www.runningclubnorth.org/lnk_cld1.htm IOW, look on the bright side. It's colder someplace else, and runners are running.

34 F so far. Hey, I'm in Florida!

We have had a few days in the past couple of weeks with temps around 0 and wind chills of -15 to -20. As noted before, as long as you're dressed for it, it really isn't bad after the first mile or so. Ran 12 miles this morning and the temp. was 25 when I set out...felt like spring again! Too bad it won't last.

-25"F was the coldest I've run in. It was OK, I was very bundled, and even wore sunglasses to keep from gettting my lashes froze shut, but it hurt on the bridge of the nose, and I wondered how dangerous it might be if I tripped and fell... raced in -11"F, twice, and that was truly miserable. 89 is nice. or 70. 60 is a bit cool, but ok for racing a marathon and such.

So I was out a little bit this afternoon at 24 F (wind chill of 15 F). The biggest problem I had is that the snow kept packing into the indentations on the heels of my shoes. I felt like I was running in high heels. The second problem was after the turn around when I had a head wind that was pushing me back almost as much as I was moving forward.