If you are a runner and you live someplace where the winter gets cold Winter can be the bane of your running existence. Runners love running. But many runners hate the cold. How can we keep fueling our love of running when we often don’t want to even step out the door?

One simple answer is take the winter off from running. Focus your winters on fitness goals that don’t require you to go outside, but that will benefit your running when you get back after it as spring arrives. Hit the gym and do some strength training. Target those muscles that runners really need, but let’s be honest rarely ever work on. Dive into a pool and kick that cardio into a whole new gear. That will target whole new muscle groups and also take the pounding off of the legs and maybe spring will arrive with a fresh new set of legs. Take up yoga and work on your body in a totally different way. Become more flexible and strengthen muscles with low impact.

Another easy answer is to step onto the infinite loop of the treadmill. Go to the gym and run to your hearts content without being cold. Or, if you have one at home indulge the convenience of running without even leaving your house. For me, the treadmill is the thing I hate even more than running in the cold, so I would not choose this. We recently got a new treadmill and I am pretty sure I can count the number of times I have run on it on one hand.

For me the key to winter running is twofold. Find a way to make it a commitment that you will actually want to keep. Find a friend who also wants to keep their running consistent during the winter and plan to run together outside regularly. This has really worked well for me the past few years. Also, don’t force yourself to run in truly miserable weather if it serves no purpose. You can always run the next day when the weather lets up. Allow yourself to space to be imperfect in your running commitments. Missing a day here and there is not going to ruin anyone’s running goals.

Find new ways to inject some fun into your winter running. One way to do this is to sign up for some winter running events. The past couple years I have signed up for the Finger Lakes Running Club’s Winter Chill 5k series. Casual 5k races every weekend in January. This gives me a commitment and a little fun spice of a race environment. If you are a trail runner like me it can be fun to try out some winter events on the trails. A couple of years ago I ran my first ever snow shoe race. It was so different and so much fun. I look forward to doing it again. A few years ago a friend and I made our way down to PA a couple hours a way to take on a challenging trail race at Fire on the Rocks. It was a beautiful snowy winter day for a challenge. Then there is my winter challenge that I have done the most and always try to recruit people to, the Mt. Tom Challenge hosted by the Tioga Running Club. this is a free event where runners try to complete as many loops up and down Mt. Tom as they can or want to in 3 hours. It is a fun event with a great community vibe.

What is your favorite way to stay motivated to run in the winter?

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