What it Feels Like to Run 28 km Every Day for a Month

By: Matt Setlack

I have run more per day in the past month than I have ever run in my entire life.

To be exact, my Strava profile tells me that I ran 867 km between 01 and 31 May 2018, which is an average distance of about 28 km per day, everyday (while working a full time job). It took about 74 hours of running to cover this distance, which is about 2 hours 23 minutes of running each day. This article will shed some light on how and, maybe more importantly, why I did this. Running and completing the AETE Step Challenge are intertwined so they will be both discussed in this article.

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My Strava training log showing distance run in km.

Q & A

Why did I run this much?

Firstly, I wanted to win the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment (AETE) Step Challenge and earn two days off work. Secondly, I want to build a solid base of training in preparation for the upcoming summer racing season. I also saw it as a challenge and I wanted to see if I could break 1 million steps in the month of May. I did so by doing 1,060,623 steps between 01 and 31 May 2018. That's an average of just over 30,000 steps per day. 

How did our team do?

I was on Team Charlie with Capt Scott Blakie, MCpl John Visser and Cpl JC Bouchard-Frigon. We placed 1st overall with a total step count of 4,086,963 for the month. Individually, I walked the 6th most steps. Perhaps what amazes me the most is the fact that I ran 867 km and yet, still placed 6th overall. If I ran this far, I cannot imagine how many km the five people ahead of me walked/jog/ran. I have an incredible amount of respect for them, especially considering that many of them have children at home. 

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How did I run so much?

1. I made running a priority in my life
2. I remembered that "you become what you think about" (so be careful what you think about) - having a positive attitude is like a chain reaction.
3. It is A LOT easier to do many short runs rather than one long run (i.e. it's much easier to run 3 x 40 mins rather than 120 minutes (2 hrs) straight). It also gives your body time to rest/recover/rehydrate/renourish (eat food)
4. Time - running this much takes a huge amount of time. However, one thing I realized was how much time I wasted staring at a screen (often on social media) outside of working hours. Running this much really reduced the amount of time I spend in front of an electronic device. 
5. Setting goals is incredibly important - Without goals, you have nothing. It's what drives me and gives me direction. In running, I often register for races and set time or place goals for myself. This keeps my working towards something tangible. 
6. I was accountable to my team - during the step challenge, I texted my team the number of steps I had done the day before. This really motivated me to try and get as many steps as possible. In running, it's really important to have a coach who you can report back to, otherwise, it's way too easy to skip a workout/run or run less than planned. Being a member of a team really helped. I did not want to let my teammates down.
7. I did not become a slave to Strava or my GPS watch - I rarely look at my GPS watch; I just start it at the beginning and stop it at the end. I usually don't even stop it when I bend down to tie up my shoes. 99% of my training is done by effort.
8. I don't tie my shoes...ever - I just slip my feet and out. This saves me at least 5-7 mins per day.
9. Routine - having a set routine with the same timings everyday made it a lot easier. When things change like during travel, that's when it becomes a lot more challenging to train.
10. I rarely drove the car anywhere - Instead, I ran. On my run commute home, I pass right by the grocery store so can easily pick up food for dinner.

What was my typical day like?

• 0600 - wake up
• 0645 - run commute to work (5 miles in 40 minutes)
• 0725 - arrive at work, shower, change into work clothes, walk 1.1km (15 mins) to French class
• 0800-1200 - French class
• 1200-1300 - "lunch" break (run 5 miles/40 minutes on the treadmill 1% incline)
• 1300-1630 - work at AETE
• 1645 - leave work to run commute home (short way is 5 miles/40 mins, long way is 23km/1:45)
• 2000 - go for a short walk with Emily
• 2130 to 2200 - go to bed

Note: AETE normally has PT (gym) class on Tues and Thurs mornings. However, since I was in French class the entire month of May, I was unable to participate in morning PT and had to do the stepping outside of working hours.

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My Strava training log showing hours run.

What did I eat?

In the morning, I bring a bag of food on my back (5-10 lbs worth). I run with a Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L pack and it works very well (over 2,000 miles on it so far and it is still going strong). I eat constantly during the day instead of eating a bunch of food at once. I like REAL food (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, bananas, celery, cucumbers, peanut butter sandwiches on grainy bread, cheese, yogurt and sometimes Clif bars). I drink water constantly and have a 1L water bottle on my desk all the time. I make sure my urine rarely, if ever, looks like apple juice (it should be clear like water).

How did I not get injured (esp. after running 250 km in last week)?

There are a number of reasons I did not get injured and did not get sick:

• I think my body was fairly used to the distance. I paid very close attention to how I was feeling and ran slower or less distance if I did not feel 100%. 
• Gradual buildup of weekly distance. The weekly distance leading up to May was: 29/67/102/108/127/180 km so I would say that I gradually (for the most part) increased the weekly distance). Before I did the 250 km week, I had already run around 180 km per week for the previous three weeks.
• I switched running shoes everyday - I never wore the same pair of shoes two days in a row and the shoes that I did wear were relatively new.
• Road surface - because the roads are cambered, I ran on alternating sides. On busier roads or roads with less of a shoulder, I ran facing traffic and on wider/slower roads, I ran with traffic.
• Pace - the pace for almost all my training is quite slow.
• Soft surface - For my lunch runs, I ran on the treadmill at 1% incline or on the Lynx Trail, which is mostly sand. I avoid concrete sidewalks like the plague.

What did I wear?

For shoes, I mostly wore the Hoka Clifton 4 and 5, Nike Pegasus 35 (orange shoes in photos below), Adidas Solar Glide ST and Salomon Sense Ride. I usually wear a white hat with a black under beak, polarized Zizu TRX sunglasses, lightweight Ronhill Stride S/S crew t-shirt (or a bright yellow or orange t-shirt), Ronhill Everyday Split shorts (really good proper running shorts), lightweight hilly mono skin socks or Wigwam Running Room polyester socks, a Garmin 230 GPS watch, Ronhill Stride Windspeed jacket and Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L pack for run commuting. Last but certainly not least, I carry two iPod Shuffles with electronic dance music and sometimes famous speeches or motivational music.

AETE Step Challenge

It all started with the inaugural AETE Step Challenge, which was the creation of CWO Howell. AETE members voluntarily broke themselves up into teams of four and then walked..and walked...and walked. The team who accumulated the most number of steps in the month of May would be granted two days off work and the 2nd place team would receive one day off work. The purpose of the Step Challenge was to promote an active lifestyle at and outside of work.

At the start of the Step Challenge, the PSP came to AETE and offered a body composition test for anyone interested. They also returned at the end of the Step Challenge to do another body composition test (the results of this test did not factor into the scores). Steps were reported each morning to designated individuals within the unit.

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Team Charlie stats

Step Challenge Progression 

Our team followed a Blitzkrieg strategy from the beginning hoping that by getting so far ahead of everyone else from the very beginning that others would become so demoralized that they would not pursue. I believe this partially worked. The only thing was, it wasn't just pushing hard from the beginning and then slowing down, we pushed hard from the beginning and kept pushing hard the entire month. I thought everyone would go out super hard and then fizzle out. However, I was really surprised when people went out hard and kept going.

The first thing I noticed was everyone seemed to be walking a lot more at work. I saw more people walking and in general exercising than I have ever seen before. At the start, the PSP gave us helpful recommendations for building in more exercise into your daily routine such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking in the far corner of the parking lot so you have to walk a little farther. AETE members took this advice to the extreme...

Before the Step Challenge started, I was running about 20 to 25km per day but quickly realized that this meagre amount would not be enough. I soon increased by daily distance to three runs and closer to 30km per day with two to three longer runs per week after work. A typical long run of about 30 km would give me about 20,000 steps.

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Number of steps walked in month of May 2018. CWO Howell walked about 1.5 million steps! (I'm in purple at just over 1 million).

On day 1, I ran past my friend, Jeeva who was walking to work. However, instead of parking in the AETE parking lot, he had parked at the Tri City Mall parking lot 5 miles away and was walking to work. It took him 1 hour and 20 minutes each way! One of my friends used the elliptical machine for 4 hours each day! John and JC even started going to the gym at 4 am and walking on the treadmill for 2 hours before work.

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Overall Stats. Top blue line is daily max, middle green line is daily average and bottom yellow line is daily min.

Towards the end of the Step Challenge, John and JC set a goal to break the daily max steps. They started walking on the treadmill at 12 midnight and walked until 6 am, walked all morning and then came back in the evening and walked even more. John ended up doing 105,000 and JC did 107,500 steps, which is incredible. That is A LOT of steps! 

Conclusion

We are capable of so much more than we think. One of the biggest things that changed during May was that initially, if you were to tell me that I was going to run around 180km per week for 4 weeks straight, I'm not sure I would have believed you (the most I had ever done in my life before this was about 170 km per month). However, breaking it down into small chunks (goals), makes it a lot easier to accomplish. Like Jacob Puzey says, when the going gets tough, sometimes you just have to set your sights on running to the next lamppost. 

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

Common Run Commute Challenges

By: Matt Setlack

This article is the third and final article of a three part series regarding my experience with the run commute. The goal of this particular article is to outline some of the common challenges I face with run commuting and provide suggestions of how to overcome them.

The series was comprised of the following three parts:

1. Part 1 - WHY do I Run Commute? (previous article, please click here)
2. Part 2 - HOW to Run Commute (previous article, please click here)
3. Part 3 - Common Run Commute Challenges and How to Overcome Them (see below)

MY BACKGROUND

I have been run commuting to and from work practically every weekday for the past three years. I run all year around in temperatures as cold as -45C with the windchill in the winter and as warm as +35C in the summer. From mid-October to mid-February I run to and from work in the pitch dark. My run commute is approximately 10 miles round trip.

Part 3 - Common Run Commute Challenges

These are the biggest run commute challenges that I have had to overcome in the process of getting into a good run commuting routine. Once you overcome these challenges, your run commute will be much more enjoyable.

LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES

How Much Time is the Run Commute Going to Take? - This is the very first thing I wondered so I used Google Maps to map out my route. The first few times I run commuted, I didn’t know how long it would take so I started at work and ran home at the end of the day so I wouldn’t be late for work.

What to Wear? – It's fairly straightforward to dress for one temperature but the main challenge comes with regulating your temperature (thermoregulation) in conditions that are continually changing. I would estimate there is generally a 5C temperature swing during my typical one way run commute. 

I would err on the side of caution and bring an extra layer or two. If you start to feel too warm, even in the slightest, first take off your tuque and gloves or mitts and if that doesn’t help enough then take off one top layer. Remember that in the winter it is common for wind chill factor to easily drop the temperature 10C, just by turning into a stiff headwind. Bring a small light backpack that you can put your extra clothes in.

What to do with Work Clothes? – Leave them at work and only take them home when they need to be washed.

Having a Locker and Showers at Work - I am extremely lucky that the building I work in has locker rooms with showers as well as a fantastic gym. This makes a tremendous difference. If I didn’t have this setup, I would probably have to run to the 4 Wing Cold Lake JJ Parr gym first, change, shower and then walk 10 minutes to work. That would be a lot more hassle. Without showers at work, I suppose one could use wet-wipes or a camp shower on a balcony instead (like Calum Neff).

Working Regular/Consistent Hours - This makes getting into a routine much easier. It’s not impossible otherwise but it certainly helps.  

MENTAL CHALLENGES

Mental Attitude - For some people, one hurtle to get over is the mental change that comes with doing something different. Sometimes it can be challenging to determine why you are run commuting to work when literally hundreds (or thousands?) of other people are drive commuting to work (in the same direction, at the same time, at the same speed, to the same location). Please don't fall into the trap of doing something just because everyone else is doing it and that's the way it has always been done.

Why Am I Doing This? - What motivates you to run commute? Perhaps you’re training for an upcoming race or you want to lose a bit of weight? Finding your WHY will help to get you out the door when it’s pitch black and -35C outside.

Goals - This is extremely important. Once you determine your why, make a list of the goals that you would like to accomplish. Write out these goals on a piece of paper and stick that piece of paper on the front door of your refrigerator or on your bathroom mirror. Include on this paper a list of your goals in addition to how you plan to achieve your goals. Maybe you want to run every day for the next 52 years? Having goals will give you a target to shoot for; otherwise you may end up drifting in an ocean of uncertainty with no direction not knowing where you are going.

Priority - How important is running and fitness in general in your life? Do you run consistently right now? Perhaps the run commute would force you to train more and get into shape or maintain your current level of fitness. Emily and I place a very high priority on running/fitness in our lives. While we are on vacation, for example, the first thing in the morning that we always think about is, “When and where are we going to run today?”. It is so engrained in our minds that everything else while on vacation takes a back seat. Our eating schedule revolves around running, the location of the accommodations we stay in a city/town is determined by if there is anywhere to run nearby (parks, nature trails, etc). I can’t tell you how many times we have changed into our running clothes while in the car. Running to us is like eating in that it is just something that we have to do to survive. Human beings were born to move, not to sit still.

An important point to remember is that to us, the things that we do are not sacrifices but instead, they are choices. The choices that we make help us to become healthier, fitter and ultimately lead a happier and more fulfilling life. Are the choices that you are making every day affecting you in a positive or negative way?

PHYSICAL CHALLENGES

Running Route - I am very lucky to have a beautiful Millennium Path to run on that is separate from the road. It is a paved path about 2 meters wide. The path is cleared of snow usually within hours of the snowfall. The City of Cold Lake and 4 Wing Snow and Ice Clearing Team do a PHENOMENAL job clearing the snow. I am extremely appreciative for all the excellent work that these snow removal teams do and it makes a night and day difference to the run commute. Next time I see one of these members clearing the snow, I will buy them a coffee. If I didn't have a beautiful path to run on, it would be much more challenging to run commute.

Running Distance to Work - When I lived about 2km from work, I walked to work in my work clothes. When I moved to a new location about 5 miles from work, I first started riding my bicycle in the summer and then when the snow started to fly, I switched over to running instead. If you live too close to work, then I recommend walking to work. If you live far from work, then that doesn’t work either (unless you’re an ultramarathon runner lol). I would think it would be quite challenging for someone to try and run commute to work from Cold Lake North (about 14km each way) because they would be spending over an hour running each way and that’s quite challenging to maintain (but riding a bicycle would be very possible). The distance to work is one of the reasons Emily and I chose to live about 5 miles from work – not too close and not too far. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

I hope that you have found this article on run commute challenges helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments and I would be happy to answer them.

How to Run Commute

By: Matt Setlack

This article is the second in a three part series regarding my experience with the run commute. The goal of this article is to provide guidance on how to start run commuting and to provide a few tips on how to keep up the momentum with run commuting.

The series will be comprised of the following three parts:

1. Part 1 - WHY do I Run Commute? (to view this previous article, please click here)
2. Part 2 - HOW to Run Commute (see below)
3. Part 3 - Common Run Commute Challenges and How to Overcome Them (future article)

MY BACKGROUND

I have been run commuting to and from work practically every weekday for the past three years. I run all year around in temperatures as cold as -45C with the windchill in the winter and as warm as +35C in the summer. From mid-October to mid-February I run to and from work in the pitch dark. My run commute is approximately 10 miles round trip.

Part 2 - HOW to Run Commute

The bottom line is that if you want to run commute, just go for it. There is no magic formula or secret method to achieve success with the run commute BUT the tips and advice that I am about to offer in this article will likely make your journey a little smoother.

A Day in the Life:

I always wake up at the very same time every morning. From the time I get up to the time I’m heading out the door, it is 35 minutes max. Sometimes I even set a second watch alarm 5 minutes before departure to ensure I will be on time. If it’s really cold outside, I like to have a warm cup of cocoa in the morning and put on a massive red North Face Himalayan parka (the ones people wear up Denali and Everest) and down slippers/booties around the house as I get ready – these things help warm up the core. Emily and I are quite "energy conscientious" and like to keep the temperature overnight cool. My run commute typically take 35-40 minutes each way. If I’m running through a foot of snow and snow drifts up to my knees, then it takes about 50-55 minutes each way. However, the city of Cold Lake and the 4 Wing Cold Lake Snow and Ice Clearing Team are phenomenal at clearing the Millennium Path quickly and efficiently. It’s the perfect setup; I couldn’t ask for anything better.

ROUTINE

Routine is incredibly important for me. Getting into a routine makes run commuting A LOT easier. It is much more challenging to run commute (or even train consistently) when your schedule is all over the place (i.e. during vacations, courses, etc).

Breaking the Old Routine and Setting a New Routine – This is one of the first obstacles that you will have to overcome if you would like to run commute. Getting into run commuting can be challenging at first but once you get used to the new routine, it will feel natural to you and you won’t even think about it anymore. Friends often ask me if I ever think about not run commuting and the answer is: when I first started I considered it but now that I have run commuted so much, I don’t even think about it; it’s just what I do now. There’s not even a moment of indecisiveness.

Waking Up a Bit Earlier – To deal with this, I started going to bed at a fixed time every night like 10:00 or 10:30 pm so I wouldn’t be tired in the morning. Every morning (even weekends), my alarm goes off at the same time. I have done it so many times now that I tend to wake up at the same time every morning even without an alarm.

Going to Bed Late – If you stay up until 2 am and expect to wake up at 6 am to start the run commute, chances are you will be too tired to run commute and will fall back to your old ways of driving a vehicle to work.

Be Prepared – This is a big one. Physically lay out you running clothes next to your bed the night before so you will see them first thing in the morning. Jump out of bed and straight into your running clothes. Some people prepare their lunch the night before but I like to prepare it in the morning so that the vegetables are freshly sliced.

CONSISTENCY

If you want to be successful with the run commute, I personally find that it’s much easier to just do it every day rather than starting then stopping then starting again. Remember Newton’s First Law, an object at rest tends to stay at rest and vice versa. 

However, if you are brand new to run commuting, consider the following options:

1. I would strongly recommend that you start with bicycle commuting in the summer. It is faster, easier, and you can even wear your work clothes if you like as you probably won't break a sweat. Once you get comfortable bicycle commuting, then you could gradually transition into run commuting.
2. If you decide to jump right into run commuting, then consider asking a friend/co-worker to drive you to work Monday morning with all your heavy work clothes in a bag and you wearing your running clothes. You can then run home Monday afternoon and to/from work every day. At the end of the week, ask your friend to pick you up on Friday afternoon.
3. Consider alternating run commuting days with drive commuting days. That way you only need to run commute two or three times per week.

WHAT TO WEAR

Thermoregulation - This is a big one. The weather in Cold Lake is constantly changing. It is not unusual for the temperature to be -10C in the morning and +10C in the afternoon. To deal with this, I check the Environment Canada website every morning (and evening) before I start running and dress accordingly. I always use the same website so it is consistent as different weather websites show different temperatures. Generally, I account for headwinds and tailwinds (wind chill factor can make a big difference in the winter).

Good Quality Running Clothing – If you buy quality running clothing once, you will have it for years; it is also good for the environment. Ronhill and Running Room make fantastic running clothes for running all year around.  Stay away from cotton! A few years ago, I did a complete cleaning of the house and I put all of my cotton clothing in a box and donated it to the Bee Hive Thrift Shop and Orbiting Trends second hand store. I NEVER wear cotton socks (that is asking for blisters) or any type of cotton clothing.

WHAT TO CARRY

Carry as Little as Possible - I pack my Ronhill Commuter Xero 10L + 5L Vest running backpack in the morning and ensure it is as light as possible. The only thing I bring in it is my lunch for that day and a spare change of underwear and socks, identification, and an extra tuque and mitts. Depending on what the weather is like, I will bring a spare t-shirt or long sleeve shirt in case the weather warms up/cools off.

WORK CLOTHES

Leave Work Clothes at Work – This is another big one. Only bring your work clothes (not your footwear) home when the clothes need to be washed. You can even bring a few sets of work clothes to work at the start of the week. Lugging your work clothes and heavy steel toed work boots (aka: leg weights) to and from work every day will make you very discouraged very quickly. You are unnecessarily burdening yourself by carrying extra weight. Don’t punish yourself by doing this. Be as lightweight as possible. Light is Right!

Dry Your Running Clothes at Work – This is not essential because you could always bring a spare change of running clothes in your bag but it is really nice to have as you don’t have to carry unnecessary weight.

I hope you have found these guidelines for run commuting helpful. Run commuting is a very enjoyable activity. The hardest part is getting started and getting into a good routine. Once you have done that, then it becomes easier and easier every day. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Stay tuned for Part 3 – Common Run Commute Challenges

What it Feels like to Run in -30C

By: Matt Setlack

I ran to work this morning as I usually do, and today the outside temperature was -30C (-22F) without the wind chill. Earlier this winter I ran in -45C (-49F) so this wasn’t my first rodeo :) I run outside in all sorts of “extreme” weather in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada because I know that if I only ran when it was not cold, not dark, not snowy, etc, then I would probably do all my training runs on a treadmill. There is generally snow on the ground in Cold Lake from mid-October to end-April (depending on the year) and a couple years ago, I even saw ice still on Cold Lake in June! I’m not a Polar Scientist but I have run many hundreds of days to and from work in Cold Lake and these are my personal observations of what it’s like.

How Dangerous is Cold Weather?

Some people (even many Canadians) don’t have a genuine appreciation for what it really means to be cold and how dangerous cold weather can be. I do not find this unusual because maybe they simply have not had the “luxury” of spending time in cold environments. Obviously, if you lived in Australia or Saudi Arabia, you would never have the opportunity to experience -40C (-40F), just like I have never experienced +40C (+104F) while living in northern Alberta.

Let me explain how dangerous cold weather can actually be since seeing a temperature on a screen does not really do it justice. If you were driving from Cold Lake to Edmonton when the temperature was -40C (-40F), for example, and your car broke down, you didn’t have a warm jacket and no shelter, you would die. Period. It’s not even a question of “if” you would die, but a question of “how soon” you would die. Trying to survive in those conditions would be like being dropped into the middle of the ocean without a life jacket or life raft...there's no question what would happen to you eventually. You really need to respect the conditions and dress appropriately.

What Does Running in -30C (-22F) Feel Like?

The air feels crisp and fresh. There is a stillness in the air.

When you look out the window in the morning, you notice that there is the white furnace exhaust coming out of all the house chimneys. It billows out and lingers in the air. When you first leave the house, it feels like you just jumped into a deep freezer. It usually feels a bit cool at first, which is a good thing because if you felt warm to start, then you would be a sweaty mess (and possibly a hypothermic popsicle) by the time you got to work. Once you start running, the relative airflow over your body cools you down a bit more. According to the Environment Canada Wind Chill Calculator found here, running 12kph in still -30C (-22F) air makes the temperature to feel like it's around -40C (-40F). 

After a few minutes, the soles of your running shoes freeze solid like the consistency of hard leather and the sound of your running soles hitting the pavement is as if you are wearing leather dress shoes or mountaineering boots (“click, clock, click, clock”).

When it’s really cold (like -35C (-31F) and colder), many materials (like a nylon jacket or backpack) freeze and they develop the consistency of tissue paper; they are no longer soft like a fabric but instead crinkly like paper. The sound of snow crunching under your running shoes makes a different noise when it’s really cold outside; the snow actually squeaks under your feet like Styrofoam.

Any exposed skin freezes within minutes. The only exposed skin when I run is around my upper face/eyes. When you’re running outside in these temperatures for long enough, any exposed skin eventually starts to feel like you’re being given a thousand flu shot needles into your face at the very same time or like you’re being stung by a thousand bees simultaneously. Your only saving grace is the fact that the warm air coming from your lungs rises and passes over your upper face, which warms it slightly.

This moisture also freezes on your eye lashes and eye brows – I’m sure you have seen the white frosty look that many runners get (see photo below). Eventually, the frost builds up around your face and eyes so much that it starts to restrict your vision if it is not cleared off. When you wear a fabric facemask like a buff, the cold air outside is usually warmed before it goes into your lungs BUT when it’s super cold (like -40C (-40F) cold), the air doesn’t warm up that much and it feels like you’re breathing in cold air no matter how hard/frequent you push the hot air out of your lungs.

Ironically, it is more common for me to make the mistake of dressing too warm for the conditions than too cold for the conditions. When you’re running in these conditions, it is really really important to stay dry (dry from snow from running through snow drifts and also dry from not sweating). If you get wet, the moisture freezes and really drags your body temperature down. As long as you keep moving, you will stay warm but as soon as you stop (like for traffic lights), then you really cool down quickly.

The cold also affects your joints; it makes them seize up and sometimes it can be a bit of a struggle just to move them. I notice this first in the joint where my thumb connects to my hand (that’s the area exposed to the relative wind and also relatively far from the heart. The fact that you’re running forward (versus standing still) means that the airflow over your body cools you down a bit more.

Mentally, the cold has an insidious effect; it makes your mind weak and saps your willpower. You need to deliberately force yourself to keep moving. Eventually, if you’re out in the cold long enough and you get cold enough, your body/mind just wants to lay down and go to sleep, which unfortunately would result in freezing to death from hypothermia.

Cold weather can be a challenge to run in but it is not impossible if you dress appropriately. I hope this short article has given you an appreciation for some of the challenges that a runner faces when running in cold temperatures. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.