Is running in the cold bad for you?

At the moment in London we are suffering terribly cold weather with temperatures of -2 and at the time of writing this article Google news has just mentioned that there will be 40 cm of snow in the next few hours, so how do we keep jogging in this temperature safely?  Firstly, get yourself some very warm running gear, shorts and a t shirt is a definite no, with spitting snow and freezing winds no matter how tired you are and how hard you have run this is too much for the body unless you are Wim Hof.  Normal tracksuits and tracksuit tops are normally no good as they are designed to be breathable and light weight so don’t offer the insulation and you will get very cold.  Buy yourself some warm water proof clothing specifically designed for running outdoor in the cold, buy polar neck jumpers to insulate your neck and a warm hat and gloves.  Helly Hansen make some great outdoor exercise clothing, when I used to row on the thames at this time of year in the past I relied heavily on my Helly Hansen thermal to keep me warm as larger insulating clothes restricted my stroke, something you don’t want as a rower.

Warming up, as its colder you need to warm up longer don’t just sprint out the door full pace you will easily injure yourself.  Secondly don’t go running along way away from people, houses or shops, if you have an injury you could die being out in the cold for just a few hours without keeping yourself moving.  Just yesterday when out running I pushed myself very hard so wanted to walk after sprinting for a bit and I soon got very cold so luckily I found a shop doorway I could stand in to warm up for a minute or so before going out running again, if there wasn’t a shop doorway this run wouldn’t have been very enjoyable and I could easily have injured myself.

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