I’ve had big dogs start to chase me such as a couple of rottweilers that tried to charge up a hill after me (but were very obedient to their owner who immediately yelled at them to heel.)

I’ve had shepherds chase me down a trail to the road to keep me away from their turf.

I’ve even had little ankle biters who thought they weighed about 20 times more than they actually did try to chase after me, although most of them were on leash and held firm by their owners. (One that did come out into the street was apparently named Gizmo and looked like one.)

Dogs and runners have a love/hate relationship (usually hate.) As a runner, we are invading their turf, putting their owners in danger, moving fast enough to look interesting and tasty, or just have some bright colors on that makes the dog think that we are a toy.

There are a lot of reasons for a dog to chase us, and for the most part they are valid reasons. Sometimes the dog just wants to play with us, or to come over and say hi, and sometimes the dog wants to hunt and maim us.

I have had mostly good luck following the steps below.

I will also be the first to admit that I have also been bitten before. I have not been bitten very many times, and I plan on continuing to follow these steps as being the least intrusive to my run, the least danger to both myself and to the dog, and from my own experience has the highest success rate.

What to do when a dog chases you:

1. Stare down at the dog before he really starts making his move, even if you have to slow down and/or walk backwards.
2. Make an effort to move away from his turf or his owner so that he doesn’t feel as threatened while you are asserting your dominance, which is what you are doing in step number 1. Move slowly; you want to discourage the dog from chasing you, and not give it a new game.
3. Talk to the dog and try to calm it down. I will usually say, “Good puppy” or something like that in a soothing voice to try to calm the dog down and show that I am not a threat. It probably helps that I have a deep voice.
4. If he makes a break for you, stop and bring your hands, arms and legs in towards your body. If you are a man, put your hands in front of your crotch so that the dog can not bite you there. You want your body to be in a straight line so that there is nothing hanging off of you for the dog to attack and grab hold of. Many dogs are just friendly want to play with you or check you out; I don’t assume that the dog going to bite me until it does, but I also do not want to make it easier for the dog to injure me.
5. Start moving away or continue your run depending upon whether the dog just wants to sniff you or is being playful or is still threatening to bite. Unless you were bit, do not move too fast until there is some distance between you and the dog. You can probably out run a dog over the long haul, but in a sprint you are all too likely to lose.
6. If you are running at night or otherwise have one available, shine a bright light into the dog’s eyes. Your headlamp may disorient it enough to lose interest or to not notice that you are backing away from its turf until you are far enough that it doesn’t care anymore.
7. If you are bit by the dog, kick it in the head. If you can, try to kick it below its muzzle on its chin as that will cause the most pain while being the least likely to permanently injure the dog. The goal is to give it one good lick that will teach it not to bite runners in the future and hopefully confusing or hurting it enough to leave you alone in the present. Get away from the dog, and call the game warden or your local sheriff at the first possible convenience.

When I am confronted by a dog, I do not want to hurt it. If I am attacked, though, I will do what I have to in order to protect myself.

It is not the dog’s fault if it attacks you; it is the dog’s owner’s fault. A dog should not be let to run loose in a settled area without supervision; in many places that is illegal.

If a dog chases you off of its property, then you should call the sheriff or game warden even if it does not bite you.

The owner will probably get upset with you no matter what happens, but if they have been served a warning to keep their dog under control then there is a slim chance that they might actually put it on a leash or stand outside with it to keep it under control.

This will make the dog less likely to hurt a runner or a passing child or anybody else, and it will also protect the dog from getting hurt by traffic.

If you are bit by a dog, and it breaks your skin, then you should probably go to the emergency room and make sure that you are up to date on any vaccinations and shots that you might need, as well as to patch up any tears that you can not treat yourself at home.

Rabies is not the only thing that you would need to worry about, and in fact is probably unlikely, but the treatment right after you are bit is much less painful than the treatment that you would get if you gave yourself time to succumb to the infection.

What others do when a dog chases you:

My method is not the only way of dealing with dogs, and it may not even be the best method. Here are some other methods that people I know have tried to varying degrees of success:

1. Run away as fast as possible. I am not a fan of this method, as it only encourages the dog to chase you. If you have enough of a lead, then you might be able to get far enough away that it will give up and go home, but I do not really trust my sprinting abilities that much.
2. Carry mace or pepper spray. Mace or pepper spray can be useful not only against dogs but also against two-legged assailants. I do not like carrying anything more on a run then I have to, though, and 99% of the time I do not get chased. Another problem that weapons pose are that they can be used against you, and are really only useful if you want to hurt something. I prefer not to hurt the dog until it has definitively shown me that I am in danger.
3. Throw an imaginary rock. I have never tried this, but I have heard a few people use this method. Maintain eye contact with the dog and reach down to the ground for a rock, even if there isn’t one there. Stand up, cock your arm, and make a throwing motion at the dog. Supposedly, this will usually scare the dog away. If it doesn’t, though, then you are only teaching the dog that he doesn’t have to be afraid of you, and may encourage him to attack you. I have never tried this, though.
4. Yell, clap your hands, and stomp your feet. While I have on occasion yelled to make a noise and startle the dog, I have had less success compared to trying to use a soothing voice. The problem with clapping your hands or stomping your feet is that it provides a target for the animal and might encourage it to jump on you if it isn’t startled away.

My dog history

I have been chased by numerous dogs before. Sometimes, the dog will want to run with me, and even had one keep up for about 9 or 10 miles. I had to drive it home, since there was a river and a few bridges in between the end of our run and the dog’s home.

Usually, the dog is only trying to protect its home or its owner, and is satisfied when I leave them both in peace and move away. My run might slow down for the 20 seconds it takes to pass a driveway, but otherwise we both manage to get along just fine.

Now and again, a dog will really want to play and be friendly, but it is hard to tell the difference sometimes between a dog tearing after you to play and dog chasing you to hunt. I have also been bitten by a dog before when it wanted to play, and it obviously was not trying to hurt me so I just let it be. He was just overly excited and his owner had slipped on the ice and lost control of him.

And a couple of times, I have been bit. When I lived in Connecticut, there was a dog that chased me any time that it was outside when I ran by. I was in my teens and it had not yet occurred to me that I could call the game warden to control the animal. After it had chased me perhaps 8 or 9 times, it managed to catch up to me once before I was far enough away from its house for it to lose interest, and it bit my leg. That was the first time (of only twice) that I have felt a need to kick the dog. It yelped and ran away, and it never bothered me again.

The second time I was attacked by a dog and felt a need to kick it, the dog bit at my hip through my winter running clothes and clawed at my legs. Thankfully, I had full length pants on. The owner threatened to call the police on me when I had the gall to kick his dog when the dog ran out of his yard, ran across the street, and attacked me. I told him to go ahead and kept moving, and then called the police a few minutes later when I got home.

That guy gave me the evil eye every time I ran by and he was outside after that, but he always grabbed his dog when he saw me coming. Unfortunately, I think he only controlled the dog when he saw me coming, because about a year and a half later the dog had to be put down when it attacked a kid on a bicycle. It was not the dog’s fault, but I guarantee that the dog’s owner still has not taken responsibility for what happened.

That was a lone occurrence, though, and the vast majority of my interactions with dogs while I have been running have been friendly or at least brief and uneventful. Most domesticated dogs will not attack you, especially if you do not give them a reason to.

Have you ever been chased or attacked by a dog? What have you done to protect yourself, and how effective was it? Do you have any good tips that I can add to my list above?

(Photos by Carmen, James Charron and Lance McCord)

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When I was in middle school, my brother got rear-ended while he was waiting to turn into our driveway after school. After being forced into the other lane, he was side-swiped by a dump truck. The only seat left in his vehicle was the driver’s seat.

Had anybody else been in the car they would have probably been killed. My brother was out of the hospital that night, and the next day he was the high scorer in the basketball game.

That was the first day all year that I did not get a ride home from school from my brother.

One year later to the day, I was out running near the school. I came out of a parking lot, turned onto the road, and began running along the shoulder while I waited for a utility van to pass me so that I could cross the street.

As the van passed me, I looked up the road and saw that it was all clear. I could see about a quarter mile until the road turned, and there was no traffic except for the van that was passing me. After it had gone by, I ran behind the van and started to cross to the other side.

In the time that it took for the van to cut off my vision of the road ahead and for me to run behind it, a woman had come around the turn and was speeding past the school towards me. I heard her slam on her breaks and as I looked up I knew exactly how a deer must feel when it looks into the headlight.

I distinctly remember thinking, “Oh s**t, I’m about to be hit by a car.”

That thought was immediately followed by, “That’s probably not a good idea. I should try to get out of the way.”

Those were my exact thoughts in the 2 or 3 seconds that I had before the car hit. I jumped for the snow banks in an effort to not get hit, and I almost made it.

The car was going much faster than I was, though, and it weighed a whole lot more than I did. I was lucky in that I only caught my ankle on the bumper and got tumbled into the snow; the accident could have been a lot worse.

The woman that hit me was speeding, but it was not her fault that I got hit. I was not paying enough attention, and I made a stupid assumption about the road that I was on that came back to bite me.

In a way, though, I am glad that both that woman and I were idiots that day. I got hit by a car in a way that scared the hell out of me without causing me any permanent damage. I was running again in about a week.

There are very few situations where a runner is going to win any sort of conflict with an automobile. Those few situations tend to be less than legal and rarely involve the automobile being in motion. I may be a little paranoid, but I have assumed in almost every one of the 20,000+ miles that I have run since then that there was a car coming that might hit me.

What would happen to you and your family if a car hit you on your next run? When I got hit, I was not carrying any sort of identification with me. If I had hit my head and was unconscious, there was nobody running with me that could have told the paramedics who I was or who to contact about my care.

Whenever I run now, I try to follow a few simple rules.

1. Run facing traffic unless there is a local law stating that you shouldn’t.
2. Make yourself visible. Bright clothing, reflective gear, and flashing lights or headlamps are all tools that you can wear depending upon the conditions.
3. Make yourself predictable. Do not weave into and out of the road and try to run as straight as possible.
4. Keep your eyes up ahead of you and make sure that you are aware of both oncoming traffic and any traffic that might be coming off of side roads or driveways.
5. Make eye contact with drivers who are stopped. If they won’t look at you, then point at them until they do. You want to make sure that a driver knows that you are there before that driver pulls into you. I’ve found that when running on a sidewalk, you’re even more invisible to cars pulling out of driveways or cross streets than if you are in the shoulder of the road.
6. Try to always carry some sort of identification with you when you run, although I’ll admit I’ve not done a great job at this for the past year or so.
7. Write emergency contact info onto the bib when you race using a pen or marker. If there is a space on the back for it then fill it in there, otherwise just include an “ICOE” (in case of emergency) phone number on the front.

I recommend that you think about your own safety and that you try to be aware of your surroundings when you are running. I also recommend that you always carry some sort of identification with you in case the worst should happen.

Run safe.

How to Avoid Getting Hit By A Car is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

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I managed to run a bit over 5 miles this morning and a bit under 8 miles this evening, for today’s 13 miles. I really didn’t want to go out running after getting home (late) from work, but it was a good run while I was out there and obviously there was no real question about whether I’d go outside or not.

When I got back, I decided to show what I wear on these evening trail runs in the cold. Rather than just offering advice about what’s available (in last week’s articles) I show specifically what I am using.

Tonight, I ran with:

• Petzel Headlamp
• Planet Bike Taillight
• Nike Jacket (w/a very noticable and obnoxious color)
• Two Running Shirts – a short sleeve and a long sleeve
• Race Ready Running Shorts
• Dryline Running Tights
• Inov-8 Roclite 315s (with sheet metal screws)
• Wright Socks
• Zensah Leg Sleeves

Here are today’s numbers:

Miles Projected: 13 Miles (91 Miles Total)
Miles Run: 5.26 & 7.85 Miles for 13.11 Today (98.7 Miles Total)
Duration: 47:31 & 1:03:40 for 1:51:11 Today (17:52:52 Total)
Net Weight Change: -1 Pound (+½ Pound Total)

Day #13 – What to Wear on the Winter Trails is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

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Running through snow can be similar to running through loose sand, making it difficult to get a solid foot plant and causing you to slip and slide if there is any sort of incline or decline.

Running on ice can be slick, and if you aren’t careful you can slip and fall and hurt yourself. It’s even worse if you slip on ice on a road, where you’ll always have a hard landing and traffic is never far away due to a lack of a shoulder from all of the snow piled at the edge of the road.

So how do you keep yourself upright without impacting your running gait, which can lead to it’s own injuries?

There are two basic concerns.

Running Form

The first thing you should concentrate on is your running form. Learning to run with good form is especially helpful when running in slick conditions because it will allow you to keep your balance and some semblance of control without too much effort.

First, keep your feet under your center of balance. If your feet are hitting the ground way in front of your body then you won’t be able to recover your balance if you slide at all and you’ll slip onto your butt.

If your feet are landing off to your side, then they’ll slip right out from under you and you’ll land on your hip or stomach when you slide.

If your feet land directly beneath your body, then all of the force is concentrated down towards the ground and not out to any angle, which will allow you to stay on your feet and keep moving.

Next, try to strike the ground with your feet in as neutral of a position as possible. If you are a heel striker, this is going to be especially difficult. When only a portion of your foot hits the ground, then everything is concentrated into a small surface area which means that if you hit a slick spot then you’ll slide. If you are using a larger surface area under your feet, then you are more likely to find some sort of purchase and will be able to maintain your balance.

Shoe Accessories

As I mentioned in last week’s tip on winter running apparel for your feet, “improving” your shoes to give you a better grip in icy conditions can also make a big difference.

Using a product such as Yak Trax in snowy conditions or Stabilicers in icy conditions can improve your footing, but they are expensive, bulky, can break or fall off while you are using them, and can negatively impact your running gait.

My preferred method of adding traction to my shoes is to create screw shoes, by drilling sheet metal screws into the soles of the shoes. They are cheap, effective, and don’t impact your running form, although I’m discovering with all of this trail running that I’m doing that they don’t last very long.

This Week’s Contest

That leads us to this week’s contest. I’ve recently discovered a new product called IceSpike, which are like sheet metal screws on steroids.

ICESPIKE™ is a simple, effective and lightweight solution to inadequate traction devices. ICESPIKE™ ends frustration with clumsy and cumbersome strap-on attachments. ICESPIKE™ ice spikes are easily installed on the sole of any shoe or boot. Each ice spike provides outstanding traction and is unsurpassed in hardness and durability. The ICESPIKE™ system includes thirty-two patented ice spikes and one precision ICESPIKE™ tool for installation. ICESPIKE™ is a semi-permanent non-slip grip shoe system that can’t fall off, break, get lost or left behind. Outfitted with ICESPIKE™, any footwear can be winterized into ice safety shoes or ice safety boots. Don’t be discouraged by winter ice and snow – with ICESPIKE™ you are always ready and able to navigate any conditions with confidence.

I haven’t tried them yet, but from what I have read, IceSpikes should last longer than screws and are more effective at cutting into the ice as you run, giving you an even better grip. A set of spikes should last around 500 miles, they clean themselves of loose snow automatically, and they are less likely to fall out than screws are.

IceSpikes come with a hand tool for putting them into your shoe and 32 spikes and retails for $24.99. You can get replacement bags of spikes for $14.99.

The folks at IceSpike were generous enough to sponsor this week’s contest, and are offering a set of IceSpikes to each of the 2 winners this week.

If you’d like to give IceSpikes a try, just leave a comment below. I will randomly choose 2 people next week as winners. Good luck!

How to Run in Slippery Conditions (Plus This Week’s Contest) is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

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If you are going to be running with traffic, then you are going to want to wear clothes that reflect vehicle headlights back at the drivers. There are a lot of good options for wearing things that are reflective.

Look for shirts and running jackets in bright fluorescent colors that have reflective strips on them. They are usually very visible, especially if you choose an obnoxious color such as fluorescent yellow. I have a bright jacket that I will even wear in the middle of the day when it’s foggy out or snowing.

As much as you can wear that is reflective, the better. These days, many pairs of running tights and pants have reflective designs that can add a little extra visibility to your body as you run.

Don’t settle just for reflective pants as your sole method of being seen, though. If a car is coming at you, the driver probably will not see your lower body no matter how reflective it is because they aren’t going to be looking towards the road surface. Concentrate on having a reflective head and torso, which are more likely to be at eye level for somebody in a car.

Another option is to wear lights. Flashing lights are the best for drawing attention to yourself and being seen, while solid lights will allow you to see where you are going while providing a little extra visibility in the dark to anybody coming towards you.

Some hats will come with lights built into the brim or the back where you can adjust the size, but in my experience they aren’t really bright enough to provide much use. A cheap and simple solution that I have found is to look for a tail light for a bicycle that can be clipped to your pants or an arm band.

When you are running in the dark, you are definitely going to want to get a headlamp. You can get a cheap headlamp at your local appliance store that will probably work well enough for running on streets, especially if there are a lot of houselights or street lights along your route. If you are going to run on trails or in areas where there is no ambient light, then you will probably want to spend a little more money on a good headlamp that was designed for running.

Depending upon conditions, you may want to vary where you place the headlamp. If it is clear out, then wearing it on your forehead and having it angled to hit the road 5 to 10 feet in front of you will usually be sufficient.

If it is foggy, raining or snowing, however, you may find that the light reflects off of the water droplets and actually makes it more difficult to see. In those cases, you can try dimming your light or wearing it in a different part of your body, such as around your chest or your waist. You can just stretch out the head band, or if it is too short then you can purchase a tri-belt that you can attach the light to. For the best visibility, wear 2 headlamps, one at your waist and one on your head.

Whenever I am running on the roads and there is enough light to see but not really enough to be seen, I will usually set my headlamp to blink rather than to just illuminate my path. That is very visible to traffic and will draw attention to you, making it less likely that you’ll be hit. The driver may not know what you are but he will know that you are there. That’s the important thing.

The last piece I’d suggest picking up is a reflective vest. It’s a handy tool to have on hand because it can be thrown over anything that you are wearing no matter what time of year. I usually keep one in my gym bag year round even though most of my clothes are reflective just in case I pack the wrong clothes or need to take a quick hike and don’t want to change outfits.

Never See The Sun? Then Learn to Be Visible in the Dark is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

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There are three basic considerations in the Winter regarding your feet:

1. Socks
2. Shoes
3. Attachments

Socks

Unless you are going for a short run on a relatively dry day, you don’t want to wear cotton socks. Cotton collects moisture and pools it all in one place rather than spreading it out over the surface of the fabric and wicking it away from your skin where it can evaporate. It is worth spending the extra money on a few good pairs of running socks, which will keep your feet warm, dry and blister free.

There is a surprising amount of variety available in running socks. Experiment with different cuts, breathability, fabrics, and thicknesses to find what works best for you in different conditions.

I’m a big fan of Thorlos Socks in colder weather as they are pretty thick and keep my feet warm while still being very breathable. If I’m planning on running through streams (or might break through some ice) then I will usually go with a pair of Wright Socks.

Shoes

My first suggestion when choosing a pair of shoes is always to visit a local specialty running store and have an expert help you choose. Gait analysis and years of experience are a great aid in finding that perfect pair.

Consider the types of conditions you’ll be running through. If you are going to be running through snow or brooks or in a lot of rain and puddles, then you are going to want lighter shoes that drain water pretty well. If you live in an arid area, then a heavier or more waterproof shoe might do a better job of keeping your feet warm so that they don’t go numb.

Will you be spending a lot of time on trails, or sticking mostly to roads? How technical are the trails, and are you going to want an aggressive tread on your shoes to be able to keep you from slipping on rocks and roots?

Find a pair of shoes that is comfortable for you and then see how they hold up. If they work out well then keep buying them, if they aren’t the right pair then don’t be afraid to look for a new style.

Personally, I like Inov-8 Roclite 315s when I am running trails, and Nike Zoom Katana for when I’m training on icy roads.

Attachments

If you are running in icy conditions you are going to want to have a good grip on the road.

Popular options for improving your grip in slippery conditions is to buy a product such as Stabilicers or Yak Trax and wear them on your feet around your shoes.

Yak Trax are a spikeless coil that wrap around the bottom of your feet and are good for traveling in loose snow. Stabilicers are plastic sheathes for the bottom of your shoes with cleats for biting into the ice as you run.

What I prefer to do, however, is to put sheet metal screws directly into the sole of my sneakers. Sheet metal screws are much lighter than both Stabilicers and Yak Trax, are much cheaper, and in my experience are a lot more effective. and it’s a lot more effective. They don’t come off of your feet as easily as either of the other products, they aren’t as likely to break as Yak Trax, and they don’t collect a layer of snow like the Stabilicers.

All three methods will give you a better grip against the road than what you’ll find that you have without them. If you ever run in icy conditions then it is worth investing in at least one of the solutions in order to keep your feet and find traction as you run.

Bonus Tip:

Take care of your skin.

Even though it’s the winter time, the sun can still be very bright and especially if you are running on snow or if you are doing any kind of lake running, the sun can be coming down at you from above and reflecting off of the ice or the snow into any exposed areas of your skin.

This can warm you up quite a bit, but it can also give you a good sunburn. Put sunscreen on if you are going to be running for any length of time during the day.

Your Feet Keep You Upright – Keep Them Warm and Securely Placed is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

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I am always start with just running shorts. They are comfortable, they provide enough protection in most circumstances, they can fit under most of my other options, and they conform to the local decency laws.

When it starts to get cold, the next step up are running pants. Look for pants that are tight enough to your legs that they don’t run against one another and against your legs excessively while you run, which can lead to chafing. One thing you might want to avoid is wearing cotton sweat pants because they’ll get heavy and wet from any precipitation or sweat that they soak up.

Ski pants or warm up pants are good for if you are at a race or track meet, where you want to go out and get a quick warm up in or you want to stay warm between your events. They are generally heavier than running pants and may be lined with multiple materials in order to keep you warm. Warm up pants are generally best for wearing between events or for short jogs, as long as you have somewhere you can take them off and leave them behind when it is time to go longer or run your race. If you are just going out for a long run, then invest in a good pair of running pants because these types will almost always get heavy and cause chafing from rubbing up against your skin as you run. Most of the ones that I have owned have also made a really annoying noise when you run, which I like to avoid.

For the really cold days, I recommend that you wear running tights. Running tights will give you more of a compression effect and will generally keep your legs a little bit warmer than pants will. Underneath of the tights you can either wear briefs or running shorts, or if it’s not super windy out then you could just go commando underneath. If you are going to experiment with that, though, stick to short runs because you don’t want to get chafing around those sensitive areas whether you are a man or a woman.

Running tights also come available in shorter lengths that only reach down to your knee or mid-calf, which can provide you a little protection from wind or the elements without causing you to overheat.

Compression socks or leg sleeves work from the opposite direction to keep your legs warm. They will generally only cover up to the top of your calves. I’ve found that when my compression socks get wet, they tend to keep an insulating layer of skin-warmed water between me and whatever elements I am running through which works out pretty well in above-freezing conditions.

When you reach those really cold conditions, you can easily mix and match to find what works best for you. Just remember that removing layers off of your legs is generally more difficult than removing a layer from your torso, so discover where your individual comfort levels are during your shorter runs so that you are better prepared for the longer ones.

Legs are Easy To Layer Up, But it’s Not So Easy to Remove Layers is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

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It’s very easy to remember how to keep your torso warm: it is all about layering up.

On the outside you want to have some kind of a windbreaker, whether it’s a full zip or some kind of a half zip that only goes down to your chest. The nice thing about the half zip’s and the full zip shirts are that you can regulate heat really well.

On the colder days when you first get out running and you haven’t warmed up yet, you can zip up all the way to protect your neck, not so much for this jacket, but you get it over your face or sometimes your nose as you are running and once you warm up you can let some of the heat out just by unzipping it.

On a warmer day that is still a bit cool, you may want to consider a vest instead of a jacket, which will protect your torso while keeping your arms from sweating.

Underneath of that you are going to want to wear at least one if not two shirts. I like to have a long sleeve and then a short sleeve underneath. That provides extra protection from the wind and also allows a warmed pocket of air to collect between each layer.

Another option that you might want to consider are arm sleeves, which are perfect for cool days where you might be a bit chilly early in a run with just a t-shirt but you know that once you warm up (or once the sun gets a bit higher) you will be too warm for long sleeves. Arm sleeves are also good for protecting you from the sun’s ultraviolet.

As you warm up, you can strip layers off, push up your sleeves, or unzip your jacket in order to keep your body temperature regulated. That way you don’t overheat, and if you hit a particularly windy stretch or the conditions change you have clothing you can then put back on.

I recommend against wearing cotton, and wearing more technical fabrics instead. The reason for that is because as you are running and you sweat, a cotton shirt will collect the moisture and get wet. The water then pools up on that spot, and the shirt is going to get heavy and may begin to freeze, which will lower your core temperature.

If you are wearing a technical shirt such as polypropelene and you get water on it, the water is just going to wick from your skin out and then once it gets on to the shirt it’s going to spread out along the fabric. This way it is not all concentrated on one spot, you will not get as cold, and the moisture will be more likely to evaporate away from your clothing.

In fact, if you have a good running shirt or jacket then the moisture will bead up and it will just run right off of the shirt, keeping both you and your clothing dry.

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Your hands are often the first part of your body to feel the cold as your body cuts off blood flow to your extremities in order to make sure your core temperature doesn’t dip too far, so I’m going to continue this series with some tips on what to wear in different conditions.

The easiest way to keep your hands warm is with a pair of gloves. As with all other winter running apparel, you can’t go too far wrong with gloves that wick moisture away from your skin to help keep them dry if you do start to sweat.

In cooler temperatures, a simple pair of polyester gloves will be fine and will allow you to operate your watch without taking them off. As it gets colder, you might want to consider wearing mittens or hybrid style gloves that allow your fingers to stay in contact with one another so that they can stay warmer. Just be sure that the fabric you choose is breathable.

When it really starts to get cold out, you may want to consider multiple pairs of gloves. I often wear a thin pair of polyester gloves with a larger pair or mittens over them. Once my hands warm up, I will take off the outer layer of gloves and put them in my pocket for later use.

In extremely cold conditions, you can use a hand warmer under a large pair of gloves to try to stay warm, but when it is that cold you have to ask yourself if it is worth being outside in the first place. Most hand warmers will last for around 2 hours and may or may not be reusable.

When racing in cool conditions, especially for a long race such as a marathon, you may need a pair of gloves while standing around on the starting line but won’t while you are running, especially after the first mile or two. If you have pockets in your racing uniform then it is an easy matter of taking the gloves off and stashing them once you warm up, but if you don’t have pockets and don’t want to try putting them in your waistband or under a hat, then you’ll be force to throw them to the side of the course or to a spectator during the race.

That’s fine if you don’t care about your gloves or think you can find them again, but a better solution in those circumstances are to just use an old pair of socks to keep your hands warm. You can wear the socks on the starting line and until your hands warm up during the race before discarding them. In large races, most discarded clothing items are collected from near the starting line and donated to a local shelter; if not, it is probably better to toss your old socks or gloves until you reach an aid station with a trash can.

If you wear loose jewelry such as a wedding band, you may want to consider leaving it behind when running in the cold, especially if you expect that you may have to remove your gloves at all during a run. If your hands are cold they’ll restrict, and already loose rings are apt to fall of your fingers. If you are lucky, you’ll notice it falling off and will be able to find it or catch it, but it’s easier to just not take the risk.

More to come tomorrow!

Extremities Need to Stay Warm Too – Especially Your Hands is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

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Over the next week I am going to offer tips on keeping various parts of your body warm while you are out running so that you’ll know what I know. I’ll also include some videos that I recorded last year for my newsletter subscribers.

Your head is potentially the greatest source of heat loss in your body, so here are some tips to start off with on what to wear in different conditions.

When it is relatively warm you don’t want to wear too much or you will sweat and become uncomfortable, but in cooler conditions it’s really important to keep your head warm.

The easiest thing to wear is to just have a ski cap, preferably in a fabric that can wick sweat away from your body. If you start to get too warm, you can always flip the edges up over your ears and then that will let off little bit of heat and cool you off pretty well.

If it isn’t all that cold out, you go either bare headed or with just a normal running hat which will keep the sun out of your eyes. Another option is to wear a head band which will keep your ears warm while still letting a little bit of heat escape through the top of your head.

For those really cold days you can wear a balaclava, which will cover not just your head but also your neck and, depending on how big it is, your shoulders. The nice thing about having a balaclava is that you can wear it over the back of your jacket so that if it’s snowing it will keep the snow from getting down your shirt. And you can also cover over your face and keep your face warm that way.

You can always run with a scarf as well, which is useful for keeping your neck warm or you can wrap it around your head for some extra warmth.

If you have some, it’s good to wear sunglasses as well. Not only will they protect you from the sun, but if it’s windy out it will keep your eyes from drying out or freezing shut.

More to follow tomorrow…

Staying Warm in the Winter…Starting With Your Head is an update from the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge - Please visit the site for extra content that may not appear here such as video updates.

Click here to support Camp Sunshine and the 1 More Mile for Sunshine Challenge...