If, like me, you don’t own a treadmill and don’t have gym membership then you will at times be forced to run in some less than ideal conditions.  I am not talking about a slight wind or a bit of a drizzle – which can actually be quite pleasant when you have warmed up – no I am talking about the extremes of elements.  I have run in hail, torrential rain, hurricane winds, when it was -4°C, in the dark, across frosty paths… and that was just this fortnight!  I have also run through summer thunderstorms, in blistering heat, on ice, in thick mud, through suddenly descending fog like something out of a James Herbert novel and did I mention temperatures below freezing?

It is tempting to hibernate these cold months away and save outdoor running for spring when the weather is a bit kinder but I urge you not to, you see, because there is something primal and satisfying about facing the elements and running anyway.

A headwind might make you feel like you’re running in slow motion but it also connects you with nature in a way that you wouldn’t ordinarily do.  Getting drenched as you loop the park might not sound like fun but it does return you to a more childlike gleeful state back when jumping in puddles was fun and not something to be avoided.  The cold is harder for me to deal with, it occasionally makes my fingers and toes turn white and lose feeling… but I am also motivated to run faster to warm up and thus I have had some of my best times when wrapped top to bottom and trying to escape the chill.  (Additionally I like to see my breath as I exhale and may or may not pretend to be a steam train).  People forget that actually running in heat is the real worst of it.  Risk of dehydration, overheating, exhaustion are all more common in hot weather than in cold – so actually braving the crisp morning or getting wet are not the worst things to have ever happened.

Of course there is still the matter of getting that foot out the door motivation.  It is awfully hard to drag yourself away from a cosy bed to slog it around the block when there is frost on the ground or if it looks like it might rain.  Believe me.  But I also know whenever I am out (driving or cycling or running) regardless of the weather and/or time of day you still see runners out there, braving the elements – or rather, perhaps, embracing them.

Point of fact: last weekend when the whole of Southern England and Wales had moderate-to-severe weather warnings to indicate that there were extreme winds of up to 60 mph, on our 10 K run to Long Wittenham and back Andreas and I passed not one, not two but at least six other runners!  It is a strange and addictive bug, this ailment of running, but I wouldn’t change it!

That said, since the temperature is now above zero and the sun is out I’m off for a quick jog whilst it lasts!