The 10 Commandments of Writing About Winter Running
When the weather gets cold, we go out—and the mainstream media is there to report on us, with these entertaining (and, um, all too true) clichés.
As runners, we may dread the winter, but we still venture outside and confront the snow and the cold every day. That's just what we do.
Subjecting ourselves to awful conditions in the name of The Run is so normal, in fact, that we often forget the average non-runner may not quite get it. Rather than accept our behavior at face value, they generalize us, misunderstand us, and judge us. Just open a local newspaper (or, really, click into its site), and you'll surely spot these 10 clichés used to write about winter running. (Some of them, we have to admit, are all too true.)
Thou shalt define cold-weather runners as “hardcore.”
“When the chill hit the air this past week, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources canceled hikes scheduled for New Year's Day at 27 state parks. Meanwhile, hardcore runners in the region welcomed the challenge. In Davenport, about 25 members of the Cornbelt Running Club layered themselves in moisture-wicking (non-cotton) apparel and gathered for their annual New Year's Day outing.”
—Strategies for running in the cold: 'A little game you play with yourself,' Quad-City Times, January 5, 2018
Thou shalt praise race cancellations.
“But again, the end of 2017/beginning of 2018 has started off a bit different in terms of extremely cold weather. As a result, the club postponed the race, which is the second race in their Winter Series, to Jan. 14… This was a very wise decision, especially when considering the impact on the volunteers, who feel the brunt of the extremely cold weather. And it led me to think about sharing some basic cold-weather running tips, most of which are common sense.”
—Use common sense when running in cold; 'Recover' run canceled, Poughkeepsie Journal, January 3, 2018
Thou shalt teach runners to recognize frostbite.
“Your skin will begin to feel warm, tingly and turn red. However, with a further drop in temperature, the blood vessels begin to close up again. If the skin is allowed to freeze, it will be white in appearance and feel hard to the touch. If frostbite is suspected, get indoors immediately and seek medical attention if necessary. Cold weather can create other problems such as hypothermia (below normal body temperature), slippery footing and influenza.”
—The Running Doctor — In the cold weather, stay warm, Fairfield Citizen, January 8, 2018
Thou shalt find a man running shirtless.
“Recently, Toronto experienced frigid temperatures under an extreme cold weather warning, which didn’t prevent Sam Litvin from running outdoors, in split shorts, a toque, gloves and without upper body layers.”
—VIDEO: Toronto man runs shirtless in extreme cold, Canadian Running, January 7, 2018
Thou shalt express amazement at the clothes they do wear.
“Some wear expensive spandex, while others run in full winter jackets. Bearded runners become adorned with icicles making them look like human Popsicles. What is it that drives these perfectly sane individuals to swaddle themselves in spandex and warming layers in order to keep running through the harshest elements? To a non-runner, it can seem perplexing. Watching a runner zip by with frozen snot and chapped cheeks, radiating steam, looks awful.”
—Chicago runners undeterred by record lows, The DePaulia, January 8, 2018
Thou shalt marvel at professional athletes performing their jobs.
“Jay Ajayi may have played in the Florida sun for two-and-a-half seasons, but the Philadelphia Eagles No. 1 running back is a cold weather back at heart. Ajayi learned how to run in the cold during his four years at Boise State University, where the average high reaches 47 degrees in November...including 38 degrees in January. When the temperature started to freeze in Boise, Ajayi heated up...rushing over 100 yards in three of his last five college games at home in November/December (113 carries, 650 yards, 5.75 yards per carry).”
—Jay Ajayi has proven he's a cold weather running back, 247Sports, January 4, 2018
Thou shalt assume runners are lying when they say they’re not cold.
“In interviews with runners on the coldest morning of the winter so far, all insisted that they were not, in fact, cold. Some even seemed chipper, and despite insistent skepticism, indicated they were glad to be outdoors. Common among them, other than a malfunctioning limbic system, was an embrace of the simple adage that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”
—Who’s afraid of freezing? For diehard runners, it’s never too cold to get outside., Press Herald, December 30, 2017
At a winter race, thou shalt interview a runner who comes from somewhere even colder.
“‘I think we are in the negative tens right now, and everyone is talking about how it is colder than Antarctica in the midwest right now, so this feels pretty good, and I think the more runners you talk to, this is kind of perfect running weather, as long as the rain stays away,’ said [Chicago resident Kate] Browne.”
—Disney World marathon participants prepare selves for cold weather, Spectrum News 13, January 3, 2018
Thou shalt refer to all cold-weather runners as brave.
“When the rest of us are bundled up like Eskimos, just getting from the car to the building, there are some brave souls out there who are still running even in the bitter cold.”
—Runners Battle Cold Weather In Epic Finale 5K, CBS WABI 5, December 31, 2017
Thou shalt assume these brave, die-hard souls are also insane.
“From the comfort of my tiny exercise room, running on my Zero impact trainer, I say they are all crazy.”
—Frigid weather didn't stop 987 runners on New Year's Day, Daily Record, January 7, 2018
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