What to wear for running in cold weather

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Alona Lashchenko

Sep 23,2021 | Useful info

What to wear for running in cold weather

It’s already the second half of autumn and it’s getting colder and colder outside. A lot of runday runners are wondering what to wear for running in cold weather.

The main goal of running cloth for autumn and winter period is to keep you dry and warm and the best way for this is to wear few thin synthetic layers of clothes. Few thin layers of special hi-tech materials are better than one thick layer(sweater, jacket etc). Don’t forget about reflective marks on your autumn/winter running clothes, because the sun rises later and sets earlier, this is very important for your safety.

The first layer. Has to be synthetic(polyester) and to take(bring?) the moisture out. Cotton isn’t right for this because it absorbs the moisture and becomes heavy and freezes quickly. It can be a tank-top, t0shirt or a long-sleeve according to the weather conditions.

The second layer. In the rainy weather it can be a wind stopper and when the temperature is under +10 C it will be fleece.

The third layer will be a wind-stopper in an intensely cold weather or heavy wind/rain.

The best cloth for your legs is tights, even thou the beginners are so scared of them 😉. They are much more comfortable for running than track pants and you can fell less shame if you try to wear running shorts over your tights.

If the temperature is below 0 you can add a second layer on your legs(e.g., fleece pants) or to buy some special warm tights for a winter running. Usually, they are windproof from the front and have an insulation from behind.
Also, the so-called “zero layer” (a special underwear), headband or hat and some light synthetic gloves will be quite useful. They will take(bring?) the moisture out and keep the heat.

Let’s summarize suggestions:

Top:

if the temperature is +10 – tank-top + fleece(or a wind-stopper if it’s raining or wind),
+5 – t-shirt + fleece (+a wind-stopper if it’s raining or wind),
0 – longsleve + fleece,
below 0 – longsleve + fleece + wind-stopper

Bottom:

in +10 – 15 – shorts or 3/4 tights
+5 – 10 – long or 3/4 довгіtights + shorts(optionally)
0 – long tights + shorts
below 0 – warm tights for winter running or tights + fleece track pants.

And here’s a very useful “calculator” to choose what to wear according to the weather conditions 😉.

Hope you’ve received the answer to your questions🙂 . Enjoy your autumn and winter runs!