Winter: The Spinach of Running Seasons

It’s 8 a.m. on a Sunday in the dead of winter. Your friends and family, naturally, lie nestled in their beds. In an hour or two they’ll wake, pour some coffee or freshly-squeezed orange juice and settle into the living room. Maybe even ponder a nice brunch with friends.

Then, there’s you, 10k into your long run, somehow both frozen and boiling, muttering a steady stream of f-bombs at an icy 30km/h headwind through a balaclava clearly designed for suffocation.

You run/stumble along a thin strip of black asphalt in the middle of a residential street, the only surface not entirely covered in snow or ice, or an expletive-inducing combination of both. Then, as a passing suv (probably filled with happy passengers on their way to a nice brunch) splashes bonechilling ice water on your tights, it dawns on you – I still have 23 kilometres to go.

Suff ice to say, running outdoors in Canada during winter can require a dose of grit and a dash of insanity, challenging one’s will to stick to their spring-race training plan that seemed much more achievable on paper. Yet it’s the commitment to perseverance, weekafter-week through the cold, wind and snow, that makes us stronger runners in body and in mind, signif icantly increasing our chances of achieving our goals, whether that’s a Boston PB or finishing one’s first 10k. As crappy as running through a foot (feet?) of snow can seem at the time, take solace in the fact that you’re burning more calories, building more muscle mass and improving your cardiovascular health as your heart pumps blood more efficiently throughout your body.

The benef its of r unning outdoors dur ing winter, of course, extend to overall health as well. Exposure to sunlight while running outdoors during the day in the winter months helps wards off Seasonal Affective Disorder, a.k.a. the “winter blues,” which can be crippling for many Canadians. Further, r u nning (a nd exerc i se i n gener a l) increases the production of endorphins: the feel-good chemical produced in your central nervous system that promotes alertness and well-being long after your run (and the reason why your sleepy family wonders why you’re so damn chipper after your early-morning run).

Whether you run for fun, compet it ion or bot h, we hope t his, our “Breakthrough” issue, inspires you to achieve your 2020 running goals on your terms. Who wouldn’t be inspired by Gabriela-DeBues St afford ’s blistering breakt hrough performances this past year on the global stage; she is our runaway choice for a Golden Shoe Award as Canada’s Runner of the Year (p.30). You may not be able to keep up with Gabriela, but we look at how a growing number of coached running prog rams, such as Mile2 Marat hon, are helping Canadian runners achieve their personal goals (p.38). And now that the cold weather is upon us, you’ll also want to check out the latest in r u nni ng wea r for your sub-zero training runs this year (or maybe a holiday gift for that special someone) in our 2020 winter apparel guide.

Here’s to a brea kt hrough 2020, Canadian runners.