Does anyone else run in shorts during winter?

Muttley

Trackies or tights for me, from about October through to April.

Because having grown up in balmy subtropical Cornwall, anything below 15 degrees is just too cold for my sedate rate of plod.

[Deleted User]

Gentlemen who run in shorts in cold weather would be advised to read the section on 'Running in Cold Weather' in Tim Noakes' The Lore of Running.

Or, just look up 'amputation' and 'frostbite' in the index.

Night Nurse

I sometimes wear shorts if I am racing in winter but NEVER for training, and you would get sent off the track by our coach on a track session if you turned up in shorts this time of year, its asking for trouble,cold muscles tear !!

[Deleted User]

shorts unless its driving rain or absolutely f*@!ing freezing. Then I revert to tracksters.

Never fully comfortable wearing tracksters either. Hard to explain, just feels a bit wrong (almost like wearing womens underwear :-) )

popsider

Until recently it was always shorts, I'd wear gloves, a woolly hat and a long sleeved top but always shorts - did wear some tracksters for the first time ever this year and didn't find them as bad as I expected though - must be getting old.

[Deleted User]

i always wear 3/4 length wicking capris come rain or shine to avoid what john bingham calls 'chub rub.'

[Deleted User]

Shorts unless I'm just out for a gentle jog and it's cold.

Dustin

Living in the South it never really gets cold enough to wear anything other than shorts. Boxing Day was even warm enough for short sleeves. Think it stems from my footballing days - you'd never rummage through the kit bag for a pair of leggings before a game.

I reckon I wear tracksters at the most once a year, and only if its very early and not likely to get above zero. That said it usually takes 2 or 3 miles to regret the fact.
However I do suffer from cold hands so I'm probably in gloves for 4 months of the year.

[Deleted User]

It's almost always shorts for me - I hate running with things on my legs.

Long sleeve top, gilet, gloves and shorts are all that I find I need in all but real extremes (i.e. well below freezing). Sometimes a bit chilly for the first mile, but I'm always glad I didn't overdress after that.

I suppose a track session is a bit different, but I just start off steadily and build the pace, so my muscles warm up gradually.

Dustin, just read your post - I'm almost identical to you. It's the hands that get me - if I don't wear gloves my whole arm seizes up - it was embarassing at club a few times, I couldn't get my top off for about 15 mins!

[Deleted User]

I don't think I've ever seen Thin Spouse or Teen A run in longs - but then they are speedy so are seldom out more than 30 mins

I think everyone finds cold hands much harder to tolerate than anything else?

PhilPub

We'll see how cold it gets but so far, just shorts for me. If it's a bit nippy I double up (snug shorts with normal shorts over the top) to keep me bits warms.

The gloves have come out and I think the hat will as well before anything else goes on my legs.

[Deleted User]

Always run in shorts, all weather all year round.

Like Phil I'll double up on really cold mornings, with running briefs under my shorts to keep bits from disappearing altogether.

Gloves for most winter runs, though they will often come off before the end of a run, and a hat if it's cold enough to see my breath when I step out of the house or car.

Greenicing

Always shorts with the same doubling up thing. My legs don't seem to feel the cold as bad and longs are too hot when running.

[Deleted User]

Only if haven't kept up to date with the laundry! Brrr!

[Deleted User]

"I think everyone finds cold hands much harder to tolerate than anything else?"

flr: I'll bear that in mind ;-)

I always run in my shorts - I think it's my age.

Greenicing

Perhaps those with butch hairy legs can tolerate the cold better?

[Deleted User]

Always shorts, don't even own leggings etc. And yes, very hairy legs but it would be a stretch of the imagnation to call them butch!

[Deleted User]

Flippin ek!

Couldn't imagine running along Brighton seafront wearing shorts in the winter....

Not so much for the temperature as the fear of being swept away by a rogue wave (i have been drenched more than a few times this winter) and cold wet legs just sounds too painful!!!

[Deleted User]

"I think everyone finds cold hands much harder to tolerate than anything else?"

cold hands I can manage - I dont have any running gloves.

when its really cold and windy - its cold ears that bother me most if im not wearing a woolly hat!

[Deleted User]

On the cold hands thing, doesn't it depend on whose hands they are?
;0)

[Deleted User]

that was my next thought, Haile.
Though I suppose if you've been running in shorts in sub-zero temperatures, you wouldn't notice anyay.

[Deleted User]

ok but what kind of shorts. Knee length trendy ones, tight lycra thigh ones or those skimpy ones made famous by Messrs Walker, Foster and Coe? Certain body shapes should avoid leggings at all costs.
L x

P Q

I always wear shorts. I love getting my pins out. Maybe I'm a bit of an exhibitionist coz I know men will stare at me more in my shorts ;-)

[Deleted User]

sorry, but 'knee length shorts' doesn't make sense - like 'american intelligence' it is a contradiction in terms
;0)

[Deleted User]

I always wear shorts - my legs must be hardened from 10 years of rugby training in all weathers!!!!

I change from a vest to a t-shirt in winter, and long sleeves if it's really cold. I also have to wear gloves if it's very cold.

I never wear anything on my head (even though I'm a baldie!!!), my head seems to sweat more than anything else!!!!

RichardJamesBurns

I wear shorts year round, It's not my legs that feel the cold, I find running tights too hot, too restrictive and just wrong for me, we runners have toned legs anyway, so they want showing off! Upper body, long sleeve top for winter, reflective, white, orange or yellow colour wise, thin gloves when it's really bitter, a waterproof, windproof jacket is fine in winter, must be breathable and slim/close fitting, you don't need it flapping about or acting as a sail for the wind! Again a thin baselayer underneath is fine in winter......hat? No, not for me, I would overheat in no time. I can add, it has to be really bitter for me to wear thin gloves, many times I've took them off and stuffed them in a pocket or if no pockets, either stuffed down the front of my shorts or carried them, that's why they need to be thin.

traceyjedison

But still leggings are better for running...

SCoombes2

> @traceyjedison said:
> But still leggings are better for running...

Not when it's hot. God knows how many overdressed runners I see out. Probably why some look so miserable