Reason #5: Snow! So pretty and crunchy beneath my feet! It makes me want to bounce, but I usually manage to resist the urge of rolling around in it and making snow angels. In any case, I’d have to try really hard to get too hot while running in winter.
Reason #4: I use all my running gear. In the summer, I’d run in a sports bra and underpants if I could get away with it (sometimes, I do!). The shortest tops and shorts just keep being washed and worn over and over. Not so in winter. I’ve dug deep into my closet and uncovered all my running gear, which all gets worn in winter, usually in layers or twos and threes.
Reason #3: I try lots of new stuff in winter. In the summer, running outside is easy, when it’s possible to go almost anywhere, at any time. In winter, my usual routes are often no longer safe or sane to run, so I had to get a little creative. I’ve run before work, run at lunchtime, run at night, run on the roads, headed into town and have run on the pavement. I’ve visited the running track, have run while wearing hats and gloves and have experimented with the dreadmill. All of these things didn’t sound at all appealing at first, but really, how can I know what I like and what I don’t, what works for me and what doesn’t, if I don’t try it first? The change of routine is welcome and I’m discovering new things and am learning more about myself as a runner every day.
Reason #2: Badass feel factor increases exponentially when conditions and temperature decreases. Sure, it’s easy to put on the running shoes on a perfect summer evening, when the sun is kissing the horizon and a gentle summer breeze lays in wait to caress my exposed skin. But in winter, running straight into a hailstorm makes me feel so much cooler (in every way) than sitting on the couch and eating peanut butter with a spoon straight out of the jar.
Reason #1: And number one reason why running in winter is awesome? Chocolate! That’s right. Only in winter is it possible to eat chocolate while running. I use it for fuel on long runs or just because it’s a weekday that ends with the letter “y”. Seriously, it doesn’t get more awesome than this!
Girl Runs Wild 
Haha I love #2! It doesn’t get too crazy cold in San Francisco, it’s mostly just rainy in the winter, but it’s the runners that will still brave to be outside!
Indeed! I really do find that putting on my trainers is often the hardest part of my workout. Once I’m out, I always love it!
So true about winter chocolate…it just doesn’t work in the summer unless you like a melted gloopy mess! Also I’m the same in winter: wear all the clothes! Layers rule my life 🙂
Yeah, summer is more of a winegum fuelled run time (I do eat proper food too, I promise!). And I like how some of the summer clothing can still come in handy in winter, just beneath more clothing…
O____O Chocolate won’t melt because it’s cold! You’re a genius. How have I not realised this already? Thank you.
(I also avoid chocolate as fuel in the summer because I already get too thirsty on warmer runs, but I think I under-drink on winter runs so this will help me drink more and grumble less for the rest of the day!)
Now I’ll just have to experiment as to what kind of chocolate I like best while running. It’s a hard life…
Welcome to the world of chocolate-fuelled long runs… Honestly, there’s nothing better than chomping on your favourite chocolate bar while trotting along. Personally, I really like fancy chocolate, so I eat Mozart-Chocolates a lot on my runs… yum!
I particularly like Reason #2 as well, with #5 a close second.
Mostly, I just love that winter running is so different – different is good, it pushes me out of my comfort zone!