How do you run in the winter?

I know it can be done, and I'd like to try it, but Im worried that I'll slip on a patch of ice and hurt myself! So, how do you runners run when there is ice/snow/slush all over the place? I have enough trouble just getting from the car to the door without hurting myself..

Umm... A tread mill in a health club? Other than that, I have no advice. There isn't snow or ice here.

I was going to say treadmill too! lol..

Note to self need to buy one.

Well, I could give you some general advice on running in the cold, but if it's snowy/icy I wouldn't recommend it. Just too easy to fall and hurt yourself. In those conditions, the safe thing is to just stay indoors. Even in the Army we didn't go out and run in snowy/icy conditions. Most of the larger health clubs have indoor tracks, and virtually all of them have treadmills. There are also other cardio exercises you can do that are just as good of a workout as running if you're not dead set on running. My personal favorite is the elliptical machine because it's no-impact and my knees and hips aren't what they used to be.

If you do decide to buy your own treadmill or other exercise equipment, do yourself a favor and wait until about April. By then all of the people who got exercise equipment for Christmas will have realized they won't use it and they'll be selling cheap.

V-E-R-Y C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y
Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

I'm not sure I can help you. I'm fortunate that it doesn't snow here, so that is not a limitation. I would think running in the middle of the day might be best. You can see where you're going and you have a better chance of it warming up enough to melt the ice. Do you have any place where there are dirt or gravel roads that you can run? That might give you better traction than paved roads.

Have you though about getting a set of snowshoes?? Along with poles that is a great workout. I live on a county road with a very narrow shoulder and its all ice under the snow so running/walking outside isn't an option but the snowshoes are!!

HOw do I run in the winter. The same way I do in the summer. With a robe on, coffee in one hand, remote in the other. Run all the way from the chair to the coffee pot. 20 times a day at least.

I see quite a few people running here in winter. There are a lot of trails where I live, so that's handy (once the snow gets compacted enough). I also see lots of people with ski poles doing fast walking.
The local rec centre has a big track that people can go walk and run on, and I think it's actually free. It's one of those soft rubbery ones that are lower impact.

I can't stand running on a treadmill, so I've always managed to run outdoors, even in the dead of winter. I need the fresh air going into my lungs.

If it's just snow, and it hasn't turned to ice, the firmly packed snow is usually tacky enough to not slip, if you have a good pair of running shoes with good treads. Even if there's ice on the sides of the road, but also snow, find the snow part of the road and run on that. It is definitely possible.

However, I just spent two weeks in Minnesota for the holidays, and, while my brother and i went out running most mornings, there were a couple of mornings where it really was not relaxing. They had one day above freezing, and there had been alot of snow, so all of the snow started melting, then re-froze overnight. The roads were like a skating rink. Even in the middle of the roads, which was usually granular snow, because so many cars had passed over, there was a thin layer of ice covering everything. We did the (as my brother calls it) Senior Shuffle until we hit a well-travelled road that was perfectly clear.

But tacky, packed down snow, if it hasn't frozen over with ice, is usually okay to run on. You just have to test it first.