This morning I woke up to snow and some rapid accumulation. It has snowed before this year, but it had all melted before I began running again after my last marathon. As such, today has to be the latest in the season that I have ever had a first snow run; that includes when I spent the winter in Florida.

Running in the snow is not much different than running in the rain, except that you will probably be warmer. Dress in layers, protect your eyes, and cover your head to keep yourself warm and dry in both types of conditions.

Some differences to consider when running in the snow is that your footing may be much less sure. The plows did not start passing my house until at least 2 hours after I finished my run this morning, so there was no sand and all the snow was where it fell or where random vehicle traffic kicked it. I dug out my stabilicers, which are crampons for running shoes. I really need to replace the cleats, which I will probably do this afternoon after they dry. They still kept my feet planted on the slick roads, which was the important thing. I also used my headlamp with the red LED lit, just to provide a tiny bit more visibility to myself while I was out there.

I love running when it is snowing. I prefer it when there is no traffic to speak of, but driving somewhere to go running was not really an option I would have considered today. Layering up, making myself visible, and making sure that I had some grip on my shoes gave me a pleasurable run. Take a look out your window; maybe you can have a fun snow run as well.