Due to the tremendous response to the original Running in the Cold, I have decided to release the well-hidden rubric to help everyone to determine what to wear outside when running during wintertime. Yes, the secret is now out of the bag! You no longer need to be an MIT graduate to figure out the proper attire to wear. Just follow the chart below to achieve optimal results:

Greater than 45 degrees: t-shirt and shorts should more than suffice.

Between 40 and 45 degrees: feel free to add an optional pair of gloves to the mix.

Between 30 and 40 degrees: long sleeve t-shirt and shorts is the proper combination.

Between 25 and 30 degrees: feel free to add a hat or gloves to the long-sleeve shirt and shorts combo.

Between 20 and 25 degrees: exchanging running pants for shorts might be appropriate

Between 5 and 20 degrees: adding both hat and gloves to the running pants / long sleeve t-shirt combo should be sufficient.

Less than 5 degrees (like it ever gets this cold here): wear whatever it takes.

For winds over 15 mph, subtract 5 degrees from the above chart. Also subtract an additional 5 degrees for wet and or snowy conditions. For races, adding 10 degrees should do the trick.

So let s take the following fun example to show how the chart works. On Tuesday, I did my morning run in frosty Prarie Creek State Park. According to the car thermometer, it was 28 degrees outside. With little to no wind, and no snow nor rain on the ground, I was clearly in the long-sleeve shirt & shorts zone, with the option of adding hat or gloves. Since I was in the upper range of the between 20 and 30 degree zone, adding gloves and forgoing a hat made perfect sense. Hence, by using the above chart I was all ready to go to get a great run in the big trees!!

Wearing less clothes than the above chart suggests is just showing off, and wearing more than recommended just leads to excessive laundry. And remember, there is no such thing as cold weather, only cold clothing!

Happy winter running!