Running in Siberian Winter

ddraver

Evening all

Not sure who to ask this so i thought I'd ask you reprobates. Work are sending me to Tyumen in Siberia for the best part of December (up until Xmas basically) where cycling is nt an option (no bike) and there is no gym in the hotel (not my first time). Last time I did a bit of running which was tolerable but in December it's going to be somewhat colder than I ve ever seen before...

Anyone got any experience of running in such conditions? What bike kit could I scrounge and what sort of shoes should I wear (that I will have now) would be a start!

Much obliged!

finchy

I've run in temperatures of -25 in Slovakia and as long as the air is dry (which it will be at that temperature), it isn't too bad. Just make sure you don't get splashed by any cars and keep your feet dry. I often ran in t-shirt and shorts at night in winter out there and the only time I had any problem is when some pr1ck in a ten ton truck soaked me and I was in bed for a week after that. :roll: I'd check out a few things about the area if I were you - are you going to a large city or will you be able to run out into the countryside? Are there public footpaths or will you be forced to run on roads?

Bike kit - just anything you would wear in normal cold weather conditions on your bike - base layers, hi-viz, whatever.

phil s

Something like this might be useful: http://www.sweatshop.co.uk/accessories/ ... x-run.html

I recall seeing them elsewhere - possibly another brand for less money as well.

seanoconn

Wim Hof



Some shorts and maybe a hat if its really chilly.

ddraver

Oohh the YakTrax are a good idea!

Basically it's a small town/city. In front of the hotel is a newly refurbished "park" that goes down to the river (hey I could run along a frozen rive, that'd be fun). Its not somewhere you can put lots of miles in without going out of the city and usually I don't get the time/inclination for that...

I have some of those Salomon running/walking boots that I was going to take...

ballysmate

seanoconn wrote:

Wim Hof



Some shorts and maybe a hat if its really chilly.

Have you still got that beard, Sean?

andyrr

I've had a couple of pairs of those grip things - 1 pair exactly like that, the coiled wire, and another pair that were like spikes. Both sets worked surprisingly well, I've used them when it has varied from a little bit icy and slippy to deeper snow and they have been excellent, I've returned from a 1 hour run having barely felt a slip under-foot whilst I wasn't really that aware of this extra thing strapped to my shoe, really let you run on dodgy surfaces safely with what I felt was minimal difference from dry, smooth surface.
Probably an idea to have decent gloves (my hands get cold when running) and a skull cap or similar.

finchy

Usually in places like this the council is pretty good at keeping the paths clear of snow and ice, so normal (but waterproof) trainers might be OK if you're sticking to city parks etc.

ddraver

Well thanks for the advice guys! Just got back from a decent run along the river front (where the Olympic Flame is coming on Wednesday)

I got some of those YakTrak things (a Russian Equivalent) for about 600 Rubles and they re fantastic! I was running along a path that had been "cleared" thinking they had been a bit of a rip off until I ran under a light and realised I was running on inch thick ice!

Tights, a softshell an a waterproof shell over HH Warm base layers was just about sufficient for -7 (it's genuinely super warm here at the moment!)

Monty Dog

If you're running on packed snow or ice, then studded shoes are the way to go:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/salomon-snowcro ... hoes-aw13/

ddraver

They would be the daddy, but I'm only here for 3 weeks so they re bit of overkill...