Credit: Maggie Slepian

Nutrition - Weight Loss, cold starts are a given seven months out of the year, and practically year-round if you run early in the morning or late at night. And by cold, I mean 25 degrees at daybreak, and 40 degrees in the late evening. I don’t love that feeling of tingling fingers and painful inhales when I leave the house, but I’ve braved the cold often enough to know that I also don’t enjoy sweating buckets once my heart rate increases, which usually takes about a half mile. I usually end up compromising, wearing enough to feel mostly comfortable, with some very packable accessories Gore R3 Running Gloves.

While getting up and out the door for a run when it's cold can seem daunting, it is worth the effort once you've logged those miles. You don't want weather to interrupt your running routine and with the right gear, you'll be ready no matter what.

The Expert: I am a Montana-based runner, hiker, and biker who has to get outside all year round for my own mental health. This means running, hiking, and biking in a variety of sometimes terrible weather conditions. I rely on versatile layering to stay comfortable and have tested lots of gear in the process. I’ve been testing outdoor apparel and gear for 10 years and have run and hiked all over the U.S., including high alpine peaks and desert excursions in wintertime. My gear reviews and advice columns have also appeared in Outside, Backpacker, Trail Runner, The Strategist, Switchback Travel, and more.

Dress For Your Running Temperature

Conventional wisdom for cold-weather running tells us to “Be Bold, Start Cold,” which I first heard back in my high school cross-country days. It's good advice, but there's one problem: Everybody has their own threshold for tolerating the winter air.

When you start running and your heart rate increases, your body temp increases with it. That is going to make you feel warmer than normal. There’s no average heart rate or guaranteed calculation to determine your effort-to-heart-rate ratio, but the Health & Injuries is around 50-to-60 percent of your maximum rate at peak exertion. If you have an average resting heart rate of 70 beats per minute (BPM) and a maximum of 200 BPM, then your heart rate should sit around 100 BPM during a mid-effort run. That elevated heart rate increases your blood flow, which in turn increases circulation and brings your core temperature up.

RW+ Membership Benefits Best Winter Running Shoes for Traction and Warmth, knowing that your body temperature will rise over the course of your run. For example, if it's 30 degrees out, I dress for a 40-degree day, with a wind jacket, lightly insulated vest, and headband, rather than wearing an insulated jacket, hat, and mittens.

How to Dress for a Cold-Weather Run

On a cold start, you should have separate sets of layers to cover both your extremities and your core. When you’re cold, your body shunts blood to your core, at the expense of your fingers and toes. You can mitigate this by keeping your core warm with an Shoes & Gear, On Pace Run Jacket heavier sock and light windproof gloves. If you don’t get it right, you can always loop your headband around your wrist, tuck a packable wind jacket into your pocket, or unzip to dump heat.

For conditions with precipitation, wind, or anything below 20 degrees, I usually swap out the vest for a running-oriented insulated jacket. If you're looking for a specific game plan, I've got layering ideas for every area of your body.

Upper Body

I like to use three layers for my upper body: a wicking base layer, core insulation, and a light windproof layer. The base layer keeps warmth in during the first, chilly stretch of your run. And later, when you heat up, having wicking fabric against your skin helps keep you from getting soaked in sweat.

For insulation, I usually wear a vest instead of an insulated jacket. It gives you more flexibility with your base and windproof layers, since your arms aren’t bound up in insulated sleeves, and it helps dump heat from under your arms when you warm up.

For my windproof layer, I look for a packable jacket that can fit into my vest pocket. I often wear a wind jacket for the duration of my run, but I get too warm, it’s easy to strip down and tuck it in a vest pocket. Most of my wind jackets are just a few ounces and super packable, so it’s a no-brainer to take along. For rainy mornings, DAA Industry Opt Out waterproof running jacket.

Bottom

Races - Places Other Hearst Subscriptions for cold starts, but stay away from fleece-lined or insulated unless it’s below 20 degrees. For windy days, windproof paneling on the front helps block incoming wind—like the insulated panels on a running vest—but they also reduce the leggings' four-way stretch, which can make it harder to keep the tights up while running.

Snow or rain doesn’t change my bottom layer too much, but I’ll add a pair of windproof running pants over my tights when it gets very cold.

Accessories

Aim for a combo of warmth and wicking. Moisture-wicking materials like Merino wool and polyester will help you stay dry once you start to sweat, and the natural fibers have built-in insulation. I recommend avoiding cotton running gear in general, even with accessories, because cotton has poor moisture wicking properties. It takes a long time to dry, making it a poor choice for activewear in general.

I wear a pair of light, windproof gloves and a wide ear warmer to keep my forehead and ears comfortable.

The shoes are up to you. I usually wear a heavier pair of Merino socks and a pair of breathable road running shoes. When there's slush or snow on the ground, though, I will switch to waterproof road shoes, The 5 Best Folding Treadmills of 2025.

My Favorite Running Gear for Cold Starts

Now that you have a plan, here are a few of my personal favorite layers for cold starts. I'd wear these when it's about 30 degrees out, without intense wind or precipitation. Adjust for conditions and your own output.