Winter running starts in the mountains – the most important tips
For a runner who has “licked” mountain running, the thought of starting in a mountain competition becomes an integral part of the day. It comes back like a boomerang. The reason is simple – cross-country running is incredibly enjoyable, gives a lot of satisfaction, toughens and sculpts character. Increasingly, mountain running events are also organized in winter. Winter Half Marathon of the Table Mountains, Bieszczady Marathon, Winter Chudy Wawrzyniec, Winter Janosik, Ore Mountains Winter Running Festival, Blizzard, Karkonosze Winter Ultramarathon. These are just some of the winter events organized this year. What is the difference between a winter start in the mountains and a summer one? What to look out for? How to eat and drink on the course?
Magda Łączak, Marcin Świerc and Piotrek Hercog are excellent mountain runners with many years of experience in competitions – including in winter. We have no doubt that their advice will be useful to anyone planning to run in winter competitions in the mountains.
Winter Chudy Wawrzyniec (fot. Piotr Oleszak)
To begin with, let’s make it clear that a winter start in the mountains is a completely different tale than a run in the summer. First of all, competitions in January, February or even March are not (at least in most cases) goals. They are a form of training variety, maybe to test yourself – but certainly not your maximum capabilities.
Magda Łączak highlights:
In winter at competitions, you can’t always run as much as your body allows. Often the weather and weather conditions determine the pace and manner of movement. When competing in winter mountain running, the big trick that doesn’t always work out, regardless of experience, is proper clothing, which directly affects the pace of movement.
Winter Lean Lawrence (fot. Kasia Gogler)
Winter is a time for building form, recharging batteries – not discharging them. More important than the pace of the route is safety. Marcin Świerc:
One must be prepared for many scenarios. Keep in mind the possibility of getting lost, getting cold. The most important factor is winter equipment. Because if someone runs all year round, physical preparation does not play a big role. And if logistically and equipment unprepared it can weigh on the result and worse – health. Good equipment means much less risk of injury, frostbite.
Equipment
Winter Chudy Wawrzyniec (fot. Piotr Oleszak)
In Poland, the climate often plays tricks and the weather is not always easy to predict. Therefore – even more so in the mountains – we must be prepared for any conditions. An exemplary lack of a jacket on a windy ridge can decide whether or not to finish the competition. Lack of shoes with proper tread, and preferably spikes, can be simply dangerous – not to mention that on snow or ice it will prevent us from moving in a fairly normal way. As Magda says:
Whoever runs in spikes once will fall in love with them forever. Warm gloves and the right hat are also important.
You need to adjust your clothes to the temperature and your body – after all, we don’t all feel the cold weather equally acutely. Piotrek Hercog warns:
Dressing too warm we will quickly get sweaty and dehydrated, while if we throw on too little and do not plan from start to finish to be on the same intense run – we can get chilled.
Food and drink on the route
Winter Chudy Wawrzyniec (fot. Piotr Oleszak)
The longer the distance – the better we need to plan our refreshments along the route. It’s a good idea to do a few longer hikes in the mountains before competing in a winter competition to test different possibilities. At the nutrition points, the organizer should serve warm or at least lukewarm drinks. However, this is not always the case, it can happen, for example. Tea will be scarce for the second part of the stakes. All three of them – Magda, Marcin and Piotrek stress that warm drinks on the route of the winter run are very important. Piotrek additionally warns:
We should take with us as needed. Drink and gels – best kept close to the body or in an insulating case. There is nothing worse than not being able to drink or eat something – when we count on it, and, for example, the. we will freeze to the bone.
Good luck on the winter trails! 🙂
Winter edition of Chudy Wawrzyniec (fot. Piotr Oleszak)
