Have to go with wind, in particular winter temperatures. Coldest I have ever run in is 4 below zero with no wind. Still was a very short run day! Hottest I have actually raced in was 93. Not a fan of cold windy days or hot and humid days. Humidity in summer can be as hard to train in as cold windy days. Enjoying a 2 day warmup here in upstate NY as it hit 68 yesterday and currently at 9;30am it is already 62. Yesterday was first day of 2021 that I enjoyed a run in shorts and a tee shirt!
I absolutely hate to run in Humid/Heat in the summer.... I really have to push myself to get up early and do it before the real heat of the day sets in. I love cooler temps... but I guess if you look at my PR's for different distances they would all say cloudy, cool with a light misty rain is when I run my best. But mid to upper 30's is when I feel my best running.
Cold heavy rain and wind. The worst long run of my life was in 34 degrees, windchill of 21, with a torrential downpour that started when we were about 8 miles away from our cars. Once you're soaked in that temperature you cannot get warm.
I would say wind ... but only wind in cold weather! Our winter was pretty mild, only had a couple of sub-zero mornings, but one of those had winds and we have also had a couple of arctic chill winds that really break through no matter how many laters you have.
But I also agree with Matt in his comment about the heat - the 2013 Wineglass marathon started out unseasonably hot and humid - but rainy and windy. Halfway through the rain and wind cleared and left behind oppressive 90+ heat with high humidity (have a picture coming towards the finish with the bank sign saying 93F behind me!). Over the last couple of miles I heard multiple ambulances and was stopped by police looking for reported collapsed people ... and going through the finish line the medical tent was overflowing and people were collapsing at the finish!
Definitely heat/humidity. Hate humidity with a passion. I used to dislike the cold but I am finding now that 30 to 40° with very low humidity is when I feel the best. Go figure
Houston hot & humid summers are pretty daunting...& it has forced me to become an early morning hot weather runner here. And on top of that I sweat a WHOLE lot. Typically I wring out my running clothes outside after changing in the garage. My wife won’t get near me after a run. And I don’t blame her!!
I love how everybody feels something different! I just went 135 miles for 40 hours straight at 10 degrees and snow last month. I'd do it again. But put me in 85 degree heat with humidity and I'm done. It goes to show that most of us CAN acclimate and how cool it is that we can potentially step outside our comfort ranges to get a good, different run experience in once in a while.
I'm hypothyroid so cold is my arch enemy. Anything longer than 90 minutes outside in a Canadian winter and I'm a Popsicle. Whoever said there.'s no bad weather only bad clothing wasn't an endocrinologist.
I still have nightmares about the 2008 Dallas White Rock Marathon. The historical record supports my shattered psyche!
Per https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/tx/dallas/KDAL/date/2008-12-14, mid-race it hit 70ºF with 70% humidity and 30+ mph wind gusts. The halfway point of the race was rounding the north part of the lake, where you had to suffer thru running 7 miles into the wind ahead of hitting the hill that marked the 20-mile wall. F. M. L!
To end on a high note, I still have dreams about one of my favorite weather days. When training for my 1st marathon, I was visiting Austin the weekend of my 20-miler. Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) is a great scene on a beautiful day, but this day a soupy fog descended upon the city. It was so much run to run on a trail where I couldn’t see farther than 12’ feet ahead. You’d hear the pounding of someone’s feet as they approached you, then a dark blur would rush by, punctuated with a sharp, “Howdy!” as we passed one another. Such a fun, mysterious day of weather-enforced solitude!
Cold rain! We don't get much snow here in Atlanta (though we do get ice from time to time), but we get TONS of heavy rain. So that puts me on the treadmill -- I can run in light rain (it can actually be kind of fun to run in light rain), but the heavy downpours are just a slog. (Literally!)
Big head wind + cold rain - yuck (think boston 2018 conditions). 2nd least favorite is hot and humid -- 90% humidity and 70 deg F plus temperature. I am a fair weather runner - optimal race condition is <5 mph wind, low humidity (<60% humidity) and 38-50 deg F).
I'm going to go with wind. Anything above 15mph just feels so much harder. I enjoy running in the heat and have acclimated to that here in Dallas. Rain and Snow aren't an issue, BUT WINDY RAIN is miserable.
Definitely heat. You haven't lived until your run ends by waking up naked and packed in ice in the emergency room.
Have to go with wind, in particular winter temperatures. Coldest I have ever run in is 4 below zero with no wind. Still was a very short run day! Hottest I have actually raced in was 93. Not a fan of cold windy days or hot and humid days. Humidity in summer can be as hard to train in as cold windy days. Enjoying a 2 day warmup here in upstate NY as it hit 68 yesterday and currently at 9;30am it is already 62. Yesterday was first day of 2021 that I enjoyed a run in shorts and a tee shirt!
I absolutely hate to run in Humid/Heat in the summer.... I really have to push myself to get up early and do it before the real heat of the day sets in. I love cooler temps... but I guess if you look at my PR's for different distances they would all say cloudy, cool with a light misty rain is when I run my best. But mid to upper 30's is when I feel my best running.
Hot & humid is least favorite, but as the years go by it gets a little less unbearable.
Cold heavy rain and wind. The worst long run of my life was in 34 degrees, windchill of 21, with a torrential downpour that started when we were about 8 miles away from our cars. Once you're soaked in that temperature you cannot get warm.
precipitation!
Being wet makes anything I can do to handle extreme temperatures practically worthless.
For example, Boston 2018 would have been much more bearable if 0 degrees but not soaking wet!
I would say wind ... but only wind in cold weather! Our winter was pretty mild, only had a couple of sub-zero mornings, but one of those had winds and we have also had a couple of arctic chill winds that really break through no matter how many laters you have.
But I also agree with Matt in his comment about the heat - the 2013 Wineglass marathon started out unseasonably hot and humid - but rainy and windy. Halfway through the rain and wind cleared and left behind oppressive 90+ heat with high humidity (have a picture coming towards the finish with the bank sign saying 93F behind me!). Over the last couple of miles I heard multiple ambulances and was stopped by police looking for reported collapsed people ... and going through the finish line the medical tent was overflowing and people were collapsing at the finish!
Definitely heat/humidity. Hate humidity with a passion. I used to dislike the cold but I am finding now that 30 to 40° with very low humidity is when I feel the best. Go figure
Houston hot & humid summers are pretty daunting...& it has forced me to become an early morning hot weather runner here. And on top of that I sweat a WHOLE lot. Typically I wring out my running clothes outside after changing in the garage. My wife won’t get near me after a run. And I don’t blame her!!
Heat, by a long shot. It just sucks the life out of me. And heat + humidity is the absolute worst.
Wind is just hill training horizontally. And I'll take cold and dry over hot and humid every day, though I'm always careful about ice.
High humidity. Bring on wind rain cold repeat Boston 2018 daily but give me humidity and I am done.
I love how everybody feels something different! I just went 135 miles for 40 hours straight at 10 degrees and snow last month. I'd do it again. But put me in 85 degree heat with humidity and I'm done. It goes to show that most of us CAN acclimate and how cool it is that we can potentially step outside our comfort ranges to get a good, different run experience in once in a while.
I'm hypothyroid so cold is my arch enemy. Anything longer than 90 minutes outside in a Canadian winter and I'm a Popsicle. Whoever said there.'s no bad weather only bad clothing wasn't an endocrinologist.
I still have nightmares about the 2008 Dallas White Rock Marathon. The historical record supports my shattered psyche!
Per https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/tx/dallas/KDAL/date/2008-12-14, mid-race it hit 70ºF with 70% humidity and 30+ mph wind gusts. The halfway point of the race was rounding the north part of the lake, where you had to suffer thru running 7 miles into the wind ahead of hitting the hill that marked the 20-mile wall. F. M. L!
To end on a high note, I still have dreams about one of my favorite weather days. When training for my 1st marathon, I was visiting Austin the weekend of my 20-miler. Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) is a great scene on a beautiful day, but this day a soupy fog descended upon the city. It was so much run to run on a trail where I couldn’t see farther than 12’ feet ahead. You’d hear the pounding of someone’s feet as they approached you, then a dark blur would rush by, punctuated with a sharp, “Howdy!” as we passed one another. Such a fun, mysterious day of weather-enforced solitude!
Cold rain! We don't get much snow here in Atlanta (though we do get ice from time to time), but we get TONS of heavy rain. So that puts me on the treadmill -- I can run in light rain (it can actually be kind of fun to run in light rain), but the heavy downpours are just a slog. (Literally!)
Big head wind + cold rain - yuck (think boston 2018 conditions). 2nd least favorite is hot and humid -- 90% humidity and 70 deg F plus temperature. I am a fair weather runner - optimal race condition is <5 mph wind, low humidity (<60% humidity) and 38-50 deg F).
I'm going to go with wind. Anything above 15mph just feels so much harder. I enjoy running in the heat and have acclimated to that here in Dallas. Rain and Snow aren't an issue, BUT WINDY RAIN is miserable.