couple running in snowy outdoorsCold weather doesn’t have to mean an end to outside exercise. Kinesiology professor Kevin Milne and PhD student Kurt Downes offer advice on how to run safely outdoors in winter in a recent article published in The Conversation. Photo by Julia Larson (Pexels).

Jump-start your new year with cold-weather running, say researchers

Don’t let cold temperatures dampen your enthusiasm about running outdoors, say a pair of researchers from the Faculty of Human Kinetics.

In an article published in The Conversation, doctoral student Kurt Downes and professor Kevin Milne expound on “the joys of running in a winter wonderland.”

The pair offer tips for finding motivation and staying safe, including advice on injury prevention. They cover how to run safely outdoors, as well as why it’s good idea.

“There is some recent evidence to show that outdoor exercise may provide additional improvements in well-being,” they write. “These improvements could also contribute to combating seasonal affective disorders during the winter months and help to combat a slew of seasonal illnesses.”

In addition to being a PhD student, Downes is a teacher with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and president and head coach of the Border City Athletics Club. Dr. Milne is his advisor. 

This is their first collaboration in The Conversation, an online publication featuring articles from academics and researchers around the world. 

Read their article, “How to jump-start your New Year with cold weather running,” here. 

—Nolan Charette and Sarah Sacheli

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