Some days, running feels effortless. The air is cool, the sky is clear, and you almost forget you’re working.
And then there are the other days. The ones where it’s raining sideways, the wind is slapping you in the face, it’s either way too hot or painfully cold, and the idea of stepping outside feels almost offensive.
If you’ve ever looked out the window and thought, “Absolutely not,” you’re not weak. You’re human. The question isn’t whether bad weather makes running harder. It does. The real question is how you deal with it without burning out, quitting, or beating yourself up.
Because weather doesn’t just test your body. It tests your mindset.
Why Bad Weather Affects Motivation
When conditions are perfect, running gives you a little dopamine boost just for showing up. The scenery is nice, your body warms up quickly, and it feels like a reward.
Bad weather flips that completely.
Cold makes you stiff. Heat makes you tired faster. Rain soaks your shoes. Wind turns every mile into a battle. Your brain starts doing the math: This is uncomfortable. This is unnecessary. I could be inside.
And your brain isn’t wrong. It’s trying to protect you from discomfort.
But this is also where most runners either build resilience… or lose momentum.
Not Every Bad Weather Run Is Supposed To Happen
Here’s something a lot of running advice skips: You don’t have to run in any type of weather to be a real runner.
There’s a difference between:
- “This is uncomfortable”
and - “This is unsafe or actively hurting me.”
If it’s icy, lightning is nearby, the heat index is extreme, or air quality is poor, skipping or modifying a run is not quitting. It’s training smart.
Morning Glory Running isn’t about grinding yourself into the ground. It’s about building a relationship with running that lasts.
How To Decide: Go, Skip, Or Adjust?
When the weather sucks, ask yourself three simple questions:
1. Is it dangerous?
Ice, lightning, extreme heat, or wildfire smoke are non-negotiables. Safety always wins.
2. Is it miserable but manageable?
Rain, cold, wind, and humidity fall into this category. You can usually run in these with the right mindset and expectations.
3. What do I need today?
Sometimes the win is a short, easy jog. Sometimes it’s a rest day. Sometimes it’s the treadmill. All of those count.
The goal isn’t to be heroic. The goal is to keep showing up.
Running In The Rain
Rain feels worse before you start than after you’re already wet.
Once you accept that you’re going to get soaked, it often becomes kind of freeing. No pressure to look good. No pressure to go fast. Just you, the road, and the sound of your shoes hitting puddles.
Tips that actually help:
- Wear a brimmed hat to keep rain out of your eyes
- Dress slightly warmer than usual since wet clothes feel colder
- Focus on effort, not pace, because slippery roads slow everyone down
And yes, your shoes will get wet. Don’t worry. They’ll dry.
Running In Cold weather
Cold weather is sneaky. The first five minutes feel terrible. Then you warm up and suddenly it’s not so bad.
The biggest mistake people make in cold weather is overdressing. If you’re warm standing still, you’ll be sweating by mile one.
A good rule: Dress like it’s 10 to 15 degrees warmer than it actually is.
Running In The Heat
Heat is different. It drains you. It raises your heart rate. It turns easy miles into hard ones.
This is not the time to chase pace or distance.
Slow down. Walk when you need to. Shorten the run. Early morning or evening runs help, but even then, heat demands respect.
Hot runs aren’t about being impressive. They’re about surviving the workout without putting your body under distress.
Running In The Wind
Wind is the most emotionally rude weather.
It turns every straightaway into a fight and makes you feel like you’re not making progress. That’s normal.
On windy days:
- Forget pace
- Focus on time or effort
- Break the run into chunks
Every mile counts even if it feels harder than usual.
The treadmill is not a failure
Let’s say this clearly: Running inside still counts.
If the weather is awful, the treadmill lets you keep the habit without the misery. You’re still moving. You’re still training. You’re still a runner.
You’re not less committed because you chose comfort.
Why Bad Weather Runs Matter
Sunny, perfect days are easy to love.
The days when it’s cold, wet, windy, or brutally hot are the ones that build something deeper: trust in yourself.
Every time you run when it’s inconvenient, you’re telling your brain,
“I don’t need everything to be perfect to keep going.”
That’s what carries you through training cycles, bad races, busy weeks, and all the moments where motivation fades.
The Morning Glory Way
At Morning Glory Running, we don’t care if you ran in a downpour, jogged on a treadmill, or shortened your run because it was miserable outside.
What we care about is that you stayed connected to running in a way that feels sustainable.
Some days you push. Some days you adapt. Some days you rest.
And if today’s weather is trash? So what. You’re still a runner.