Let it snow?

I agree.  I went out for a six mile run in the snow last February (and enjoyed every second of it) but ended up with hamstring pain in the following days that got worse and worse.  I had to pull out of the London Marathon and undertake months of physiotherapy,  Never again.   I'm going to get out for a 12 miler this morning while it's clear and, if it does snow in the next few days, take to swimming and (if the snow lasts) hit the dreaded treadmill.  It's frustrating to miss training sessions but preferable to having to quit through injury for weeks or months.   

Don't be ridiculous. Running in the snow is one of life's joys! Packed snow is a beautiful surface to run on. Leaves get slippery when they get wet. Mud is slippery.

I've tripped over kerbs twice and been injured - everybody better stay off the roads.

I've tripped over stones and tree stumps - better not run off road.

Have you seen youtube videos of people on treadmills?

Whack some screws in some old shoes (http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm) get out there and have some fun..

fresh snow is fine, it is when it has been around for ages and turned into great sheets of ice that there are problems. But you can do the screw thing, or get yaktraks, or the treadmill

i love running in the snow. the thing I like best about it is the enhanced visibility at night.

drastically shorten your stride to avoid injury.

i'm not advising anyone else to do this, however. treadmill if you must. but i'll keep going out.

Some snow is good, some is bad.  I tend to hunt out little used off road routes where the snow is still fresh and no more slippery than mud.

Another option, if you live near the sea, is to run along the beach at low tide where the water has melted the snow, unless the water has left a layer of ice behind of course.

I sympathise with all the posties who have to go out in all weathers, but I can pick and choose when to run, it is rewarding to be out in the snow, it appeals to the explorer within us all I think.

Running in soft, fresh snow, preferably on grass is fantastic. Running on icy/snowy pavements is treacherous. You pays your money and takes your choice

Posties (and most other people) have other distractions when they are out, other than just checking their footing such as getting the mail out of the bag, avoiding the dogs, saying hello to people they meet.  A lapse in concentration can lead to a fall in icy conditions.  I suspect that they don't all wear appropriate footwear either.

Runners are used to checking out the terrain and if they regularly run off road then are already in the habit of checking the ground in front of them.  They still need to be careful but I think the risk of falling is less.  I know that I slip less when running than I do when out and about on a daily basis.

Be careful yes, know the risks yes, but don't necessarily avoid.

No - I'm sorry I don't agree with you John. You said "if there is any hint of an icy pavement or ground, please consider using the boring old treadmill" I say "get out there and have some fun".

John - despite your protestations to the contrary, you definitely are being a killjoy. I hope you never get to see what fell-runners get up to in the winter, you'd have a health-and-safety induced fit.

I love running in the snow in the forest, it's wonderful. As already said, different matter when there's ice about, then it's sensible to opt for indoor training, but if you just have soft snow, get out there and enjoy it! Nothing like being the first person on the trail, any noise seems to be muffled by the snow, the air is crisp, it feels like you are the only person out there, except I run with my dog - but he makes no noise anyway.

love snow running, even the slippy stuff is ok if you have the right footwear on.

It isn't snow that's the problem - except when it's too deep to run in - it's ice. 

Snow. Yeah it looks nice, and as a one off novelty can be interesting to trudge through.

But then you realise that getting places becomes an arse.

And any kind of decent training is out of the window, as trudging through snow at 3mins slower than your easy pace is a bit of a waste of time frankly.

Also massively limits your training times, as it's one thing running in snow/ice when you have good visibility, but if it's dark as well, you really are ..well..treading on thin ice

Well, whilst I do run slower in the snow, I definitely don't go 3 mins per mile slower than my easy pace! I would expect the reduced friction on toe-off, the reduced rebound off a softer surface and sometimes the need to lift kees higher when going through the deep stuff means you get a pretty good workout in the snow.