When she left home to go to university, Jessica Bassil wasn’t about to abandon her love of running. But living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, meant she had to make some adjustments: heading out for an invigorating jog in the coldest months of the year entailed bundling up for temperatures averaging minus 20.

“I’d have crystals on my face,” the 27-year-old local community health nurse recalls of her chilly postsecondary sprinting days. “I’ve acclimatized. I don’t think I could do that again.”

Although Vancouver has had an unseasonably warm winter so far—pity the poor Olympic organizers at Cypress Mountain—avid runners don’t always have it so easy here.

Former Olympic runner Peter Butler, who spent years living and training in Alberta’s ridiculously frigid winter weather, explains that outdoor-sports enthusiasts on the Wet Coast have their own challenges to deal with.

“Three degrees and raining can be just as unpleasant as minus 20 and clear,” Butler says in a phone conversation with the Straight. “It’s even worse when it’s windy.”

Nevertheless, there’s good reason to start pounding the January pavement. The benefits of running are tremendous. The sport improves cardiovascular and bone health, helps with weight loss, alleviates stress, and boosts mood—take that feeling of euphoria known as “runner’s high”.

There are other perks. Running is inexpensive: aside from buying shoes, there are no other costs involved, and you don’t have to pay to join a gym. You aren’t tied down to being anywhere at a specific time for a predetermined amount of time; rather, you can go when you feel like it for as long as you wish. It’s a social sport: countless clubs throughout Metro Vancouver allow you to meet new people and catch up with friends. And instead of staring at a wall or a TV screen while you take to a treadmill, getting outside provides sights for sore eyes.

Still, people who run at this time of year must take several factors into account to stay safe, healthy, and injury-free.

“It’s dark here at 4 o’clock, so reflective clothing is critical,” explains Butler, who founded Forerunners with his wife, Karen, also a hard-core runner. It’s best to stay on the sidewalks of lit streets and, if on a road, to always face traffic.

Even here in Lotusland, black ice is not uncommon.

“Footing is the other main concern,” Butler says. “You don’t want to slip on the ice.”

Besides having footwear with good traction, there’s a new product to consider called Yaktrax, which can be attached to shoes and provides a grip that’s akin to that of “a steel-belted radial”, according to Butler, who runs about an hour a day six days a week, rain or cloud.

Keeping your body temperature in check—not so warm that you’re sweating buckets but not so cold that your teeth are perpetually chattering—is also vital.