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5 Easy Steps To The Site
1
In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
2
Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
3
Have some fun in the travel section.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
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My Photography Gear: The Cameras/Drones/Action Cams I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
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The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
High school cross country freshman only race so a long long time ago. Freezing rain at Sunken Meadow. Many showed up and decided not to run.
Coldest run was XC Race through snow, mud, and water in sub-zero temps. It was so cold you had to crack the ice off the top of the water at the end to get to liquid.
Well, never had a cold run yet, although last year I run at 7 a.m with -1º C. This Tuesday I was biking to work and there was this freezing rain and wind. For the first time in my life I had to stop put on my gloves because I was starting to have trouble moving my hands. Luckily I didn’t have to brake.
There’s definitely two categories here, “the coldest I’ve been on a run” (usually a function of underdressing for the elements, and “the coldest run.”
The cold run has to be hot tub sprints after a long ski day in Vermont…in January…-11 deg F…in my birthday suit. It’s a test of endurance!
The “coldest I’ve been on a run” was a few weeks ago in DC with a 30+mph headwind when I was only wearing shorts and a sweatshirt…was severely under dressed. The temp wasn’t all that cold, but cold for DC, it was the wind that cut right through everything!
The coldest I’ve run was probably the day before Christmas last year (2012), when we ran in blistering winds. Maybe it wasn’t that cold (roughly -3°C) but it was blowing like 14m/s so that the chill effect was substantial.
And by the way, welcome to Sweden Ray!
My coldest run was last year after a snowing night, a run with a very different scenario and -2 C.
I missed 13 years of training with intractable back problems. My first run after all was sorted was on February 26, 1990, 1 loop of New York’s Central Park Reservoir path. Temperature with wind chill was sub-0 Fahrenheit. Pace around 13 minutes per mile. I never felt more elated.
My coldest was in Tokyo doing a marathon (6 degrees Celsius) Feb last year. Coming from a tropical country with no winter, running at this temperature was really an experience.I was still able to get my PB in that marathon despite of the climate.
Low teens, N. Carolina winter mornings…..Lungs burning & teary-eyed.
Ft. Drum, NY in February at a division run. -10F air temp = snotsickles and frozen eyeballs. Worst. Run. Ever.
I can’t really claim that it is ever REALLY cold here in So Cal, but it was in the 30s last week. It was actually pretty good for running.
2007 Phoenix RnR Marathon. Wound up be my PR and BQ. 26 degrees when I got out to warm up. Finished at 32 degrees. Not cold compared to others, but definitely the coldest I’ve done.
Coldest run? That’s easy.
Super Bowl Sunday, 1985. Going to grad school in Chicago, living in the (mostly) unheated basement of a professor’s house. Outside temperature was minus-27 degrees (Fahrenheit) with a wind chill of minus-50. Still, if I didn’t get in my run, I’d go bat guano crazy. Ran 10 miles along the Chicago lakeshore. My fingers still haven’t regained feeling.
I remember a mountain bike ride from when I used to live up in the North of Scotland. It snowed all day and on the way down the mountain, I crashed and fell off into a frozen river. Not my finest hour suffice to say!
Yesterday was pretty chilly…did an hour in 10F + wind, layered up and stayed nice and cozy.
My run on Monday was really cold, but not the coldest ever. I joined a New Yrs day ride last year and rode 26 miles in 15 degree w/25 mph wind. that was by far the coldest workout.
I love to run in the snow :-)
christmas in shorts, t shirt, santa hat and a beardski fake beard.
Last night was my coldest, it was about 13 F and i couldn’t shake the cold, i started warming up on my second lap when i had to go “all out” running from my neighbors chihuahua, that loud barking scared the cold right out
Went for a 60k ride earlier this mo. It was 3C outside. Snow was piled on the side of the road. It took an hour in a hot bath to thaw.
Coldest running experience was during a full marathon race which started from midnight with a heavy rain starting 1 hr later. My choices were to continue running to keep my body warm or stop by a shelter and freeze as was no transport back to ending point until about 5hrs later.
Running in negative temps is pretty common this time of year for me. This week has been especially cold with the wind chill added in. Probably the coldest I have ever run in.
Coldest run to date was a twenty miler in 28 degree weather. Not that cold really.
Living in Costa Rica then travelling to New York at Christmas time. Took a nice run from The Meatpacking District over the Brooklyn Bridge and back. Sixty degrees would have felt cold but 30 was too much for my Central American ass…
The coldest run I’ve ever done was 20 deg F with a wind chill of 9 deg F. That was fine and all, but the snot frozen to my sleeve was not haha. Keep up the awesome site!
We recently had snow and I was dubious about going out in case I slipped and got injured. Decided to brave it and it was one of the best runs I have ever done. -1 degree c and still sweating – much better than a treadmill!
We went for a canyon run up Butterfield Canyon, UT for Christmas Eve with a group of crazy runners this past year. Snowing the entire time, about 20 degrees and no snow shoes or Trax on the running shoes in about a foot of snow or so. 3 miles up the canyon and back down then 6 miles back home. Great way to kick off the holiday!
Went for a 40 mi ride earlier this mo. It was 38 deg outside, with snow on the sides of the road. It took an hour in a hot bath to thaw out.
Last year at Ralston Creek Half marathon. Start temperature was 15 degrees, but it did warm up to 20 by the time I got to the finish line.
I live in TX so it is usually ‘run-able’ and ‘ride-able’ here year round! Coldest run around 10F or -12C, but sunny and lovel…accidentally ran through a local 5k during that run…I’m in some poor guy’s finisher photo..he he. Coldest ride is in the 20’s F… but the coldest feeling was a 38F degree ride where it just poured rain and the wind/rain combo just left me shredded for hours. Thx for the giveaway!
-15 f this year, hometown in the northwoods, WI. Despite good intentions, I didn’t layer enough….
Running laps around Fort Logan Park, in a foot of snow. That first mile lap was killer breaking a trail in.
Two years ago, it was 10 F outside and only after I came in did I notice my beard was frozen.
My coldest run ever was a 10k race know as ‘Turf Guy,’ about -2, in November, Connemara, Ireland. The race consisted of a 200 meter swim boots and all across the bay, half way through, would knock the corners off you!
Coldest run happened during my visit to Dunedin, New Zealand in winter and went for a morning jog.
27* F.
I know, but what can I say, it doesn’t get too much colder than that in South Carolina.
I had some run in december 2012, it was -12 I think also. Just waited half hour in car before race, to keep wam.
Quite difficult to get REALLY cold in Brazil. Most of my “cold” cycling was assuming it was hot (as almost always is), and when you start climbing, the temperature drops by 10C. Of course, I was never prepared…
College swim training- left blustery Illinois to train in Florida over Christmas break – unfortuantely it was almost as cold in FL. Coldest spell to hit the region in years – our kickboards froze together and we had to chip ice off the starting blocks!
1997 VA State AAU cross country race: 30 degrees outside, no sleeves, no gloves, no tights–just a singlet and shorts. Still won the race.
It was maybe not the coldest ran, but i ran in a local 10k race recently at -2C and I set my PB – sub 40mins finally! However due to hyperventilation in the cold my tongue went completely numb and I was talking like Duffy Duck for the next few minutes :-) My wife had great laugh at me :-)
I love running in the cold although I draw the line at cold and wet!
A cyclocross race in MA in mid-December 2011–the thermometer in my car said 16º Fahrenheit and the ground was completely frozen. At least there was no mud to contend with!
My coldest run was @ -30C for 45mins (not fun…).
I just started running again a few weeks ago after a 15 year hiatus. The last time I was running on a regular basis was in high school, and I grew up in the tropics. Running down the trail two weeks ago in my current city of residence I noticed the water in the ditch next to the trail had a thin layer of ice above it. Wow, how things have changed!
My coldest run was earlier this week. -19C with a -32C windchill. In the exposed windy areas, the wind was making my eyes water which in turn froze to my face!
My coldest run was definitely not as cold as some of the others, but it was pretty darn cold for Arkansas. It was probably in the 30’s (Fahrenheit of course) but the wind chill was ridiculous. I usually never wear gloves or even ear warmers when I run but I had to that day. And of course my legs took a good hour to warm up afterwards. I couldn’t even imagine running in weather much colder!
2 °C with fog, in Mexico City, going thru the fog with short gloves was a pain, like in a blizzard… i’m not used to ride in the freezing cold hehehe
This year, the Houston Marathon. So cold. Wind, rain and low temps kept it interesting.
Ran a race a few years ago in MD where icicles formed on any and all facial hair!
The day was relatively mild, i went running with a t shirt and shorts, then came the hailstorm.
It was pretty cold last Saturday, -12C, but it was brilliantly sunny and my Icebugs (studded shoes) made it a real joy.
Coldest run was a workout during indoor track in high school… for a distance runner, the only thing “indoor” about “indoor track” are the meets; 99% of the training is outdoors. The track was covered in snow, so we ran laps around the school. It was probably 0 degrees fahrenheit, and that’s without the substantial windchill. I wore all my running gear, as well as the clothes I had worn to school. During the rest intervals, we ran through the halls of the science building in a futile attempt to warm up before the next set. There was nothing remotely pleasant about the experience, but even during the workout we found ourselves laughing because the whole thing was so incredibly awful. Oddly enough, that spirit adventure makes that run a fond memory rather than a negative one.
I did my 20 mile training run for my first marathon in yaktrax in 4 inches of fresh snow and temperatures in the teens. My camelbak tube froze solid and my sport beans were hard as rocks, but I finished it, and even managed to do an ice bath afterward (before turning the shower on as hot as I could possibly stand it)!
My coldest run came on a windy day, -28, definitely frigid!
My coldest run occurred 2 weeks ago when it was 50 degree outside. I have run in colder temperatures but on this specific day, I was running a set of trails I had never run before in preparation for an upcoming race. I lost site of the people I was following and decided to cut across a parking lot. The only issue was that the parking lot was actually a pond that was frozen over and the ice looked like concrete. I crashed through the ice and then had to jump out and run the remaining 4 miles soaked with ice cold water in 50 degree weather. Luckily it wasn’t colder outside or I would have frozen to death.
Someone opened both doors today at the gym and the 9 degree breeze blew inside while I was on the dreadmill. It made my ankles cold. Western NY is very cold.
coldest swim was in mid-may off of Maryland’s Atlantic coast. tryouts for beach patrol that required swimming in and out of 55 degree water and air temps in the 50s also. my teeth were chattering and towards the end my body almost refused the order from my mind to jump back in the water.
I ran in the cold weather in Indiana, and had to stop to pee and it froze! WTH?
Coldest bike ride? It keeps getting colder! My first winter commuter cycling and discovering the use of thermals :)
First local 5k a few months back,first snow of the year the night before. made it to the last mile before going through a frozen puddle and soaking my brand new shoe finished out well though! now im signed up for 2 sprints this summer. and looking at an Olympic! i got the bug!
Bozeman, Montana back in 2005. Temperatures were down to -33C at night, I even took a screenshot of yahoo weather for my family back home.
While I was visiting the in-laws in Westerna Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, I couldn’t miss my training run, so I conviced my former runner husband to accompany me on a 7 mile run. It was the coldest I had run at that point, and I felt the insides of my nose freeze! Being a Texan, that was weird. Not as cold as you’re about to be though, good luck!
The coldest run I’ve had was at -17C (1.4F).
In Poland we have a campaign called BiegamBoLubię (“I run because I like to”) which promotes running. We meet almost every Saturday morning to do some running and some technique improving excercises.
Last winter there were some really cold days, but we still decided to meet. We were running through a forest areas covered with snow. It was surreal, almost magical – with silence and stillness all around, with sunshine glittering in the snow. With proper clothing and keeping on the move I did not feel the cold at all. It was all fun and it is one of my fondest running memories.
I’ve started running mere few months before that and back then if someone would tell me I would be out there at -17, I’d tell them they must have lost their minds :-D
I ran in the teens and quickly learned I’m a fair weather runner.
My coldest run was in High School. My coach had planned for hill repeats, it was around 15F and a nice layer of snow on the ground. Our team were able to get a couple of repeats in before we had made the road slick, which it then became sled repeats. It was fun.
I was out one morning and noticed that I had white flecks all over me. I thought I had run through a spider web or something. It was only when I got home, and saw that it was 17degrees out, that I realized my entire body was covered in ICE CRYSTALS. Even my face! Ha!
My coldest run was just today: -8*C.
At the end of my run my last sportdrink was frozen.
It never gets terribly cold here in New Orleans, but a few years ago it was in the 20’s for the Jackson Day Race, which has been run for over 100 years. The race follows the route Lafitte’s pirates ran from their garrison to defend the city from British invaders, at the request of Gen. Andrew Jackson, who apparently needed all the help he could get.
It was early in the new year, and feeling like I had consumed too many Christmas cookies, I decided to go for a run before work one morning. I woke up at 5am and checked the temperature outside. It was 0F. That is very, very cold. So I went downstairs and warmed up on my treadmill. Then I donned several layers, including a puffy winter down coat, and proceeded to run outside. It was the fastest and coldest 5K of my life! But at the same time it was exhilarating because it was quiet with only the sound of my feet hitting the frigid ground keeping me company. I still look back on that run with fond memories, especially since I no longer live in PA but in Austin, TX where I now have to deal with runs in 100F temps!
My coldest bikeride was last year, when biking from one end of town to the other side on my old granny bike, through a snow blizard, which started 5 minutes into the ride.
Needless to say, I wasn’t dressed for the weather. I was turned into a yeti by the time I came home.
The whole expedition was ironicaly to get my yearly flu shot…
I live in the desert southwest so many of you will scoff at this but my coldest run was about 17 degrees F…keep in my mind though in the summer I’m running in 115 degree F weather!!
a climbing workout in Baker City, Oregon that was a little bit too chill for my taste :)
I’ve run a few times in colder temps, but the hardest was about 45F with rain and wind, so I threw an old water proof windbreaker on. Despite the temp, I spent the whole run in the sauna of the windbreaker sweating as much as I would in the middle of summer, and then felt like I was freezing the moment I stopped.
Starting the Tucson marathon it was below 32F, by the end of the race it was 81. All things are relative…
underwear run in January in Atlanta….brrrrr!
Today it was not only cold it was also slippery, butI love snowy runs in the forrest.
My cold run was in Kabul, Afghanistan at Christmas in 2002, it was minus 25°c and night time! It chills my bones just thinking about it!
probably not as cold as many others, I live in South Florida, so my coldest run was a 40-ish run that for Miami is freezing!
Running in Rochester, NY with 4 inches of snow. It was around 25F, and it was great!
We have a January half marathon in Chicago, so I train through December. The temperature was -3 a couple years ago. About a mile into my run, someone screamed at me that I was insane.
Coldest run was definitely back in December (because I am too chicken to go outdoors for the rest of the winter)… it was 17F on my 10 mile run and the GU that I brought with me literally froze in my hand!
Leaving in a tropical country and a very hot city (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), I don’t have a lot of memories over cold runs. Probably my coldest one was at Sao Paulo, in a 10k competition at Interlagos racetrack. It was probably bellow 10ºC which for me, please dont laugh, is freezing. he he
Last Wednesday. About 10F with 20 to 30 mph wind and snow.
Biking Paradise Loop (just north of the Golden Gate) on a super cold day without the right gear… had to stop multiple times and hold my toes to warm them. Bought neoprene booties after that one.
Last weekend; a cross country run race around an old military fortress nearby. Very beautiful, snowy scene.
-6°C, and in a cross country race you usually don’t wear much clothing due to the intensity… :-)
My coldest run was with a running group in Cincinnati, on a snowy Saturday morning. It was still dark when we went out, and as we ran back through six inches of snow along the 10th green of the local golf course, the sun rose and gently lit the snowflakes through the low clouds. Quiet magic.
Coldest is probably around -15C. More than that and it is time to run inside…..
here in PA, on monday it was 16F with a wind chill of 2. The wind was howling and my face was frozen. All in a day’s work!
As others in this wall, I share the memory of a very cold marathon in Stockholm last june with about 14000 other runners who finished the run. Run with an unexpected chill and wind.
Still my worst memory of coldness is from two years ago, when I ran back and forth to an aerobics class around 10 km away from home. I got my clothes all wet during the way there. During the class, temperature dropped quite a lot and the way back, which was supposed to be just an easy run back home turned out quite the opposite. Didn’t matter how fast I tried to run, the coldness only got worst. Never before has my jacket actually frozen over me, this time it did.
So Ray, remember to pack some warm clothes with you and a pair of running shoes with spikes/studs as well. If you need a company for training, as you’re so close by, drop in to Helsinki for a long run ;)
Last year myself and a friend hit a trail run up Lugnaquilla (Leinsters Highest Peak, Ireland) There was snow on top but as the sun was shining we were grand in shorts and tshirts, with warm clothes back in the car) I manged to lose my car keys somehow in the snow on the summit and then we got lost on the way down as the light faded. it was around -4 as reached base again and tried unsucessfully to break into my car. having failed at that, with no clothes, phone signal, food, we had to run another 11 kilometres to the nearest pub to call car-rescue and my parents. pathetic
Two years ago, I was training for the Sweetwater 50K and had a long run scheduled for the day of my senior prom (about 16 miles). When I started the run, the weather was warm and there was just a slight hint of an approaching storm. My route included trespassing onto a nearby golf course and running almost the entire 18. Around mile 10-12, the storm really blew in and lightning started striking. The lightning started just after I crested the hill that marks the high point for miles around. On my way back up the hill, I literally saw lightning strike in front of, behind, to the left, and to the right of me. So, I decided to book it up the hill before I got struck. When I crested the top, completely breathless, it started hailing, hard. I kept running and immediately my whole body went from sweating to freezing cold and I got a searing headache. It was hard to see. At this point, all I could do was smile. This is what it means to be a runner…
My coldest run was actually yesterday morning. The temp when I walked outside was -10. We are in a pretty cold stretch here in MN. I didn’t make it to far, but far enough!
Stockholm Marathon: 4°C, 16mm rainfall, wind up to 35km/h – heja, heja, heja!
It wasn’t so much about the temperature but the difference – the year I ran the Tucson marathon the temp was below 32F at the start, and it was over 80F at the end
I am training for my first ½ marathon in the spring and am determined not to log all my running outside no matter the weather. This week has been challenging in the Midwest. On Tuesday, it was 6 degrees when I ran, 12 on Wednesday, and 13 Thursday. I love having Toledo’s riverfront to myself on these kinds of days and getting first tracks on a trail is awesome!
Living in Atlanta, cold to me is running when it is in the 30s.
The coldest ride that I have done recently was a ride that I did in the Lake Tahoe area. I met up with my brother and we thought that we would give it a go to Mtn. Bike in the snow up there. We were both bundled up like the kid from Christmas story, or so it felt. The winds were coming of the lake and cutting through my layers that didn’t have the wind stopper. Cool thing of the ride, while waiting from my bro to catch up I took a little breather. I looked down and noticed that I had stopped in the middle of some bear tracks. It ended up being so much fun, once we thawed out, that we did another ride the very next day.
New Years eve this year I rode up to Bald Peak. Felt fine on the climb. The decent was something else. Pure survival dealing with the wind chill and snow. That one will stay with me for quite a while.
I live in Dallas,TX and therefore I am used to warm weather and don;t really own cold-weather gear.
A few ago I decided to go on a 26 mile ride as the sky was blue and the sun was out.
I figured it was going to be cold, so I put on socks and my summer cycling shoes, my short summer bibs, leg warmers, my hooded winter jersey, bike jacket and arm warmers, as well as my long finger gloves.
Strangely enough I was cold despite the beautiful weather.
At some point I saw why, it was 38F outside! That is just a tad bit cold for someone who considers sub 70F temperatures “A bit chili”