The Running Thread - 2026

[Erika10021]

March Totals: 118 miles
Running: 87 miles
Walking: 31 miles

Feels like February totals fell off a bit (I don't think I even posted them) but things are back to normal (if this is normal!)

 

[RuntheMouse]

March totals:
Running: 110.7 miles
Strength training: 9 sessions
Cross training: 4 days

Had a good month overall including some runs at WDW! Staring to train in earnest for a couple of spring/early summer races. Happy running everyone!

 

[PrincessV]

I follow some ultra runners on Youtube/Instagram who use cooling sleeves/shirts in the heat. Jeff Pelletier has a great video from when he ran Badwater. But I've never tried those sorts of adaptations because those races are usually in dry heat.

I'm wondering if you can find anything online about the Keys 100 race and how people adapt to that.

Yep, I know it would work in dry heat, but with our humidity (which is unimaginably even higher than central FL!), I fear the extra cloth - which would just be soaked from 1/2 a mile on - might not improve conditions. But maybe it wouldn’t be any worse, either.

Reading your question, immediately I thought of the Rise and Run episode(s) where people discuss their strategies for running Keys. I can't remember what I heard where, but I know that most of these runners had specialized equipment like ice bandanas (I bought one of these from Ultimate Direction), hats with pockets for ice, and a shawl type thing to wear over the shoulders and arms. Another strategy that sounds effective to me is using a backpack and freezing water in the bladder.

I already do all that, lol! Ice in a bandanna, I soak my clothes and splash ice water over me every few miles, chuck some ice in my hat - it helps, but I still have to use sunscreen, which offsets the heat mitigation.


ETA: well crud- this is what I was afraid of. If wet UPF50 fabric is only giving me 15UPF protection, it’s not worth bothering - I’d need to wear sunscreen UNDER it, making things even more hot. Boo.

 

[The Expert]

March Totals

Running: 36 miles (took a good 10 days off after Princess and then took it pretty easy)
Walking (with my dog): 34.5 miles
Pilates/Strength: 5 hours

 

[PrincessV]

So I took a long sleeve UV shirt out on a 45-minute test run: 87º, full sun, but only 47% humidity, and…

OOOOH ABSOLUTELY NOT! NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

Like being wrapped in Saran Wrap and left in a sauna. Couldn’t tear the shirt off fast enough once I got into the AC. Sunscreen is nowhere near that bad! There’s a reason I never see other FL runners in long sleeves in summer.

 

[Naomeri]

So I took a long sleeve UV shirt out on a 45-minute test run: 87º, full sun, but only 47% humidity, and…

OOOOH ABSOLUTELY NOT! NEVER AGAIN!!!!!

Like being wrapped in Saran Wrap and left in a sauna. Couldn’t tear the shirt off fast enough once I got into the AC. Sunscreen is nowhere near that bad! There’s a reason I never see other FL runners in long sleeves in summer.

Well, that answers THAT question

 

[PrincessV]

Well, that answers THAT question

DEFINITIVELY!!! But also, I wore it for the PHM and it was perfection for that weather, so it’s still got a place for use… just NOT in summer!

 

[accm]

March was not a good month. My treadmill started making a weird noise, then we got a huge dumping of snow, making running outside a non starter, went to Jamaica alone with my kids (who decided they were not OK being alone in the room while I ran), then closed off the month with a cold.

Activities: 11 (of 21 scheduled )
Distance: 61.49mi
Time: 10:51

Hoping for a way better April since my half is in a month.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I know we are kind of past it at this point, but this is how I made my own ice bandana (red lines are where I sewed the yellow to the white), after seeing a social media post from Andrew Glaze about Badwater or Cocodona and what he wears for those. He plugged a local Etsy maker, and I basically looked at their product and thought “I could make 7 or 8 for what they charge for 1.”

It’s a normal size poly bandana with a microfiber towel square to hold the ice. I left a small opening for ice instead of the whole side so I didn’t have to worry about having the wrong side down and ice falling out.

Be warned that having this drip water down my back is basically the only thing that has made me chafe. I also stashed one for the marathon in January and put the whole bag of ice I got from an aid station in and that solved the dripping problem.

 

[SheHulk]

March Running:
Total Distance: 67.7 mi
Average pace: 11:22/mi

Strength/gym time: 6 hours 6 min

Adding in strength training so I don't feel as bad about cutting back on running. It's a conscious decision, and I'm not injured, but Garmin really does make you focus on those running metrics! I am proud of keeping up my strength training at least twice a week. Thanks to everyone in the Strength Training Accountability Thread.

 

[PrincessV]

View attachment 1061059
I know we are kind of past it at this point, but this is how I made my own ice bandana (red lines are where I sewed the yellow to the white), after seeing a social media post from Andrew Glaze about Badwater or Cocodona and what he wears for those. He plugged a local Etsy maker, and I basically looked at their product and thought “I could make 7 or 8 for what they charge for 1.”

It’s a normal size poly bandana with a microfiber towel square to hold the ice. I left a small opening for ice instead of the whole side so I didn’t have to worry about having the wrong side down and ice falling out.

Be warned that having this drip water down my back is basically the only thing that has made me chafe. I also stashed one for the marathon in January and put the whole bag of ice I got from an aid station in and that solved the dripping problem.

My “ice” bandanna is literally just a free bandanna my kid got a million years ago doing one of those Pirate cruises at WDW. I throw some ice in the middle, roll it up, and tie around my neck. It all melts within 15 minutes, at which point my clothes are already saturated from sweat, so it barely registers.

Honestly, running in FL summer is just perverse and stupid and I have no idea why I keep doing it lol!

 

[KCO5988]

March Running: 139.8 miles... really throwing caution to the wind on my last run yesterday to not run the extra 0.2
March Races: a 5k PR and a 10k with a stroller where I still managed 2nd overall female! (Oh and technically the Princess half was in March)

 

[Novatrix]

Question for anyone who’s run long distances in extreme heat AND full sun AND high humidity - think 80-90º and 85-100% humidity, plus sun: are UV arm sleeves or a long-sleeve UV shirt helpful in these conditions?

I like heat, so maybe I'm not the best gauge, but at the height of New Jersey's hot/muggy summertime, when I'm doing a long run outside at noon, I'll fill up my running backpack with ice and water (with electrolytes). The combo of chilled back + sipping cold water is more than enough to keep me comfortable. Can't comment on the sleeves, as I don't typically wear sunscreen and haven't tried cooling sleeves.

The UV properties would be due to the fabric weave, so wet vs not wet shouldn't make a difference. It's not like insulation that traps air to keep you warm.