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TOCA Running Club: Winter Running

TOCA Running Club                                                                   

By Dan Gardner, TOCA Special Running Correspondent

Cold weather running is certainly a challenge for those of us who live in Midwestern and northern states. Outdoor running can be invigorating as long as you prepare appropriately.

Here are some definite benefits of “sweating it out in the cold weather” this winter (according to my running compatriot Alena Hall). She says you will:

  • Burn more calories
  • Strengthen your heart
  • Drink more water
  • Build a tolerance for the freezing elements
  • Remember the importance of warm-up and cool-down routines
  • Get a dose of vitamin D
  • Feel happier and more energized.

The last of the seven above is my favorite because as the body has to work to stay warm, endorphin production increases. (You’d think I was a doctor, huh?) This will automatically give you a stronger sense of happiness after your workout. And just think how happy everyone around you will be because of your smiling disposition.

Speaking of winter running, don’t forget the Syngenta-sponsored 2018 Health in Action 5K at the Golf Industry Show’s annual meeting in San Antonio – Feb. 8, at 6 a.m. Running in San Antonio isn’t exactly like running in Duluth, but it still is winter running.

Finally, be thinking while you run about all the ways to make TOCA the best membership association it can be and how YOU can play a part in making TOCA the best it can be.

Until next time, be well, be smart, be healthy and be TOCA!

(Anyone who responds positively to the editors regarding this issue’s running article will be rewarded famously at the next TOCA Annual Meeting. See you in Cincinnati. Go Reds.)

2017 TOCA Running Club