When winter comes knocking, runners might find themselves not wanting to leave the house. Gone are the simple days of throwing on shorts and a T-shirt and heading out the door. Here come the days of checking the weather and prepping for the worst.

It brings up frequent conversations at running shops like RNK Running and Walking, with locations in Parker and Castle Rock.

“Those first one or two bad weather days hit and it’s like, ‘Oh crap.’ We got to figure out layering and what to wear,” said the store’s co-owner Trent Briney. “But you have to figure out how to embrace it.”

Or, as some of his customers do, you could take a break from running in favor of an indoor and cozier exercise.

Rocky Mountain National Park’s only spot for sledding is ready for visitors

But for runners who want to stay on track, Briney, along with other runners in the Colorado Springs area, offered some advice for braving the elements.

Run with a buddy

The months ahead call for conditions that might be very dark, cold and windy. What could make it worse? Running alone in those conditions. Briney says winter is the perfect time to find a running buddy for accountability. It might be tempting to opt out of a solo run, but are you really going to bail on a friend who’s waiting for you at the trailhead? Probably not a good idea, if you want to keep your friends. This also helps make the miles go by faster. “You don’t have to think about it as much,” Briney said. “You just show up and all of a sudden you get some exercise in.”

‘Head, heart and hands’

When temperatures are low, Briney says, “layering is an obvious solution.” But it’s not always obvious how much to wear.

To determine his running outfit, Josh Rogerson, who works at Colorado Running Co. in Colorado Springs, follows a temperature rule.

“Dress for 20 degrees warmer than the actual temperature on runs,” Rogerson said. “If it’s 40 degrees, I typically will wear what I would wear at 60 degrees.”

First, consider if you naturally run hot or cold while going about your everyday activities. That will help determine if you’ll tend to get hot or cold while running and you can dress accordingly — for example, deciding between a thicker or thinner jacket and tights that are fleece-lined or not. When in doubt, Briney says to remember this: “Head, heart and hands.”

“If you keep those three things warm, you will be healthy and warm,” he said.

Start out your run wearing a beanie and mittens, which Briney recommends over gloves; you can always take those items off if you warm up.

There’s also your feet. To keep them warm, wear wool socks. To keep from slipping in snow or ice, consider a traction product you can pop onto your running shoes like Yaktrak’s icetrekkers.

In mountains west of Denver, a beloved ice skating tradition is changing

The Colorado Running Co. offers a free option, too. If you bring an old pair of running shoes into the store, an employee will put sheet metal screws into the bottom to give you traction for icy conditions.

Outsmart the wind

In Colorado Springs, a runner’s worst nightmare isn’t the snow or low temperatures.

“This is one of the few places where, yes, it snows in the winter, but it’s rarely that cold,” said Joseph Dellinger, who logs as many as 25 miles per day for his job as dog trainer. “The biggest challenge I’ve faced here running in the cold is by far the wind.”

He calls the wind “easily the most frustrating and tiring” weather condition. And it can get dangerous.

“Although it is nice that we have such low humidity here in Colorado, don’t be fooled,” he said. “With enough wind chill and cold temps, frostbite can still do damage in as little as 15 minutes.”

With that in mind, Briney said to prepare for windy runs with a wind-resistant jacket and by planning a route with tree coverage. Another trick: Start your run into the wind and finish with it at your back, so you don’t freeze from the breeze after already breaking a sweat.

Mind games

All the gear sold at your local running store might still not be enough to leave a warm bed for the cold outside.

This is where positive self-talk comes in just as handy as a warm jacket.

For motivation, Dellinger tells himself: “It’s not forever, just get through it. The runs don’t last; prepare yourself and just get it done!”

Motivation can be tough to find, said Tatum Russo, a runner based in Colorado Springs.

“It is hard to want to, because sometimes you unfortunately never warm up,” she said. “At least that is very true for me.”

If you want to be a better and stronger runner, though, that calls for “putting in miles in the off season and the colder winter months,” she said.

“You don’t have to run outside in the cold everyday, and there is no shame in hitting up a treadmill if you have access to one, but sticking with training during base season will absolutely pay off during race season,” Russo added. “And you’ll be happy you got out there.”

Looking ahead to warmer days helps, said Briney. He suggests signing up for a race in February or March so you have something to train for.

For more instant satisfaction, he has another tip. Start and end your run at a coffee shop.

Even if you’re cold while running, you have a cup of warm coffee waiting for you at the finish line.