Many runners who live in places that get snow think it’s a treat. Running as snow is falling is especially charming. The landscape is also visually appealing. If the snowpack is fluffy and deep, it provides a very soft cushion when you slip and fall. What would’ve been a broken rib is just a bruised one instead.

Not all places get snow, which is very rude of Mother Nature; however, there are ways around this. If you run to the arena, where the hockey team plays, or to an ice skating venue, the Zamboni dumps ice shavings, a very close facsimile of snow at the rear of the building. Not only can you find joy running in the soft, slushy pile, you can do some glissading, bringing about a spike in fun levels.

Looking in the distance is another way to find snow. The rain that fell overnight may have come down as snow in the nearby mountains. When their tops turn white, it’s time to call your friends, dress in festive seasonal apparel and take a group photo before caravanning to the mountains.

You can count on a day of delightful schussing, snowballing, and wild, snow running, sure to provide many, hilarious, face-planting spectacles.