At times when most people are racing to get indoors, members of the Fahrenheit-Be-Darned running club are gearing up to go outside no matter how cold it is.

Scott McCrea, former club director, created what was originally named "Fahrenheit Be Damned" in the winter of 1999. The group was designed to encourage people to get outdoors on days when they no longer remembered what summer felt like.

“I am happy to say that I am about to log my 12,000th mile in the next few weeks,” said current FBD director Tracey Martinson, whose coldest run was at 48 below zero. “I took up running because it got me in shape in a hurry,” said Martinson, who has been running consistently for nearly 10 years. “It doesn't require much equipment or tinkering with equipment, and you can do it anywhere, anytime, with a friend or alone.”

Steve Bainbridge, director of the Running Club North, has been running with the Fahrenheit group for as long as it has been around. “The coldest temperatures I have run in would be around 45 below,” Bainbridge said. “Running outside in the cold is fun, something about the clear crisp air, northern lights, moonlight…fun.”

Although to some running outdoors in the dark, chilling nights has its pleasures, there are precautions one must take to prevent potentially serious injury. “Frostbite can occur pretty quickly, especially if there is a bit of wind,” Bainbridge said.

“Layers, layers and more layers,” Martinson said, is the key to keeping warm when it comes to the kind of clothing you where when you run in the cold. “You don't need anything really fancy,” said Martinson, “just some good long underwear layers.”

“It is, without a doubt, more difficult to run in the cold, with all the clothes, frozen shoes and difficulties breathing through a face mask,” said Martinson. “But it beats going around in circles inside and for sure beats a treadmill.”

The FBD group is not only limited to those fierce and serious runners. “We welcome runners of all abilities,” said Martinson. “It's not just for the speedy die-hard runners.”

The weekly meets are not competitive and cut-throat, but serve mostly as a social gathering of runners. “Just a way to get out during the week and burn a few calories, especially important as the twin turkey events of Thanksgiving and Christmas approach,” Bainbridge said.
The main purpose the group serves is that no matter what the temperature is outside, there will be a group of people ready to run, said Martinson. “Sometimes that is the motivation that people need to get out the door. Sharing the winter running experience with friends is easier than going it alone.”

The club usually starts off with about 15 to 20 members, however, when the temperature decreases, so do the number of people. Running courses differ every week, ranging anywhere from six to seven miles. Routes typically run out toward Auburn, Farmers Loop, Miller Hill, Sheep Creek, Gold Hill, Princess and College Road.

Members gather every Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Patty Center lobby beginning in October and ending in March.