Cool runnings for Enearl as he trains for Wisconsin marathon

The only thing that's forced Mt. Pleasant runner Brian Enearl inside this past week is the winter vortex, but when temperatures were low as negative 13 on Jan. 26, he was still out running.

'When it gets cold like that you get icicles forming on your eyelashes sometimes,” Enearl said. 'You'll get the moisture from your breath collecting on your eyelashes and you'll have to close one eye and try to get the chunks off.”

Wool socks, nylon pants and jacket, a compression top, gloves and a hat are his attire for buffering freezing wind. At times, the wind can be mitigated by running with it to his back. Ice is harder to avoid, however.

'You just need to slow down and pay more attention to your feet,” Enearl said. 'It's not quite what you want but at least you're out there.”

Even with the hazards, Enearl often finds winter running easier since it lacks the humidity and heat of summer.

His regular running partners are Dan Holt and his wife Linda, as well as a fluxuating group they meet up with for weekend runs. It's this group Enearl credits with helping to keep him motiviate. While he feels he'd still be running, he doesn't think he'd participate in the six to eight marathons a year he's been doing.

Currently he's training for the Trailbreaker Marathon held in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on April 6. The run offers a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon and a full marathon. These events with different distances offered are what Enearl typically looks for; that way when he travels with his wife, she can run a shorter distance while he does the full marathon.

A typical run for him is roughly 10 miles, but while preparing for the Trailbreaker Marathon his distance has skewed closer to 20. His Tuesday, Thursday, and weekend runs are broken up with swimming on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He keeps track of both distances on his Garmin.

'Last year I had 1,800 miles in running and 385 swimming,” Enearl said. 'But it all depends on what I'm doing. It could be 1,300 (running) this year. I did two long races last year and that's maybe why my mileage was up compared to other years.”

While he's competed in marathons with awards and fundraising, he doesn't seek those out specifically. He just enjoys running, specifically running outside.

'The three of us (his wife and Holt) don't like treadmills, we'd rather be out in the elements as much as possible,” he said. 'You can just sort of let things go and get away from everything and clear your head.”

The last time he can remember weather keeping him from running outside was a winter storm at the beginning of 2018. Even then he took to the REC Center to use their treadmills while his wife ran laps around the track.