Cold Midwest weather

I live in Minnesota as well. My tolerance level is the high 20s Farenheit. You won't get frostbite at these temps.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winter/windchill-images/windchillchart3.pdf

Your feet may get really cold in the first few minutes, but, (providing you have good circulation) they will warm up quickly after that. There are other dangers though. First, the chart above is for air temperatures. It says nothing about the effect of bare skin in contact with cold ground. Also, cold ground is hard, and many things become sharp as needles at below freezing temps (pine needles, shards of bark, etc.).

If you run on snow, stick to trails that have been packed down. Getting snow on the top of your feet will chill them quickly. If there has been a thaw and re-freeze, be careful about the thin crust of ice that can form on the top. If your break through that, the edges are sharp.

Watch for icy spots, particularly paved surfaces with a thin glaze of ice. Even at air temps above freezing, pavement may still be cold enough to have ice. Bare feet have terrible traction on ice.

Keep the rest of your body warm. Your feet have a lot of surface area. You will lose a lot of heat through them. Make sure you make some compensation by keeping the rest of your body covered. Wear leggings, hats, gloves and a warm jacket.

Run a short path with options to bail out and get back to warmth quickly.

Finally, carry a pair of wool socks in your jacket pocket. If you run into trouble, and you can't run to generate heat, the socks will help keep your feet warm.
 
Nice post Moose.
I running barefoot also minus degrees celsius.
Last year couple times i got small red areas from cold on the outer edges of 1st and 5th metatarsal pads. I found at these areas snow not melting and not removed by friction. Also road salt can stick there. So now im after every half km with gloves cleaning outer edges. So far no problems at these areas. Maybe will help some winter runner :)
 
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