Holland, a picturesque city of 35,000 founded by Dutch immigrants on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, gets a lot of snow. About 75 inches a year, to be exact, or three times the national average.

That means its runners face all the usual challenges winter brings—limited daylight, freezing temperatures, tricky conditions—but with an extra dose of snowfall to deal with.

But Holland has found an incredible solution: the snowmelt system . Roughly five miles of downtown sidewalks (and a few roads) boast a network of tubes that circulate hot water underneath, melting snow at the rate of an inch an hour, eliminating the need for shovels, salt, plows, and even winter footwear.

[Blast through a series of HIIT sessions to boost running strength and prevent injury with the IronStrength Workout .]

The snowmelt system—which was first installed in the 1980s—has helped transform Holland into a regional running mecca. Runners from nearby communities flock there in the winter; the Holland Running Club’s popularity has soared; and two nearby cities, Grand Rapids and Grand Haven, have tried out their own smaller versions.

While runners definitely reap a great benefit from it, the system didn’t start with them in mind. It was developed as a way for Holland’s downtown district to compete with the then-surging popularity of shopping malls. After observing a similar approach in Europe, powerful West Michigan industrialist Edgar Prince proposed the snowmelt to city officials as a way to beat the snow and the malls in one go. It was an unprecedented undertaking at the time, and still remains the largest such system in the United States today, according to the city.

But the growth of amateur running in the U.S. mirrored the snowmelt expansion projects, and something clicked. Groups of local runners began getting together and devising routes that used the snowmelt as a clean and safe refuge from the elements. A formal organization, the Holland Running Club, didn’t come around until 2014, but it now boasts 233 paying members and nearly 900 people in its private Facebook group, far larger than neighboring towns and typical running clubs in cities of Holland’s size.

“At that time, the snowmelt system was basically [downtown Holland’s main street]. It was kind of small, but it was better than nothing,” Ben Burry, the Holland Running Club ’s president, told Runner’s World ahead of a weeknight group run. “It kind of blossomed from there, and has grown exponentially.”

Thanks to the system, those streets are now the setting for a flourishing running community. The club organizes three runs a week, with as many as 50 showing up on a given day, and partners with local businesses and nearby running organizations to organize events and offer a bonanza of coupons and discounts.

In fact, the snowmelt system propelled Holland to a running award last year: The Road Runners Club of America named it among its 2017 Runner Friendly Communities across the United States. The greater Holland area is known in West Michigan for its abundance of parks, trails, and recreation-friendly spaces, Burry said, but the snowmelt system takes its reputation to the next level.

On a typical wintery Saturday morning, the streets of downtown Holland are so packed with runners that it often look like they’re hosting an organized 5K. While runners and pedestrians, particularly shoppers who are a key part of Holland’s tourism strategy, share the same sidewalks, “It never seems to be an issue, because we’re polite,” Burry said.

In a typical mid-winter week of 20 to 25 miles, a Holland runner will likely log around 80 percent of their miles on the snowmelt.

“If you do it right, it’s easy to not get bored—you can get a very nice 5-mile route with almost no overlap,” Burry said, though he does point out such a run involves a few out and back spurs.

A group of runners passes through wintery downtown Holland. Holland Running Club

The snowmelt is also handy, Burry said, because it gives runners flexibility. Some are less inclined or don’t have the equipment to venture outside the snowmelt, while others would rather brave the elements than repeat the same limited route again. Having those options significantly boosts turnout that would usually dip in the colder months.

“I don’t think we would be nearly the club we are without it,” Burry said. “It has kept your casual runner interested.”

Since he’s been president, Burry hasn’t been directly consulted on recent or future proposed snowmelt expansions. But he’s sure the city knows about the snowmelt’s immense value to runners, because it uses the RRCA award in its promotional materials.

“It’s more business-driven than runner- or pedestrian-driven, yes, because we are a tourist town,” Burry said. “But as far as runners go, it’s immensely popular. There’s always more drive from a runner’s perspective [to expand the snowmelt], because it gives us more options.”

Jacob Meschke Contributing Writer Jacob joined Runner’s World and Bicycling as an editorial fellow after graduating from Northwestern University in 2018, where he studied journalism.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io