They were frozen but undaunted.

Kamloops runners braved frigid temperatures on Tuesday morning to start the year off right during the Running Room's second annual Resolution Run.

In -9 C weather, athletes and want-to-be athletes gathered at the Columbia Place Mall store for a five-kilometre run or walk benefiting the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation.

"It's beastly out here," deadpanned Catherine Flannery.

But she was determined to do the run.

"It's a good way to start the new year," she said.

That was the pervasive sentiment among the 160 or so runners who registered, bringing an estimated $750 to the RIH Foundation.

Patrick Waters and his fiance Erin Burton didn't need too much convincing when Waters's mother suggested a family run.

"It's a resolution that we're going to be more active and more fit and this is a great way to kick it off," said Waters.

Burton said the activity ties in well with the couple's goal-setting strategy.

"We're getting married in the next month so it's kind of been a journey of getting back into shape but also continuing to set goals for ourselves moving forward. We typically like to set 90-day goals and try to achieve them so this is kind of a stepping stone for us," said Burton.

Some of the participants had already begun their health kick with the Santa Shuffle, which was held Dec. 1 as a benefit for the Salvation Army.

Jasmine Pigeon talked her friends Samara Van Aswegen and Austin Ehlinger into participating in the winter Running Room activities as good motivation to stay fit over the seasonal doldrums.

"It's hard to run in the cold and snow," said Van Aswegen.

Pigeon said she's felt "really, really good" since joining the store's learn-to-run program in September.

Although held in Kamloops for only two years, the athletic equipment company has held the Resolution Run for 27 years.

"It gets people out and active, which is the Running Room's mandate," said Kamloops franchisee Rick Jenkner.

Jenkner said even though the annual event is over, it's never too late to start with free twice-a-week runs every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 8:30 a.m.