Running is a sport that doesn’t pose barriers when it comes to needing fancy equipment, stick on some trainers, an old t-shirt, shorts and a decent sports bra and off you go. I stand by what I said in my first ever blog, you don’t need anything fancy to get into running. TRUTH
But like most interests and hobbies, once it becomes a thing you do often you start to consider some of the things that you might purchase to either help your progress, feel more comfortable or just as a treat.
Despite having way too much sportswear, I have some items of clothing that if they are clean, I will always wear them…those go to items! My abundance of sportswear comes from a combination of working in sport, entering a lot of races (therefore having a lot of race finisher t-shirts) and just loving ‘active wear’ which is now quite trendy.
If you keep up to date with running media world you will constantly see articles on top 10 recommendations from race trainers, trail trainers, spikes, watches, shorts, vests, heart rate monitors…you name it there are loads of recommendations out there.
I have a few things that I feel have been good purchases that I thought I would share these.
Sweaty Betty, Power Gym Leggings – If it’s any colder than 10 degree then I wear leggings over shorts to help reduce the chance of knee injuries. I feel more comfortable running in leggings, but switch to shorts when it gets warmer. I used to wear all brands of leggings, but never really felt they were anything special. I then ordered my first pair of Sweaty Betty leggings and they were a total game changer for me, and I mean game changer!
I don’t know about you but I hate running feeling like I am jiggling around, too many of the leggings out there are so thin they give no support.
The Sweaty Betty power leggings are made from material that I can only describe aS ‘magic’. They are thick and really supportive, so you feel firm, whist they are not too thick that they make you sweat and they dry really quick. They have a high waste, so you never have to pull them up or adjust them mid run, I don’t even have to tie them like other leggings. They come in different lengths including full length, above ankle or calf length, as well as loads of colours and patterns. They have a back zip pocket (good for your key when running) and a handy phone pouch on the leg, which you wouldn’t use when running but good for whilst you are just pottering around.
I like these leggings so much I have about 4 pairs that I wear for running, the gym and just day to day wear. Forgive me for the enthusiasm, I love them.
AfterShokz Air – One of my lockdown purchases has been a pair of AfterShokz Air bone conducting headphones. Yes, I know they sound fancy and unnecessary but hear me out! I could never listen to music whilst out running or in the gym because I just couldn’t find headphones that didn’t fall out of my ears or move around on my head. If I did run with headphones, I would run fidgeting and readjusting them every few minutes, which is very annoying! During lockdown I started solo running and found my longer runs a struggle with no company or anything to take my mind off the run, so I started looking into headphones again.
I read loads of reviews and came across these bone conducting headphones that are the only headphones approved by British Athletics for use in races. They are basically wireless headphones that sit against the bone near your ear so they don’t block out sound and you can still hear what is going on around you, which is great for us road runners. The best thing for me is that they have a wrap around band that rests the bone conducting parts against your head, meaning they stay in place during a run. When I put these on, I literally don’t touch them again until the end of the run. They are one size, light weight, sweat resistant, and blue tooth (so connect to my phone that I keep in my FlipBelt).
These have changed my solo running and now listen to music and my new favourite running pod cast ‘Running Commentary’ (two comedians recording their pod cast whilst out running).
FlipBelt Zipper – I used to be guilty of going out running and not taking anything with me, until I had a run where halfway I didn’t feel great and walked back in the freezing cold. I realised at this point that if I was running alone then its best to take some money or a phone out just in case. Over the years I have had a few different pouches, belts, arm straps. All of which I used a few times and just didn’t feel comfortable.
A friend of mine recommended the FlipBelt so I decided to give it a go.
The belt is made out of soft, super stretchy material, it has a zipper compartment additional non zip pockets, and a inside key hook. Its perfect for keeping your phone, keys and some money or bank card, I sometimes put an energy gel in for longer runs. The stretchy material makes it really comfortable and you forget you are wearing it unlike some of the bigger bulkier belts out there.
Another great thing about this belt is that if you like travelling then it can also be used for keeping important documents or your money if you don’t want to carry a bag or purse.
These three purchases for me have all been great, not essential but made my running experience better. The things that I could not run without are obviously trainers, a good sports bra and a GPS watch so I can upload my runs to Strava…I will cover these off next time.