Christmas 2014 Running / Tri Gifts

It’s definitely better to be a cyclist than a runner at Christmas…so many more goodies to be bought.

But for those of you who are runners (or runners’ partners) then here are some new and some more unusual presents you can buy to meet those running needs this Christmas.

[I’ll update this over the next few weeks]

Just to be clear…I get no free samples on these products no discounts and no revenue for these links. Just saying…

Let’s take the socks. They are from 1000-Mile. They are good quality running socks (cross-sport in fact). I do have a similar pair from the same manufacturer from last year and, whilst it may not have done 100 miles on my feet it has done hundreds, and it/they are still going strong. Socks are normally able to fit more than one size of foot and so an easier purchase than a pair of running shoes – very personal choice.

Then we come to the Salomon water bottles. If you or your loved one runs for up to 60 minutes then you don’t need any additional hydration – especially in winter! Over that, eg training for a marathon, then you probably will at some point. Or you may just like practicing taking water regularly on shorter runs. The 45 degree water holder is quite neat if you think about it. If someone needs to drink you can’t go much wrong here.

The Suunto Ambit3 watches are neat and as good for triathlon as they are for running. They are new to 2014 and I have reviewed them a little on this site. If your loved one currently uses Polar watches then you might be risking it by buying them a Suunto. If, however, they use the Ambit2 then the upgrade to the Ambit3 can be done in secret and they will be pleasantly surprised on Xmas day. The new version no longer supports ANT+ BTW.

Salomon shirts. I tend to use their gear in the summer. A bit different to the Nike-standard wear, a bit cheaper and often better at the same price point. I would regard them as performance apparel. It’s not that hard to find your loved ones shirt size and buy one as a nice Christmas day surprise.

Then finally to the Ultimate Performance clip thingy. At first glance I thought these were headphones. Nope. They are lights that clip to the rear of your shoes. Have a look at their site. They have a few other unusual things on there as well.

Running School: Full Biomechanical Analysis     £89 (Regularly £125). Video analysis of running technique + Functional Movement Analysis to identify weaknesses & imbalances  Buy Now . I can’t endorse the Running School either way – but I can endorse that getting your technique improved is a great way for relatively easy speed gains.