Episode 48: Running with Friends- Runner Gift Guide
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Welcome to Chasing Life podcast, where we talk about fitness, running, career, and life tips to inspire you to live your best life. I'm your host, Sarah Kane, and I hope you enjoy today's episode. Welcome to another episode of Chasing Life. Today's guest is Leti from our Running With Friends community. And today we are going to talk about a runner's gift guide. Welcome, Leti.

Thanks, Sarah. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to talk about what our wishlist is and maybe give some of our listeners some great ideas for gifts. Why don't you kick us off with what one of the items on your wishlist is?

Sure. So this is not necessarily my wishlist. It's just what I think is a trendy gift that I will be giving. And that would be Shalane Flanagan's new cookbook. As probably everybody knows, she's got a few cookbooks. She's got the run fast, eat slow. Then the run fast, cook fast, eat slow. And then the last one that's going to come out right now is the rise and run recipes, rituals, and run to fuel your day.

So I thought that would be a great idea to get for other runners because there are not that many cookbooks out there written by runners that keep running nutrition in mind. Yeah, that's a great idea. In fact, I have that on my gift list idea and I sent it to my family member and requested that for a gift. So hopefully I will find that under my Christmas tree in a few weeks. Perfect.

So what is your first item on your list, Sarah? So my first item is this one is really simple. If you don't know what to get the runner in your life, give them a gift card to the local running store.

Not only will it support local, but then your runner can go and pick out whatever they are looking at. Maybe it's new sports bras, new leggings, new sneakers, which are always pricey, new socks, headphones, watches, whatever. Your local running store has it. So instead of you trying to figure out what your runner wants, just get them a gift card and let them go and pick it out themselves.

That is a great idea. And I love that you are putting an emphasis on shopping local, which we all should be doing, especially in light of what happened last year with COVID and all the businesses. Absolutely. What's another idea? Okay. So this one is a personal idea. And obviously depending on who the runner is, you kind of have to know them a little bit. It's the Insta360 GoTo camera, which is the smallest camera in the world. I wore it

on my hat during the Berlin and Boston marathon. It has amazing stabilization. So the way it works is it has only one button and you can turn it on. You can preset what that button pushing means. So it could be a recording for 10 seconds, 15 seconds, or I think all the way up to 30 seconds. And then you have little snippets that you later on can put into a short little video of your racing experience. I absolutely love this camera.

And do not regret buying it. It comes with a hefty price tag of, I think right now, $209. But for anyone that you're close to that is into making memories through running, I think that would be a great idea. Yeah, that definitely sounds like a really unique gift. So what is your next item on your list, Sarah? So I'm going to stick with the electronics recommendation. And this would be Bluetooth wireless headphones. So there are a wide variety on the market.

Things like aftershocks, there are where you can have them just fit in their ears. I mean, there's the AirPods. If runners don't have headphones and they live in a location where they can run safely, Bluetooth headphones are a must. I love my Bluetooth headphones. It's a game changer to go from wired headphones to Bluetooth headphones.

Very good. I have to agree with that one completely. I have the aftershocks myself and they're bone conducting. So they don't sit in your ear. You can still hear traffic and they're just really nice to have. What's another item for you?

So another pricey item are the Nike Alpha Flies. I believe that every runner that takes his running serious should have a nice pair of racing shoes, even if they come with a $250 price tag and they just feel completely different than your regular trainers. So if you have a runner in your life that takes his or her running serious, that's something that you may want to consider.

That's a great tip. So on a similar route, my next gift idea is footwear, but it's recovery sandals. So I bought some earlier in the year. I've talked about how I had a ankle injury, tendonitis. And so I felt like walking around in $2 Old Navy flip-flops were not necessarily helping my feet, especially because my ankles were rolling inward. So I needed much more supportive footwear.

And so I ended up buying this pair of recovery sandals from PR souls. They looked uncomfortable because they're all bumpy along the bottom, but the point of them was that they would trigger pressure points along your foot. And that helps with your recovery. So they were about $25. And let me tell you, I love them so much. I bought a second pair, like three weeks later and they, I just, I can't recommend them enough, especially because,

During the summer when you're walking around probably more barefoot or you want to wear sandals, wear sandals that are going to help you recover after your runs. That sounds like something that we as runners definitely need. What's another one of your items? So one of the next items is finally an item that's not very highly priced and it's metallic silicone jewelry. Particularly, I'm talking about rings. So whether you're married or you just like wearing jewelry,

I enjoy rings, but honestly, wearing your wedding ring every day can get kind of gooey if you're sweating it every day and you have all that soap in there. So these metallic silicone rings come in really handy because they fit perfectly. You barely feel them. They wash off very nicely. And the fact that they're metallic just means that they

look like they are actual jewelry. So there's a few brands online. I don't want to, you know, since we're not being sponsored here, not call them out. But if you just Google metallic silicone rings, there's quite a few that pop up. They're not pricey at all. And they might be something fun for you, your friends, or, you know, if you are married and you want to have that sort of wedding ring, then that's another option to have.

perfect little stocking stuffer that maybe somebody wouldn't think of, but would find that they end up using it often. So I'm going to kind of follow your suit with a lower priced item on my list. And that is some resistance loops. So runners can use these loops for many different exercises, like body weight exercises. You loop them around your ankles or your thighs, and you can do all kinds of different

strength training exercises with them, especially at home. They're easily portable. You just throw them in your bag if you've got to go somewhere, but there's so versatile and you don't have to spend a lot of money on them. You can easily find a pack of resistance loops of, you know, either light, medium and strong resistance. Sure. You can find them, you know, just Google them, find them on Amazon or, you know, at a local running store.

or, you know, local sporting goods store, but they are definitely, I think a great tool for runners to have. That sounds fun. It sounds like something runners should have just because it helps so much has been proven to help so much to do any kind of resistance and strength training for runners. So thank you for that tip. Hey, you're welcome. What do you have next on your list? So the next item I have on my list was the personal discovery, because as you know, when I keep preaching about, I switched from an Apple watch to a Garmin watch, I was, I

between three different garments until I found the one that I liked. My hesitation to get the one that I liked was that it looked too much like a running watch. I had been looking at Garmin smartwatches solely because they had some sort of silvery look or something that you could wear to a work setting more than the plasticky Garmin watches. But then I looked hard enough online and I found that there are some watch covers that

that basically snap around your watch that make it much more nicer looking. So I would suggest something like that for somebody that has the same struggles. And I probably guess that's going to be mostly women that we want to wear our watch all the time, but it looks kind of, you know, two runner-ish when going to work. So try to find out what type of garment your friend has and maybe get a watch cover or a fun band for it.

Yeah, that's a great tip. And yeah, it's one of those, you know, you're a runner when you wear a running watch with your dress clothes or your work clothes. And so that's a great tip. Yes. So what is the next one on your list? So.

This is another tool that I've kind of utilized a lot this year, and that is a running training journal. So there are several different journals out there. I searched and looked at, reviewed different ones for a few weeks before I decided and landed on the Believe Training Journal, which is another item that was made by runners for runners and

And it's just, just like it sounds, you just log your mileage and there's space in there for you to make race goals. And also, you know, you could write in there, not just your miles, but what did you fuel that day? Or what was the weather like? Things like that. And then that way, and it's good for a full year, it's undated. And there's often tips about nutrition or goal setting or body image, things like that, that's sprinkled throughout the journal.

So I've found it to do kind of reflect on each of my runs, even if I, you know, some days I write more than others, but it's meant as a tool, especially if you're dealing with an injury, you can just have a place to write down, like, how is your injury feeling that day? Is it getting better? Is it getting worse? You know, what made it better or worse? And then you have a better way of kind of tracking your progress. That's a really good one. That's a, that's a nice stocking stuffer.

Absolutely. And they only run about like 20 or $25. So definitely a great little item. Yeah, that's perfect. So what's another one of your items? So the next one that I have listed is one that has been consistently on my list for other runners to give, which is the book Endure by Alex Hutchinson. I interviewed this guy. He's a person that has a lot of knowledge about the psychology of running in my episode 29.

You know, if I were a sponsor, then I'd be retired on a private island right now because I've turned so many people onto that book. So it's basically all about the mental aspect of running, how to get through these miles. And again, if you want to know more about this, tune into my episode 29 for a full interview with the author, which we'll link in the show notes.

Yeah, I've heard you talk a lot of times about that book, but also how much value you've gotten out of that. So, you know, you promote it for a reason. You know, people saying that this book has really helped them, which is ultimately what we're trying to do here with the podcast is to get people feel stronger and do better at their races. And if there is an aspect that we can cover that is not just training, then, you know, it's training our minds. Yeah.

Absolutely. Yeah. And that's the main focus of the Endure book is the sports psychology component, correct? Correct. Yep.

So what's another item on your list? I'm going to follow your train of thought about something you've talked about a lot. Well, something I've talked about a lot is a running camp, the camp runabout. So my gift idea is for someone, your loved ones in your life to either get you a gift certificate to a running camp or buy your ticket to the running camp or, you know, line up babysitters so that you can go without having to worry about your kids. So you can go to the running camp.

So this running camp is located in northeastern Pennsylvania in the Poconos. And it's really actually an adult summer camp with a little bit of running and a lot of fun. And I probably, again, people would stick with me talking about it, but it's so much fun. It's a great little getaway, you know, for girlfriends or husband and wife or anyone

you know, whatever your running crew is, it's a great way to just go and be a kid again at a summer camp. I love that. And I did hear you talk about that quite a lot. So, but you know what, it's working. The more you talk about it, the more I now want to go to. Yes. Yep. It's a lot of fun. So what's your next idea?

So my next idea that I've written down is a hotel gift certificate. So if you know your friends and you know where they like to stay when traveling for marathons, let it be Hyatt or whatever, hopefully not the Four Seasons, then get them a gift certificate for travel so that it makes their lifestyle of choice a little bit more affordable or, you know, alternatively an airline certificate or a marathon bib. You know, those are always greatly appreciated by people that like to travel for marathons, I think.

Yeah, what a great thoughtful idea. So then what do you have next as another idea? My next item is, especially if somebody runs a lot or even if they only run a couple of races a year, they probably have accumulated a lot of bibs and or medals. So my idea is to get them a medal and bib rack or display.

And, again, you can Google them depends on how well you know the person you're giving gifts to or maybe, you know, as a runner you pick it out and send the link to your friends and family and say I like this one. I mean they range in prices from $20 to $100.

I got one in the last year that was about $100, but it fits 100 bibs and 100 medals. And so this thing should have me set for many, many years. And it looks amazing on my wall. So I'm really happy with it. It's very sturdy. It holds a lot of stuff. It has like a bib folio. So it's like a plastic sleeve to put your bibs in and then a rack to hang your beautiful hard-earned medals on.

It sounds like something that you should be linking in our show notes because I haven't heard about that with the folio for the bibs. And I know a lot of people tend to keep their bibs after their races. Yes, I can definitely include that link in our show notes. Yes, that sounds like a great gift idea, Sarah. So we only got a couple left. What's next on your list?

So next I have a personalized shirt for runners, moisture wicking, preferably because we as runners don't wear cotton with a cool running slogan or a nickname or whatever, just something creative that shows them that you're supportive and inform yourself about what they're, whatever they like to do for their lifestyle. For the last two races, I made myself a

a tank crop top that said runner on it. And I absolutely loved it. And that's when I kind of came up with that idea, you know, because I was running those races and people would yell at me and say, go runner. And it just, you know, it's very uplifting to have that, or even just for training to have some sort of personalized shirt that make you want to go out there and run more. I've seen shirts that say,

unicorn chasers for those people that are trying to qualify for Boston or Boston qualified for those who did. So there's a whole lot. And I guess Etsy is the store to go to for that. Yeah, definitely a very cute and thoughtful idea.

Yes. So what do you have next on your list, Sarah? Next, and this is related to recovery. I have either foam roller slash massage gun. And again, these can range in prices. Hopefully the runner in your life or you yourself have one of these items. You know, there are mixed reviews about the benefits of foam rolling, but at the end of the day, it does feel, well,

maybe have a love-hate relationship with foam rollers, but it is a way of self-massaging. So if you're sore, you're just kind of relaxing to roll around on a foam roller and get those kinks out. Equally so, massage guns have blown up in popularity lately. So, you know, do your research. Those range in price from say $40 to $300 for the Theraguns.

So, you know, gauge kind of what you're looking for with each of the items, the foam roller. I got my foam roller from a $5 store, but you can certainly spend a lot more than that. The recovery is just as an important aspect of your training as running is. That sounds like a super good idea. And it kind of goes hand in hand with my next idea, which is a gift certificate to a massage or, you know, adjustment program.

Yes, that is a great idea. I love your gift certificate ideas. It kind of is almost the same as your idea, but not really, because whatever you are proposing with the massage guns and that kind of stuff is something that we as runners want to use daily, whereas a massage is kind of more of a treat and obviously unaffordable on a more frequent basis.

Absolutely. Yeah. More of a kind of experience or, you know, once every six months or, you know, if you're lucky once a month, but you know, that timeframe ranges versus foam rolling and massage gun could be more of a daily activity. Yes, absolutely. So what do you have as your last item? So my last item is also an item that I love and get so many comments about, and that is a

light vest. So I use the Knox gear 360 tracer light vest and it,

is amazing on how much of a difference I can see that drivers move over for, especially with daylight savings now. And, you know, it's dark partially in the mornings or dark at night. It's just like dark anytime other than the middle of the day now. And I love my vest and they also make them for dogs too. So if you have, if you're, you know, a dog parent or, you know, someone who's not a parent and they walk their dog at night, um,

They make light hound vests too. So it just lights up and it's very bright. You can see them from a quarter mile away. It's just amazing. And I feel much safer running in the dark with this vest on. I like this idea because it's so important to be safe because most drivers just don't expect you to be there. And, you know, we love life and running too much to have this be a close call at any time in our lives. Exactly. Yeah. And yeah,

I used to just have a little reflective vest and I felt lucky that maybe cars never hit me, but now I see them clearly move over like five times further because they spot my vest. And so it's, you know, you can get this for the walkers in your life. You can get this for, you know, anyone who is hiking or does Ragnar relays or some other crazy race where they're running in the middle of the night, you

you know, it's a great way to just be safe and for people to see you. I like it. Yeah. That was a lot of gift ideas. And I hope that our listeners found them helpful either for themselves to send the ideas to their loved ones, or maybe just ideas for them to buy themselves.

Thank you. And I can't believe we only had one overlap. I mean, that's kind of shocking to me just because we're both runners yet we were able to come up with that many items and only have one overlap. Absolutely. Yep. So my overlap, I had written down a cookbook, the rise and run cookbook. Okay. So that was the one that you had and I had the metal hanger. So that was going to be one of my gift ideas as well.

All right. Two brains with lots of gift ideas. So hopefully, you know, this is coming out. I'll be right in time for Black Friday and I guess shopping season has started. So even if you just grab one stocking stuffer, you know, it's kind of nice. The running community is so supportive and so loving. I always want to get something for my friends. So now that we have this list together, there's a lot of different things that I'm going to be purchasing.

Yeah. The high-end items, right? The Theragun. You bet you'll find some alpha flies under your tree. Yeah. So thanks for hopping on and doing this real quick. I'm glad we got through these items, you know, without stumbling too much and making this too long of a podcast. Yep. I think we kept it pretty short and to the point. All right. Looking forward to speaking to you again very soon. Me too. I always enjoy our conversations.

If you're interested in learning more about the light vests that we talked about in today's episode, go to www.noxgear.com. That's www.noxgear.com and use code CHASING35 to save on your purchase. They have vests not only for your humans, but for your dog friends too. That's www.noxgear.com. Use code CHASING35.

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