The Holiday season is upon us!

Currently, I am sitting in my daughters kitchen…eating breakfast after a 50 minute run. She lives on the island of Antigua, so I try to get out as early as I can to run before it really starts to heat up.

We are celebrating Thanksgiving here and thankfully she lives within 5 minutes of two very large and stocked grocery stores.

There is a whole freezer full of turkeys and they have all the trimmings! There must be a lot of American ex-pats who want to make a Thanksgiving feast, because the stores have displays of typical American Thanksgiving foods.

It’s hard for me (a Buffalo girl) to believe that Christmas is in a month. Running in shorts and a t-shirt is not my usual gear for a November run!

Some of you may not be runners…but you landed here to find out what to get the runner you love.

(BTW- if you’re not a runner, but you want to be I will be writing a post for next week on making a New Years resolution on getting started with running)

I also did a post and two YouTube videos last year on gifts for runners, which you can check out for more (and different) ideas than listed here:

Gifts for Runners 2018 : Wrinkled Runner Post

Gifts for Runners 2018 Part 1: YouTube

Gifts for Runners 2018 Part 2: YouTube

Marathon Route Map Pint Glasses:

https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/etched-marathon-pint-glass

These are from uncommon goods, and I think they are really cool! I don’t drink much beer, but I’m getting the Chicago glass anyway, since I ran that marathon a month ago. I can watch my husband drink his beer and reminisce, lol.

Generation UCAN Sample Pack/Bars:

Runners are always on the lookout for a great way to fuel. Generation UCAN has created a way to give the body sustained energy to get through long runs without the sugar crash that some fueling strategies can cause. Use this before a workout or long run and you won’t have to re-fuel as much.

See the video for my review of UCAN.

Foam Roller:

Recovery is so important for running success. Hard runs can wreak havoc on your body, and a foam roller can help!

This post talks about foam rolling and why you should have a roller!

Non-Hydrating Running Belt

Going for a long or hot run that calls for carrying my water bottles in a hydration belt also has the benefit of a pouch to carry my phone, carbs, whatever.

When I am going for a short run, I use this belt to carry my keys and my phone.

Running Gloves

I live in Buffalo. I need gloves for most of my runs in the winter. The only time I don’t is when I am here visiting my grand kids in Antigua!

These gloves are my all time favorite. My hands stay warm and dry. If the thermometer dips below about 20 F, I layer them with a base layer glove for added warmth and peel off the layers as I warm up.

Running Books

I’ve read the following books, so I can recommend them. If your runner lives in a snowy climate this time of year, reading about running may be the only thing they can do some days!

My Year of Running Dangerously by Tom Foreman- This is a very enjoyable book by CNN journalist Tom Foreman. He and his daughter decide to run a marathon together, and the book covers that journey (and so much more). It is a fun read!

The Everything Running Book by Art Liberman- If your runner is a beginner, or would like to train for a specific race distance, this book covers it all. I’ve used the marathon training included in the book twice now. The book covers everything from shoes to weight training to running workouts and more.

Finish Line Fuelingby Jackie Dikos- This book covers nutrition for the runner and includes recipes. Many runners start out “just” running, but eventually we want to learn about what makes us better. Fueling our bodies is one of those things. I use the Homemade Sports Drink all the time, and like to re-read the nutrition strategy parts for marathoning before my next race.

Advanced Marathoningby Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas. I used this book to train for my second marathon. If your runner is a more intermediate or advanced runner and runs (or wants to run) marathons, this book would be a great read. It is very into the science of running and includes training plans. I found it more aggressive than the training I did through the Everything Running.