22 Gift Ideas For Female Runners {All the things I Can’t Live Without}

My top 22 things I can’t live without to have a great run!

Last month, the friend I run with had a birthday! I had so much fun putting together a box of the things I use during my runs on a regular basis, that I wanted to share it here.

As a general rule, I do not like running with people. I prefer podcasts and music to conversation. I also like to go my own pace. I don’t like to feel like I’m slowing someone down. And, I also don’t like to feel like someone is slowing me down.

I have one exception. It’s my friend Eliece. We started running one day a week about 15 years ago. We do take the winter off, as we both prefer treadmills in the winter. But about May through September, we run every Friday together.

I have grown to LOVE those Friday runs. In fact, It’s etched into my calendar as a non-negotiable. I rarely schedule anything on a Friday, because I know I’ll be doing a long run, and I don’t want to be rushed.

So, when Eliece’s birthday was approaching last month, I decided to put together the perfect running box, with all the things I personally use for a run on a consistent basis. I LOVE how the gift box turned out, and so did she!

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I first found some pictures of us over the years. And as luck would have it, I found our VERY first race together, 15 years ago! So, I created a graphic in Canva to print with a photo from the beginning, middle, and more recently, and I taped it on the box.

I also wrote on the graphic for the running gift box: “Friday Runs: Cheaper than Therapy! Happy Birthday. 15 years of therapy.” LOL. I thought it was pretty clever actually!!

Then, inside the running gift box, the ideas I had were:

1. My favorite running belt: Flip Belt
2. Built Bars, for after a run (of course!) my discount code is HEALTHBEET
3. Honey Stingers, for during a run.
4. GUM!! For during the run.
5. Caffeine– Sorry not sorry. I do take a caffeine pill before a long run.
6. Junk Brand headbands.
7. A handheld water bottle
8. and Running socks!

Other running gift ideas that I didn’t include (because it would get too expensive), but I use on a regular basis:

9. Brooks High Impact bra – This is my favorite running bra. I do have implants, but this holds everything in place when I run!
10. foam roller – I have several, but after a run, I prefer the softest one.
11. glide – If you are prone to chaffing, you need glide!
12. Nuun – This is an electrolyte tablet you add to water. During long hot runs, I always use Electrolytes.
13. Cliff blocks – I alternate between the Cliff chews and the Honey Stinger chews
14. Running log book – This is the book I use! I don’t like to complicate things, just a basic log of my runs.
15. Head lamp– This is the head lamp I use, but I wear it around my waist. It’s much more comfortable than on my head, especially if I’m wearing a hat!
16. pepper spray– Did you know how cheap this is?! For $10 you can have some handheld pepper spray / mace for those solo runs.
17. Running Hat– Admittedly, I haven’t tried many baseball hats for running. But I did get this Head Sweat Brand hat for a race I ran a few years back, and I LOVE it! It’s lightweight and the perfect size for my head.
18. Beanie – I like this Under Armour light weight beanie. I wear it every time I run outside and it’s below 70 degrees. LOL
19. Race Medal rack– Ok- this is the only thing on the list that I actually don’t have. BUT I WANT IT!! If any of my friends or family is reading this and looking for the perfect gift for me, THIS IS IT!
20. Running sleeves– I just got my first pair of running sleeves last year, and I’m hooked! It’s so nice for those mornings that start cold, but you warm up quickly!
21. Sunscreen– for face! This one is SPF 70, water proof and sweat proof. I’ve been so much better about wearing sunscreen on my face since I’m so close to 50!
22. chapstick– And every runner needs chapstick in their belt! Long runs make for dry lips. My daughter told me about this brand that you can get at Walmart: Lipsyl, and it’s now our favorite Lip Balm of all.

What would you add to this list of gift ideas for runners?

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