The Running Gear You Really Need

When you decide to take up running you will probably be told you only need a pair of good shoes and lots of will. What people won’t say is you will also need other items, in order to make your running sessions effective and entertaining. With all the gear options you have these days it’s very hard to know what are the really important items and which ones are optional – all of them are advertised as being “essential”. Here is the list of the running gear you really need, apart from good running shoes, that provide support for your feet.

Running clothes

When you take up running it’s essential to invest in a good shirt and a pair of good pants. In this case, “good” means made of synthetic fibres, which can keep the wet clothes away from your body, allowing them to dry off as you run. For women, another essential item of running clothing is a supportive sports bra. Without it, you will have to deal with a lot of chest pain, to put it like this. Plus unwanted looks from men.

If you are going to run in the evening you also need reflective clothes or stripes, which can be applied on clothes. Many runners who exercise early in the morning or late in the evening are missed by tired drivers and such an accident can have fatal consequences, so make sure your clothes have reflective details and are visible for drivers.

Water or a hydration gear

When you run you sweat and lose water, as well as electrolytes. You have to replace the water you lose, so always have water with you. There is nothing worse or more dangerous than running dehydrated. There are hand-held bottles and hydration gears to pick from, so check which one is most comfortable for you and go for it. As for the liquid, you can pick special drinks for runners or plain water. Staying hydrated is going to help you avoid another dangerous state of runners: overheating.

Sun protection gear

When you run it’s easy to overheat and suffer from sun burns, so you have to prevent these conditions. Before you leave home apply a sunscreen, put on a hat or a cap and sunglasses. The sunscreen is obvious, the hat is meant to protect your face from the sun and keep your head as cool as possible in the summer and warm in the winter. The sunglasses are essential because your eyes are going to suffer without them from the bright light.

GPS watch

If you are serious about running, get a GPS watch, preferably one that has couple of extra features, like pace recording and timer. It will help you improve your running, enabling you to track down important data about your workouts, such as the time, your pace, the distance and even your heart rate. On the long run, this data is going to help you track your progress and implement new challenges, such as HIIT running sessions.