Running Store Shopping Guide

Drink and Food Holders

When running during training and racing, one should consider the following categories of drink and food holders to use to assist in performing at optimal levels: 1.)  Hydration belts, 2.) Hand held bottles, 3.) Race belts with pockets/holders.

Hydration Belts

When it comes to hydration belts, many different options are available for the avid runner or triathlete.  Among the hydration belts to think about are: 1.) Hydration belts with 2 flasks, 2.) Hydration belts with 4 flasks, 3.) Hydration belts holding 1 large bottle, 4.) Hydration belts holding 1 flask

• Hydration belts with 2 flasks - for the runner looking to hydrate with roughly 16 to 20 ounces of fluid, a 2 flask hydration belt is a good option.  In addition to having the capacity for 16 to 20 ounces of fluid, these belts often have a compartment to also carry one or two energy gels as well as other essentials.  These belts should be sufficient for running races from a 10k to a marathon.  Although you may need more hydration in a marathon, in an attempt to not be weighed down too much by your belt, 2 bottles should be good for close to half the marathon and you can always re-fill your bottles at a hydration station if you prefer not to stop at all of the rest stops.

• Hydration belts with 4 flasks - for the runner looking to hydrate with roughly 32 to 40 ounces of fluid, a 4 flask hydration belt is ideal.  In addition to having the capacity for 32 to 40 ounces of fluid, these belts often have a compartment or multiple compartments to carry energy gels and other training or race day necessities.  These belts are typically sufficient for running races from a half marathon to a marathon.

• Hydration belts with 1 large bottle - for the runner who does not like to run with multiple flasks, a hydration belt with 1 large 16 to 20 ounce bottle may be a suitable alternative.  1 Bottle hydration belts typically have a rear holster to hold the one bottle.  These hydration belts often have one or two compartments as well for carrying other essentials like energy gels.

• Hydration belts with 1 flask - for the runner looking to run and feel as light as possible, a hydration belt with 1 flask is ideal.  A 1 flask hydration belt is very handy for the runner in bigger races like a marathon or half marathon who does not like to get held up by slowing down for hydration at the hydration stations.  By carrying a hydration belt with 1 flask, this type of runner can keep his or her pace and hydrate for the first few miles at his or her choosing.

Hand Held Bottles

• Hand held bottles - for runners who do not like to train with hydration belts, a hand held bottle may be a good alternative.  Most hand held bottles have a protective bottle holder which is very functional and serves the purpose of allowing you to grip the bottle better and these holders often have a compartment or multiple compartments to carry keys, gels, or other essentials.

Race Belts With Pockets/Holders

For the competitor who prefers to be as light as possible and to not be weighed down by heavier hydration belts, a race number belt that either has a small zipper or velcro pocket or loops to stash gels is ideal. 

Heart Rate Monitors and Watches

When it comes to selecting sports watches and heart rate monitors for running, cycling, or for triathlon, one must consider several factors when making his or her decision. 

Sports Watches

• Night light - for athletes who are relegated to very early morning or night training, sports fitness watches equipped with a night lights enable one to see his or her times while training.
• Lap recall function - many sports watches are equipped with functionality which allows one to store historical data showing how long it took to perform a workout.  This function is very useful if you are measuring improvement when running, biking, or swimming on the same course.  If your distances remain the same and your times go down, it is easy to determine improvement in a certain discipline of training.
• Countdown Timer - a countdown timer is another important functionality of most sports watches.  A countdown timer is instrumental if you are racing or training against the clock.  If you are running a 6 mile course and you want to run it in less than 1 hour, you can set the countdown timer to 1 hr and as you run, you will see how much time is remaining so you can decide if you need to speed up or slow down.
• Alarms - alarms on watches can act as insurance against alarms at home that may not go off in the event that their is a power outage.  As a backup plan, it is always wise to have your sports watch alarm set to ensure that you wake up on time and do not miss a crucial workout session.
• Size of display -  depending on one's vision, he or she should consider if small digital images or larger digital images are necessary.  Normally, a display with larger digits will be appreciated and give the athlete one less thing to worry about during training or racing.
• Water resistance - most digital sports watches are water resistant down to a certain depth.  Before selecting the right digital sports watch, one should ascertain that the watch is water resistant to ensure that he or she will not have any issues with regards to the watch malfunctioning.
• Watch size - some sports watches have smaller faces that are catered for women and some sports watches have regular to larger size faces and displays that are geared towards men.
• Time display - when not training or racing, most digital sports watches have a separate screen that just shows the regular time of day in addition to the current date.