My favorite running items for Half Marathon training

So often I’m asked what items are needed to properly fuel and recover from training for a race. I wanted to take a little stroll through my local running shop and show you some of my absolute must haves. As I’ve mentioned in the past, everything you’ll see that works for me is relative. I have tested out which formulas and flavors work well for me through some trial an error.

First up you’ll see is Nuun tablets which I have as a staple in my house. When you’re sweating, not only are you losing water but you’re losing electrolytes as well. If you’ve ever felt your forehead after a long run and it felt a bit “sandy”, that’s salt leaving your body. Instead of bringing Nuun with me, I’ll normally drink half a glass before my run and the rest when I make it back home. It’s always a good idea to find out which sports drink the race you’re running will be providing, this way you can figure out if you need to bring it with you on race day. I have several clients that have had stomach issues with Powerade, so it’s best not to risk it at mile 10. One thing to also note, check which Nuun packages have coffee. Since I usually run without caffeine, or only take it around mile 10-11 for a kick, I always get the Nuun without caffeine. Not testing out how your body will react to caffeine is also a bit risky for your tummy!

So now that I’ve had half of my glass of Nuun, laced up my shoes and am ready to run I’ll be sure to take a Gu or two (love how that rhymes). If I’m going to and running anything more than 7-8, I need a bit of sugar to keep my energy high. The package will tell you to refuel every 30-45 minutes but in my personal experience, that’s a bit much for me unless I’m on day four of the Dopey Challenge. But again, this is all personal to me! some flavors that have not served me well are peanut butter and the marshmallow flavor but I know without a doubt the flavors you see below are good friends of mine - haha. I do love that some of them have added sodium, so I save those for a hot day or a longer run. If I’m marathon training, I usually take up for 3 of these with me but most likely will only have two. I highly recommend always packing one more than you think you need just in case if at mile 15 the thought of chocolate grosses you out, at least you have options.

Depending on the race, there are times where you have to get to the start line pretty early and it could be a while from your breakfast to the start. and you’ll need just a little something. What I like about these honey stinger waffles is that they have a little bit of sweetness, but not too much. They are good source of some quick carbs and taste like a dessert.

Some other items that are must haves for me are:

Balega socks

My Nathan hydration vest

Asics running shoes

Body glide

Ella MD facial sunscreen.

I’ll attach a video below on my favorite running items, let me know yours in the comments below!