Looking for gifts for runners in your life? Do not panic! The RunGuides holiday gift guide is here to help with 37 Christmas gift ideas for runners that are guaranteed to be awesome!

Everything listed in this guide is something that we either use ourselves, or that our running friends have been recommending to us throughout the season.

Note that the prices that we have listed are in USD, and are based on the most recent prices that we've seen for things (so they may change). 

 

Gifts that Don't Cost You Anything

If you want to get a bit creative with the runners in your life we have a category of gifts that won't cost you a dime, but, are guaranteed to be well received by your running friends!

Run Coupons

What is it: Eleven coupons that you can give as gifts to runners in your life! These things make pretty good holiday gifts, and we have made them available as a free download.

Who to buy it for: The runner in your life who could use some friendly support!

Price: Nothing but your time.

Where to get these: www.runguides.com/article/546/coupons-for-runners

 

Gifts for Runners in Training Mode

If the runner that you're looking to get a gift for is training for a specific race you can always pay for their race entry! Or, you may want to consider one of these gift ideas to help them train, stay motivated, and recover.

RunDoyen Coaching/Online Training

What is it: Personal coaching by some of North America’s top runners. RunDoyen has a roster of amazing running coaches with a proven track record of helping runners of all levels CRUSH their goals.

They have a really cool coach matching tool where you answer a few questions to get matched to the right coach for you. 

Who to buy it for: The runner who has big goals in 2024 and wants to crush them!

Price: Varies depending on what you go for. RunDoyen offers a full range of online coaching services, and training plans so if you want to be really awesome you could also gift someone a custom training plan, or a season of online coaching ;)

Where to buy: www.rundoyen.com

Strava Subscription

What is it: Strava’s premium subscription gives you access to all of their advanced features including... all of your sweet sweet segment data!

Strava has a special link that allows you to gift a subscription to a friend, giving them access to all of the premium features for an entire year.

Who to buy it for: The Strava friend who has given you the most kudos in the past 12 months

Price: $79.99 for a year

Where to buy: https://www.strava.com/subscribe
 

Glo Membership

What is it: Glo gives people access to hundreds of high quality yoga classes taught by some of the best practitioners in the industry. We've been using their service for for a few years now and have been loving it.

They currently have an option to gift up to 12 months of membership.

Who to buy it for: Runners who keep putting off mobility as a priority, or who like yoga but dislike commuting to the studio.

Price: $36/month

Where to buy: Info about Glo - https://www.glo.com Gift link - https://www.glo.com/gift

 

GARMIN Forerunner 45/55 or Suunto 5

What is it: GPS running watches that track all of the necessary stats (pace, distance, elevation, heart rate, burger consumption ratio etc.). Both Garmin and Suunto offer a full line of watches with various levels of features.

In our opinion the Garmin Forerunner 45 or 55, and the Suunto 5 both have everything that a runner needs, at prices that won't break the bank. A number of RunGuides staff have these watches and are very happy with them.

Who to buy it for: Your running friend that is still estimating their run time based on the position of the sun.

Price: Ranges from about $129 - $289

Where to buy: Garmin - https://explore.garmin.com/en-US/forerunner/ Suunto - https://www.suunto.com

Timex Watch

What is it: It's a watch!

Who to buy it for: The runner that just wants to time themselves and doesn't need a $900 watch that mixes margaritas while they run.

Price: $15 - $30

Where to buy: Amazon, or most corner stores

The Stick

What is it: Just like it sounds... it's a stick! The stick is a simple and effective portable muscle roller that can be used for warmup and recovery.

Who to buy it for: The always travelling destination runner in your life.

Price: $29 - $72

Where to buy: You'll need to do a bit of Googling for this one. Most online fitness stores carry these.
 

Foam Roller

What is it: The "do it yourself" home massage tool.

Who to buy it for: Everyone!! Our foam roller is by far one of our most highly prized and most used recovery items. If the runner in your life doesn't have one get on it. No need to go too fancy with these, a simple foam tube will be just as effective as most top branded rollers.

Price: $15 - $30

Where to buy: Do some googling, there are 10,000,000 foam rollers for sale online.

Lacrosse Balls

What is it: Lacrosse balls are cheap, easy to find, and incredibly effective recovery tools! Many companies sell specially labelled "myofascial release" balls, go with a standard lacrosse ball. It's the same thing, but will be half the price.

Who to buy it for: Anyone who says "tennis balls are okay but I just can't get the right pressure."

Price: $5 - $10

Where to Buy: Amazon or any sports store

 

Theragun

What is it: The expensive version of the stick, foam roller, and lacrosse balls all combined into an electronic percussion machine. We're pretty sure that this massage gun brought our friend back to life about 2/3 of the way into a 100 mile race this year (please do not use this as scientific evidence... we are runners, not researchers!)

Who to buy it for: People with a partner that is developing carpal tunnel from the amount of post run massages they have been recruited into.

Price: Around $475

Where to Buy: www.therabody.com

 

Body Glide

What is it: Body glide (aka magic anti-chafing tubes) are tiny personal sticks of that have been making running a lot more comfortable.

Who to buy it for: There aren't many runners who won't appreciate this. Buy it like you would apply it... liberally.  

Price: $8

Where to buy: www.bodyglide.com
 

Foot Powder

What is it: Runners’ feet get pretty grimy after hitting the road/trail for awhile. Foot powder can help de-stinkify socks and shoes, and, it’s a great way to prevent blisters (less moisture = less chafing = less sadness).

We tend to use no name baby powder, but also really like the T for Toes foot powder that LUSH puts out. If you’re buying this as a gift go with that, it’s a bit more exciting.

Who to buy it for: Your sweatiest running friend. Anyone with smelly run socks.

Price: $7.95 

Where to buy: https://www.lush.ca/en/body/footcare/t-for-toes/03635.html

 

Shoe Dryers

What is it: Funny looking upside down fan tubes that de-stinkify shoes by drying them out. There are a number of these products on the market. Most of our friends have the Peet brand dryers and really really like them.

Who to buy it for: Your running friend that keeps defiling their balcony/porch/shoe closet with their wet shoes. 

Price: $44 - $119

Where to buy: https://www.peetdryer.com/

 

Gifts for Runners Who Hit a Milestone

Know someone that totally crushed a big running goal this year? Here are a couple gift ideas that will help them continue to relive their running glory.

Paper Trails Map 

What is it: Paper Trails are customised prints of events using Strava/GPX data

Who to buy it for: The runner who couldn't stop Stravsturbating over that one massive route they accomplished this season.

Price: $30 - $60

Where to Buy:  https://papertrails.io

Küdos Race Medal Coasters

What is it: Kudos coasters are race medal holders that double as drink coasters!  

Who to buy it for: The runner with a 17 pound box of medals hiding in their storage room

Price: $20

Where to Buy: www.kudos2u.com

  

Apparell that Runners Always Need

Socks may not sound exciting to most people, but when you're constantly buying $40 sets of specialty athletic socks/undwear the prospect of receving them as gifts becomes quite intriguing. These gift ideas are based around items that all runners tend to go through, all the time.

Running Socks by Stance or Outway

What is it: High quality, comfortable, durable, run socks that also happen to have really cool designs. 

Our staff have been loving two brands this year; Stance, and Outway. Stance gets the edge for performance, Outway was our pick for the socks with the freshest designs.

Who to buy it for: All runners. Seriously. You can NEVER gift enough running socks to runners.

Price: $10 - $50 per pair 

Where to buy: Stance - https://www.stance.com  Outway - https://outway.com

Goodr Sunglasses

What is it: Cheap, great looking sunglasses with weird names that are comfortable, don't fog up, and stay on your face while you run.

Who to buy it for: The runner in your life that loves colors, but loses half their body weight in sunglasses each year (buy them 4 pairs and they’ll be set for awhile)

Price: $25 - $35 per pair

Where to buy: https://goodr.com

Gloves

What is it: Things that you put on your hands so that they don't freeze! There's no real universal consensus on best glove, especially since the weather that you/the person you're buying for runs in is going to determine how much glove is necessary. The good news is that most modern gloves are about the same, so we recommend going off of colour preference!

Who to buy it for: Anyone with a drawer full of smelly $1 cotton gloves that they keep using.

Price: Most gloves should run you around $20 - $30

Where to buy: Do some googling, there are plenty of options online!
  

Runderwear

What is it: Specialty underwear made for runners. Runderwear’s flagship product is seamless underwear that’s designed to minimize the chance of chafing. We’ve put this to the test on distances up to about 50k, so far so good!

Who to buy it for: The running friend who keeps turning their body into human canvas of chafe marks.

Price: Underwear starts at $25

Where to buy: www.runderwear.com

BUFF Headwear

What is it: BUFFs are multifunctional tubular pieces of headwear made in Spain. We like to refer to them as "that cool scarf/neck warmer/headband/balaclava/beanie/sun guard/face mask/hood/hariband/scrunchie thing." They come in a variety of different materials (microfibre, merino wool, polar fleece) and designs and are made for all seasons in mind.

Who to buy it for: Runners who keep coming home with a semi frostbitten face, or sunburned heads.

Price: From $25

Where to Buy: USA (www.buff.com/us), Canada (www.buff.com/ca)

Uplifting Scrunchie

What is it: The Lululemon uplifting hair scrunchie is a cheap and effective way to keep your hair out of your face, and your head in the game! It’s less than $10, and one size fits all.

Who to buy it for: Runners who have shoulder length or longer hair

Price: $8

Where to buy:  https://shop.lululemon.com

OOFOS Recovery Shoes

What is it: Extra gushy (is that a word??) shoes that you can wear after run days to feel like you're walking on marshmellows.

Who to buy it for: The runner in your life that keeps telling you about how in 2024 they are going to run "insane milage" ... or anyone in the January Battle

Price: $60 - $249 per pair 

Where to buy: https://www.oofos.com

 

Ciele Run Hat

What is it: The roadie version of the trail runner trucker hat (relax tail runners, we know that you wear these too!). Ciele hats and beanies (we call those touques up here in Canada eh!) are high quality, high visibility caps for all occasions. Pair these suckers with those Goodr shades that we mentioned earlier and you are pretty much the ultimate cliche in the best possible way.

Who to buy it for: Your trendiest running buddy.

Price: $40 - $60

Where to buy:  https://cieleathletics.com

   

Specialty Running Accessories

These gift ideas may not be for every runner, but for the right person they can make for pretty fantastic gifts!

Mighty Audio Player

What is it: A small, portable music player that lets you play your spotify music offline, without a phone. 

Who to buy it for: Your runner friends that love music but hate carrying around their phone (just make sure that they use spotify first).

Price: $124

Where to Buy: https://bemighty.com

Shokz Headphones

What is it: Wireless headphones that use bone conduction technology (yes, that is a real thing) to leave your ears open when you wear them so that you can hear your music, but not completely tune out your environment.

One neat thing about these is that because of the open ear concept they are often allowed in races that do not allow traditional headphones for safety reasons.

Who to buy it for: These are great for urban runners and add an interesting aspect to the trails.

Price: $100 - $200 depending on the version of headphones

Where to buy: https://shokz.com 

Salomon ADV Skin

What is it: A lightweight, comfortable running vest with room for, and easy access to all of your food, hydration, and gear. One of our staff members purchased it to use on some trail races this past summer and won't stop talking about how awesome it is. This vest comes in three sizes (5, 10, 12) depending on how much water you want to carry, we've found that the 5 has more than enough room for most people.

Who to buy it for: Anyone who runs trails (it’s part of the uniform).

Price: Starting at $159

Where to buy: https://www.salomon.com

Noxgear Tracer360

What is it: Tracer vests are bright, lightweight, visibility vests for running in the dark. Each vest has multiple colour modes, and, according to the runners who keep telling us to add this thing to the gift guide, are pretty comfortable to wear! These also happen to be a favourite of people who do overnight relays like Ragnar or Hood to Coast.

Who to buy it for: Runners who tend to avoid the sun, people going to burning man...

Price: $50

Where to buy: https://www.noxgear.com

 

LED Armbands

What is it: Glow in the dark armbands for extra visibility after it gets dark! There are hundreds of different versions of LED armbands online, we tend to prefer velcro straps with a slightly elastic band, but to be honest, they're pretty much all the same. Definitely one of our most used peices of gear!

Who to buy it for: Anyone planning on running around or after sunset.

Price: $10 - $20

Where to buy: Amazon offers a big selection. Or google around and take your pick!

Headlamp

What is it: It’s a lamp. On your head! There are a ton of different headlamps that work well. We happen to like the Petzl TIKKA because it’s lightweight, has a super long battery life, and can pair with a USB rechargeable battery.

Who to buy it for: Winter runners, or anyone planning on doing some distance trail running. When it gets dark at 4:30pm you best believe that you'll need some illumination, and you can never have too many headlamps!

Price: $25

Where to buy: USA (www.petzl.com/US) Canada (www.petzl.com/CA/)

 

Running Food & Nutrition Gift Ideas

Runners are notoriously picky/weird about what they eat while out on the road or trail which means that food can be a tough gift to buy. If you do want to buy your runner something to eat we recommend doing a bit of preliminary research then buying them whatever gel/powder they're partial towards. 

What we have done is put together a short list of nutrition related gifts that just about any runner will be into!

Nathan Handheld Flask

Technically not food. It does assist in the delivery of food, so food section it is!

What is it: A waterbottle, that attaches to your hand with a mini gear pouch to stash gels/phones/tiny sandwiches into. There are a few different models on the market, most of our staff happen to use Nathan brand handhelds, but go with what you feel is right.

Who to buy it for: Minimalist runner friends who keep awkwardly taping gels to the inside of their shorts.

Price: $20 - $40  

Where to Buy: www.nathansports.com

Katadyn Filter Bottle

Also technically not food. Do not eat, only use in delivery of hydration.

What is it: A soft flask water bottle with a built in filter that gives you the ability to drink from all sorts of weird puddles without fear!

We find that the Katadyn filter has a better flow rate than other brands after multiple uses which is why we're including it as a pick in this year's gift guide. 

Who to buy it for: Your trail running friend that keeps weighing themselves down with 18kg of fluids in their vest because they fear drinking out of the mountain streams.

Price: $40 

Where to Buy: Most outdoor retailers or Amazon (do a quick Google search)

 

SaltStick Electolyte Capsules

What is it: SaltStick electrolyte salt capsules are meant to help stop cramping by providing a balance of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and vitamin D. We use these on all of our long runs. Our preference is the capsules over the chews (the chews didn’t have enough electrolytes for our liking).

Who to buy it for: Anyone planning a long run in the heat, or the person in your life that keeps spending too much time in cramp city.

Price: $29 for a bottle of 100

Where to Buy: http://saltstick.com/

 

LMNT Electolyte Powder

What is it: Electrolytes in a powder form instead of a pill form. There are great if you're looking to add a bit of flavour to your run bottles. 

Who to buy it for: Your extra sweaty run friend that keeps complaining that they're getting sick of the taste of their janky homemade molasses/salt water. 

Price: $45 for a pack of 30

Where to Buy: https://drinklmnt.com

 

GSI Condiment Bottles

What is it: Empty squeeze bottles that you can use to make your own gels! Tell your running friend to throw some maple syrup/honey/whatever they like plus a bit of salt into one of these, then suck it back mid run. 100% satisfaction guaranteed!

Who to buy it for: Hungry runners who need more mid-run carbohydrates in their life but are indecisive on what type of gel to buy.

Price: $15 -$20

Where to buy: Most online retailers. Search for GSI Condiment Bottle

26.2 Coffee

What is it: A runner-founded coffee company that produces themed "finisher" line of coffees, including Boston, Chicago, and New York, plus an extra caffinated Unicorn Chaser blend for people chasing a BQ

Who to buy it for: Your tired runner friend that keeps getting up at stupid o'clock to go for runs

Price: $19

Coupon: Coupon code RUNGUIDES gets you 20% off any coffee (US orders only)

Where to buy: https://www.262coffee.com

 

Non-Alcoholic Beer

What is it: Beer! With 0% Alcohol! That tastes great! It's probably safe to say that we are now in a golden age of non-alc beers that don't suck (oh what an age to be alive!). We have been liking Athletic Brewing and personally recommend the Wit's Peak, but go poke around and find one that speaks to you.

Who to buy it for: Thirsty running buddies that want to have a brew without the buzz. Anyone that wants to practice for an upcoming beer mile without getting drunk.

Price: Varies. Typically sround $15 per 6 pack

Where to buy: https://athleticbrewing.com

 

Last Minute Gift Idea

Yes. We only have a singular idea for last minute gifts.

If you're completely stuck we have one surefire go-to gift that is guaranteed to go over well. You may not get points for creativity, but hey, at least your runner will get some cool gear out of it! 

 

Gift Card to Their Local Run Store

Image of Vancouver Running Company (https://vanrunco.com/) high end image edits by RunGuides

What is it: The gift of open ended purchasing freedom. Our advice with gift cards is to buy them at local, specialty running shops. You’ll be supporting local business, and those are usually the stores that have the freshest, most high quality gear! 

Who to buy it for: Your indecisive running friend who already has their eye on some specialty gear

Price: As much as you want! Remember, more $$ = more socks 

Where to buy: Talk to your local running store!

 

Find Running Races

Looking for your next running race? RunGuides has a full calendar of upcoming runs happening across North America. Go to www.runguides.com to find an upcoming running race near you!