2013 Gift Guide for Triathletes, Runners, and Cyclists

Every year right around this time I go ahead and write a little gift guide for people who have triathletes, cyclists, or runners in their lives.  We’re actually a pretty easy breed to shop for.  Triathletes tend to like the latest cutting edge gear that’ll save them time on their next race or help them spend their precious training hours wiser, cyclists tend to lust after stuff made of carbon fiber and that will help them save precious ounces on their bike, and runners are the easiest to please, they generally just want a new version of some worn out piece of gear that they already have.

This year there a few things that I can think of that might be pretty sweet to find under the tree. So here it goes;

Stocking Stuffers

Runners- Lululemon Chillstop Gloves or Run with me Mittens ($30-$40) – I love these gloves simply because they’re warm, have good tactile feel and grip, and are smart phone friendly. The major drawback to them is that one always seems to vanish.  You can never have too many of an item when they mysteriously vanish all the time.

Triathlete- CEP Compression Socks ($60)- I’ve got two pairs of CEP Compression socks and I do swear by them.  I generally don’t race with compression socks but I do use them for travel and recovery.  Flying or driving to and from races, or even around the holidays, I find that wearing compression socks helps eliminate some of that sluggishness that comes after hours of sitting.

Cyclist– BikeSnobNYC’s Book ($15)- If you have a cyclist or triathlete in your life and they don’t already have this book, they desperately need it.  And if you have a cyclist in your life and you haven’t read this book, then you don’t know that cyclist as well as you think you do.  A great read with more laughs and logic around cycling than you would have thought possible.

Under the Tree

Runners- Garmin Forerunner 10 ($110) – This little piece of merchandise is a great gift for the runner in your life.  Forerunner 10 is a GPS running watch that’s so easy to use, you can start your run with the press of just one button. As you run, see how far and how fast you’ve gone, and get encouraging notifications when you’ve set a PB, or hit a longest distance. A great gift!

Triathletes– GoPro ($300) – Okay so this is a little expensive for just any old gift, but I think GoPro’s are awesome.  Not only will the triathlete love of your life be able to share a play by play of their 6 hour bike ride with you, but they can also use their GoPro underwater for things like taking videos of their stroke to improve their swim form.  Plus they’re just fun to have and the type of gift that will last for a couple years, and you’ll find fun uses for over time.

Cyclists– Parktool Repair Stand ($160)- Have you ever seen you’re loved one try and clean their crank while they bike was lying upside down on the ground?  Or adjust their dérailleurs while you held up the back end of the bike and they turned the pedals while pressing the shifters?  Yeah we hate it too. A repair stand is the most sparsely found must have piece of bike equipment every beginner-intermediate cyclist doesn’t have.

Santa’s gonna be awesome this year

Runners– Destination Race Entry ($150 plus airfare and accommodations) – If you really want to surprise that runner in your life, a race entry to something like the SeaWheeze Half Marathon, Rock ‘n Roll Vegas, or Nike Women’s Run would be an awesome way of setting up their year.  Most of the registrations won’t be open until the new year, but a fun little home made certificate will suffice.  What would make the gift even sweeter, is that you commit to training with them every step of the way.

Triathletes– A Road Bike ($1200+) – Yeah, this is awesome.  As a triathlete, I love my TT bike. But as much as I love staring at the pavement alone for hours in a hunched forward position that will make your psoas’ hate me, I’d take a 4 hour ride with friends on road bikes any day.  I’m always sort of taken aback when I hear that someone has two or three tri bikes in their quiver and not a single set of drop bars.  A road bike would be an amazing gift, and a great way to diversify the sport mix a little bit.  Plus, this time of year you’re bound to get some great deals.

Cyclists– A Powermeter ($800+) – Yeah you did. Powermeters are the ultimate training tool for cyclists and triathletes.  They’re the tools we use to train indoors and outdoors, and that allow us to push ourselves to the last drop of sweat for that last watt, and that allow us to use Strava and see just how mediocre we are in power output versus the likes of Tony Martin, Marcel Kittel, and Fabian Cancellara.  Worth every penny.

Honourable Mention

If you haven’t already noticed, next year is a winter Olympic year, which means its the one time in four years where Canadians are allowed to be patriotic and flag waving. When it comes to winter sports… We. Rock. This year HBC and Adidas have done a phenomenal job with the Olympic apparel and in a little less than two months you’ll be hard pressed to find any of the wicked gear that you’ll see everyone walking around in.  From training gear to stuff you can wear to and from work, they’ve got the bases covered and I think any Canadian out there will love to have some of this stuff under the tree.