Running Belt Review

One thing that’s great about Triathlons is you have a bag or a box in the transition area where you can stash all your stuff. This kinds of falls apart if you are going for a run – even if it’s from your home and you need somewhere to stick your door keys, or a parkrun or similar where you have car keys to deal with. The problem is only magnified if you are taking a phone with you for spotify, or strava, or just the post run selfie.

I intensely dislike running with an armband, which feels bulky and irritating and insecure to the point where I’ve tried running half marathons with car keys in my sock or in my hand. It’s never worked brilliantly, but was better for me than the alternative.

However, following a recommendation by a friend,  I discovered an expandable running belt like the one pictured below.
 

I was somewhat sceptical that it would fit a large iPhone or android equivalent as described on the website but as you can see in the photo at the head of this post, I’ve grabbed a quick photo of one empty, and one holding a Samsung galaxy s7 edge and five full size energy gels – it’s remarkable how much space is in there. I’m pretty sure I could have got keys in either pocket as well.

I’m well known locally for not going in at the waist at all so had some significant concerns about how well it would stay up – if it’s empty it so comfortable thanks to the wide elasticated strap I genuinely forget it’s on and although I’ve never run with five gels stashed away I have run with a large phone, car keys and two gels and the same applies. Aside from when I’m actually fiddling with the easy to locate by touch zips to pop my phone away, playlist selected, or sliding out a gel halfway round a race you just forget it’s there.

For me, the sign that a piece of gear is indispensable is when I go and purchase an additional one in case the initial one goes missing or breaks just before a race – as you may have already gathered the running belt has slotted itself into that bracket. I’ve been running with the first one since early October with one long run most weeks and it’s not showing any sign of wear whatsoever, but at less than a tenner delivered I suspect I’ve already got my moneys worth.

The only downside I can imagine is if you run with wired headphones, where a armband might be less logistically complicated, but I think the belt would still work. I’m only guessing however, as I’ve been wireless for a while.

If you don’t get on with armbands or just want to try something different this might be worth a look.

If you do purchase any of the equipment discussed using the link on this page you will be helping to support the site, but each piece of gear is purchased by me and any thoughts above are entirely my own.