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Great gifts for runners can include watches with built-in heart rate monitors, and/or pedometers. A heart rate monitor would be excellent for those athletes trying to reach their target heart zone and for those runners, who may still be recovering from heart disease, and have to monitor their heart rate carefully. Such a thing programmed into a watch is excellent for both things, and it makes it easily viewable (and maybe even recordable with some more advanced models). With such a pedometer in a watch, it's very easy to track your distance without having to fumble with the clip-on pedometers. The good ones can be expensive, but well worth it for the running enthusiast on your list.

Ipods are always excellent and reasonably priced. They are especially good for that beginning runner, who may have the means to download music but not necessarily the mode of carrying the music and playing it back. Or, they may not have the means to download music. For that nostalgia-orientated runner, cassette walkmans are also good. They, and a lot of old cassettes are available cheaply at most second-hand stores. Most still work very well and still play high-quality music and are a lot easier to carry than the disc player when you are running. If your runner is nostalgia-orientated and/or you're on a tight budget, they make great gifts for the runner on your list.

Other great gifts for your runner can include herbal and vitamin supplements. The good ones usually cost a bit but they are well worth it. Herbs like cordyceps and reishi can be taken in large doses with little or no side effects. They help the cardiopulmonary system work better and more efficiently. Cordyceps are adaptogenic-which makes the body more resistant to environmental and organic stresses. Also, a good supply of top-quality "B" vitamins are great for your runner as a gift. They're relatively inexpensive and aid the body in helping convert food into energy and all of the processes associated with it. This, in turn, enhances the release of energy, which moves your runner along at a very rapid rate.

Other great gifts can include high-quality, shock absorbing running shoes. Most runners don't fully comprehend how much force the body absorbs every time a runner pounds the earth. Horrible, debilitating injuries can and do occur. Good shock absorbing shoes not only help prevent these injuries, but also extend the time a runner can run by preventing cumulative shock injuries over time. If you are on a budget, you could find barely worn shock absorbing shoes for a fraction of the cost at your local thrift store. Many are so barely worn (many runners semi or permanently drop out of their regimens) that they are practically brand new.

Learn more about this author, Todd Daigneault.
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