2024 Running Gear: 7 Favorite Mile-Tested Items of the Year

Ever thought about what running gear is on your must-have list?
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After running an estimated 1,200 miles in 2024, I found 7 running gear items that helped me go the distance.
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From trail runs to races and other outdoor adventures, these essentials provided the comfort, support, and performance to enjoy every mile. 
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Ready to see my top 7 running-gear picks for 2024?

It’s been a good running year, consisting of many happy miles solo and with friends. 
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Here’s a breakdown of my running mileage, done mostly (about 95 percent-ish?) on trail, in 2024: 

• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️January: 59.9 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️February: 119.8 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️March: 72.8 miles (including a 25k trail race)
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️April: 135 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️May: 152.1 miles 
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️June: 53.7 (including a 50k trail race)
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️July: 48.7 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️August: 97.2 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️September: 105.6 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️October: 124.1 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️November: 141.6 miles
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️December: 82.8 miles as of the 22nd
• 🏃‍♀️‍➡️And also as of the 22nd: 195,543 feet of climbing for the year 

These runs provided lots of quality me-time and social time with running besties, as well as testing time with new gear. 
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Following is a list of seven items that kept me going mile after mile in 2024. 

Accessories & Apparel 

• Roka Performance Prescription Glasses
• Turtle Fur Comfort Ice Tube
• TrailHeads Fingerless Mittens - The Smittens 
• Minus 33 Mountain Heritage Elite Trail Running Ankle Socks 

Recovery

• Oofos OOahh Slide Sandals 

Fuel

• Tailwind Nutrition 
• Pickle Juice Shots 

Last year I grew tired of:

• Putting contact lenses in my eyes 
• Spending money on contact lenses 

So, I waited for a Cyber Monday deal and ordered the Roka Braker 2.0, made-for-sport prescription glasses. 

😎Thus, since December 2023, I’ve been wearing the Brakers for:

• Running
• Mountain biking (which eliminates the need for safety riding glasses)
• Gravel riding
• White water kayaking (only on short sections of river where I’m teaching my kids to attain, aka paddle upstream, on Class II rapids; anything above Class II is too splashy in glasses for me)
• Cross and backcountry skiing 
• Backpacking 

⚙️Following are the main technical specs and details, edited from the Roka site:
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Photochromic

• Transition lenses that change in different light conditions; they darken in bright light and are clear indoors 

FloatFit 

• Durable
• Lightweight
• Comfortable

No-slip GEKO pads 

• Get stickier when wet

Polycarbonate, which means: 

• Anti-reflective
• Anti-scratch
• Super-hydrophobic (water resistant), oleophobic (oil resistant), and fog resistant coatings
• Lightweight
• Impact resistant
• 100 percent UV protection

Warranty

• 1,000-day warranty

✅Here’s what I love about them:

• All of the above
• The money saved by not using daily contacts 
• They fit well with a helmet, hat, beanies and bone-conduction headphones 
• Eliminating that uncomfortable contact-in-the-eye feeling, which I have never quite gotten used to even after more than 20 years

👉Some things to note:
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While putting Chums on them...

• One of the no-slip pads peeled off. After applying Gorilla Glue, it still won’t adhere back where it’s supposed to go. It’s a small complaint, and fortunately I don’t notice that one side has a pad and one side doesn’t.

Contacts vs. Glasses...

• I prefer contacts for runs that are longer than three hours and for races 

They are fog resistant NOT fog proof. 

• They fog when running with a group at a slower than normal pace while talking and stopping a lot.
• They fog when it is very, very foggy, humid or misty outside.
• They fog, obviously, in Class III and up whitewater, so I do not wear them when kayaking at this level. 
• Sometimes when I get in my vehicle to go home from the trailhead after a run or ride, the combination of sweat, a confined space and body heat fog the lenses so badly that I have to take them off to see well enough to safely drive the very short distance home. 
• If that sounds concerning, my eyes aren’t so bad that I can’t navigate the five to 10-minute drive via dirt and backcountry roads. 

All in all, after one year wearing sport glasses, I have to say it was one of the best decisions I have made, comfort and wallet wise.
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💥Bonus: I receive lots of compliments everywhere I go!

The material on this buff differs from a typical buff in a couple way: 

• The Ice Tube is silky smooth
• It repels water and sweat better
• It is lighter weight 

🏃‍♀️‍➡️I use the Ice Tube mostly in one way:

• Wrapping it around my wrist to wipe sweat from my face during hot, humid summer runs - and we had a lot of hotter-than-normal days this summer, and even into October

✅Once, in July I forgot a hair tie on an 11-mile point-to-point trail run...

• I fashioned the Ice Tube into a scrunchy. 
• It took a few wraps to get it bounce-free, but after getting the top knot high on my head, it was stable and kept hair off my face. 

In summary, I was hesitant to get yet another buff, but this one, with its unique and specific characteristics, is well worth it. The pretty design adds joy to my runs, too!
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👉Check out the Turtlefur Comfort Ice Tube WeeView

For almost all of November, I ran in the fleece-lined, cozy Smittens. Now, as December gets underway, I’m still grabbing them for most runs.
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✅The mitten-with-fingerless-glove option is ideal for early morning runs that begin in 30-degree temperatures Fahrenheit and end in the low 50s. 

• Easy access to the thumb and fingers is ideal for managing fuel or taking photos of fall foliage and group run selfies. 
• They are not waterproof, but the outer material wicks away snow well. 
• If I were to give a running mitten to a friend as a gift, it would be these. Road and trail runners alike would benefit from their versatility. 

🏃‍♂️‍➡️For more glove recommendations, read Running Gloves & Mittens: 9 Picks to Keep Your Digits Warm

Pulling on a full-cushion, made-for-trail sock brings a smile to my face every time.
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✅Even more exciting on the production end of these socks are that they are: 

• Designed for runners
• Made by runners
• Made in New Hampshire, USA 

✅Being on the design panel with fellow runners was a rewarding experience, as we got to choose everything about it:

• The color (blue!)
• Vented zones 
• Seamless toes
• Heel-toe plating

🏃‍♀️‍➡️Read about Project Wee-Run: A Quest for the Ultimate Running Sock

• Though I’m a die hard crew-height sock trail runner in order to prevent debris from creeping in, I bent to the ankle height and found they work well under leggings and on drier days. 
• If anything, these socks pulled me out of my norm and showed me that the above-ankle style is nice to have in my sock rotation, especially when the cuff hugs the ankles well enough that nothing is getting by. 

If in the future if I ever need more running socks, my choice will be Minus 33, without a doubt.
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👉For more sock recommendations, read Best Running Socks: 6 Picks to Keep Your Feet Happy for Miles

In the summertime, barefoot is my typical post-run go-to so I can stretch my toes and air out my feet.
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✅However, sometimes I crave a soft cushion beneath my tired soles, and the Oofos OOahh Slides are a wonderful antidote.

• I slip these on after I get home post-run, and even post-mountain biking, and wear them around the house. 
• They have thus become my summertime house sandals. 
• Surprisingly, the impact-absorbing and moisture and bacteria resistant foam is machine washable, though I haven’t tested that feature yet. 

Some notes: 

• They are slippery around water. I wore them to our local swimming hole once and never again. As I said, I reserve them for indoor use. 
• They get sweaty when driving in hot summer weather with the A.C. off. Again, they are now reserved for house use only. 

✅Game changer. That’s how I would describe Tailwind.
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Actually, the game changer is the fueling revolution that the running world is experiencing...

• Calories
• Carbs
• Eating enough always
• I’m all for it! And Tailwind is here to support it. 

In the past, I’ve used high-carbohydrate and electrolyte combinations, but none has matched how I feel when fueling with Tailwind. 

• It is an easy-on-the-stomach, tasty, all-in-one endurance fuel that goes down easily. 
• For efforts longer than 75 minutes, I drink lemon-flavored Tailwind. 
• For efforts longer than two hours, I’ll mix caffeinated matcha with lemon. 
• In other words, I am almost always fueling during runs, and when I am, it’s with Tailwind. 

The high carbohydrate and electrolyte combination...
 

• Keeps me going for hours. 
• I haven’t experienced a bonk since shifting to Tailwind, a last-minute, happy accident that happened right before the 2024 Conquer the Rock 25k in March. 

👉If you’re an endurance runner, I highly recommend Tailwind. They offer lots of fun flavors, too. Maybe I’ll add “trying more Tailwind flavors” to my 2025 New Year’s resolutions.

No need to love pickles to enjoy this on-the-run shot! 

• ✅With 470 mg of sodium per 2.5 ounce, this lip-puckering “juice,” mostly made of vinegar, puts a pep in my step every time I consume it. 

A few years ago when I saw fellow ultra running friends using it, my interest piqued.

• And even though I don’t love pickles, I decided to give it a shot, pun intended. 
• The best part about it is how different it feels on the palate from the sweet, slow saltiness of electrolyte mixes and gels. 
• Pickle Juice Shots are all salt, no sweet, with a sharpness that goes down fast. 
• It makes me alert and ready to go as soon as it hits my lips!

I save these for runs longer than three hours. They are especially nice in hot, humid weather, when my salt cravings are heightened.

🏃‍♀️‍➡️Wondering if pickle juice will work for you? Check out these articles:

• Pickle Juice Power: Give This a Shot to Beat Muscle Cramps 
• Would You Drink a Strange Mix of Liquids to Run 100 Miles? 

👉Want more gear recommendations?

• Click here to read about my 2024 Running Shoe Rotation: 6 Trail Shoes + One Road Shoe

• Let us know in the comments, OR...
• Create a WeeView and tell us more about your favorite running gear, shoes and accessories.