Gifts Every Runner Needs: Recovery Edition

No runner is complete without a suite of tools to help them recover right. This guide, filled with recovery gifts every runner needs, will help you find the perfect one(s) this holiday season.

I received the below products at the Running Event Influencer Day with BibRave. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Welcome to another great Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up where Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama and I bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us each week by reading along, linking up and grab the button to proudly display on your blog/in your posts! 

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Recovery is one of the most essential parts of running. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to run. We rely on recovery to help prevent injury, keep our muscles in tip-top shape and give us the time off we need so that we can log our next miles better and perhaps even faster than before. So, it goes without saying that every runner needs a suite of recovery tools. 

That said, recovery doesn’t always sound like the most fun. Runners want to spend their money on races, race gear, running shoes… you know, the exciting stuff, not the recovery stuff. 

That’s why recovery gifts are some of the best you can get a runner. We need them, we’ll enjoy them and we likely won’t buy them on our own accord. 

I was recently introduced to a ton of great recovery products at The Running Event, and can say with confidence that any runner would be thrilled to find any of these goodies under the tree. The Recovery Edition of Gifts Every Runner Needs is ready to help you shop shop shop. (Don’t forget to check out the Performance Edition of Gifts Every Runner Needs, as well.)

1. A Legit Massage Roller

Massaging your muscles after a tough run is one of the best hurts-so-good type of feelings. I often us a foam roller, but this Addaday Type C Massage Roller ($42)is perfect for traveling or packing in your gear-check for use immediately post-race. It has a patented design that offers medium density (not too light, not too hard, but JUST right), and its skin surface technology allows the massage gears to connect accurately with the human skin and fascia, helping rehydrate the muscles and eliminate knots. This massager also has a pinpoint precision gear that can target hard to reach areas such as the Achilles, shin, shoulders and forearm. I used this baby after my most recent half and wasn’t sore at all the next day. Wrap a bow around one of these and the runner in you’re life is sure to have a feel-good holiday season. (Side note: Addaday also recently released a recovery tea for runners, and it’s delicious!)

2. Help Unwinding

Running can be stressful on both the body and the mind. That’s part of what makes recovery so important. That’s also what makes Arcanum’s The Quill ($50) so helpful. CBD oil has been all the rage as of late, and tons of runners and athletes have been testing its effects on recovery and performance. This gel pen delivers a precise 2mg dose of activated hemp onto your skin to help reduce toxicity in the body, boost recovery, calm anxiety and unwind the mind. You apply it onto a thin area of skin (the back of the wrist, back of the knees, etc) so that it absorbs quickly without stressing your internal systems. You’ll feel relief in as little as five minutes! All Arcanum products are paraben free, sulfate free, non-GMO and made in the USA.  I’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and have a seen improvements in my sleep and mood, both of which help make my runs better. 

3. A Little Skin Love

Runners sweat a lot. We often spend hours in harsh environments logging training miles. All of that can take a toll on our skin. Gifting your runner with some skin care products is a great way to help them enjoy a little self-love, but gifting your runner with skin care products that also help them recover? Well, that’s a slam dunk, Santa Claus! Arcanum Sarco Breeze ($40) is a sports massage oil and activated hemp moisturizer. It provides your body with cannabinoids, upregulating your cells to communicate and carry on the reactions they need to. It helps hydrate the skin (all skin types), facilitate muscle recovery and soothe aches, soreness, discomfort and irritation. It makes for a great facial moisturizer or for full-body care.

4. Some Cool Relief

One of my favorite things to do after a tough run is rub cooling products on my tired muscles. Arcanum Sarco Freeze ($35) is one of my new favorites because it includes activated hemp on top of the relieving ingredients (menthol, lavender, chamomile, arnica montana) I’ve grown to love. The activated hemp helps increase the bioavailability of the other healing and soreness-relieving ingredients and provides immediate topical cooling relief. I like to slather this stuff from my feet to my knees, wrap my feet and calves in compression socks and then roll it out with my massage roller. Ahhhh so good. And the perfect gift!

5. Compression Socks

Speaking of wrapping legs in compression socks, your runner may need a new pair! And CEP is one of the best around (learn more about their socks in my previous gift guide). CEP Compression Socks for Recovery ($50) have a fully graduated compression profile to help increase blood in the veins so blood can recharge and recirculate through the body. Recovery isn’t complete without spending a few hours in compression socks. It’s just as important as hydration and rest!

6. More Comfy Recovery Gear

After pounding the pavement/trails/treadmill for miles, runners just want to be comfortable. That’s where a nice pair of capris come in. Of course, I’m not just talking about any kind of capris. I’m talking about Incrediwear’s performance capris ($70) that actually help boost recovery. The Incrediwear Women’s Performance Capri is an outer layer that enhances the ability to perform by reducing muscle fatigue and accelerating recovery. They can be worn both during runs or after to help reduce muscle fatigue and enhance performance. I’m currently wearing them as I write this post! 

7. A Bag To Carry All Their Recovery Gear

So your runner just ran a race. Their first stop (after getting their well earned medal) is to pick up their bag from gear check. Races usually provide clear plastic bags for runners to check their gear, but they’re tough to carry. Instead, why not gift your runner with a fashionable and functional bag to house all their important recovery gear. I was introduced to Vooray at the Running Event and fell instantly in love with their bags. They have a ton of cute patterns and types of bags (from fanny packs to backpacks to duffle bags), and everything, I’ll repeat: EVERYTHING, is under $100. This backpack is only $40, and it’ll hold your runner’s post-race fuel, massage roller, Arcanum goodies, compression socks, water bottle, change of clothes and more! I’m actually thinking of getting another one of these cute bags for myself.

So now you’ve got your gift guide in hand. Time to get shopping!

It’s also time for the Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up.

Let’s Chat:
Runners, what’s your favorite recovery tool?