5 Essential Running Items for the Lightest of Travellers

When it comes to packing your holiday bags, one of the most difficult things to pack are running/sports clothes; you can struggle to figure out the most essential running items for travel. Well, having travelled light, heavy, and everything in-between, I’m here to give you a list of the most essential running items for travel. The essential running items are designed for people who are travelling as light as possible (i.e. a backpack).

1. High-vis strips/high-vis jacket.

One of the most essential running items for travel – especially if you’re going out early or late – are these high-visibility straps. Visibility is obviously incredibly important, but even if you can see, drivers may not be able to, so these bands are an essential running item. Bands like these are small, lightweight, and very affordable (seriously, this band here is less than £2 before delivery!). They can wrap around your arms easily and are visible from a good distance, so you can run on roads and in dark areas safely. When it comes to packing them, if you’re anxious about packing them in your bag, many of these straps are velcro, so may be attachable to the outside of your bag, or you can wrap them around the strap.

If you have the space, however, I really recommend packing a high-vis jacket, even moreso than the strips. A high-vis jacket isn’t just one of the essential running items, but it’s also an essential item to have if you’re safety-conscious. Like the straps, a quick internet search shows how many are available, and how cheap you can find them. They can also be easily folded away and take up very little space.

2. Shorts and a shirt (or vest)

When trying to pack light, I hope you’re travelling to a warmer country, because a simple set of shorts and a shirt (or vest) are my most essential running items to recommend. Preferably a lightweight, wicking material (which can help get rid of sweat), these can easily be placed in a backpack or your travel bag, and also take up very little space.

If you’re travelling to a colder country and would rather not be motivated to run quicker due to a lack of body covering, I would recommend wearing your warmest possible travelling clothes on your flight days. Of course, you may be very warm before you’ve landed, but believe it or not, appropriate clothes are among the most essential running items for travel.

3. A phone

This one may either seem glaringly obvious, or an offence if you prefer to run without a phone, but they are an essential running item if you’re heading abroad. I’m not the biggest fan of sharing my location, but when I’m travelling, I will share it with my family, so that they know where I am at all times. If you are travelling with someone or a group, then that’s great, and you may have a running partner, but for safety’s sake, I really advise sharing your location with at least one other person.

Here are the Android and iPhone guides to sharing your location with somebody else on Google Maps. Sharing your location can be very useful for if you’ve become lost, are planning on meeting friends later on, or if something worse has happened. Whatever the reason for sharing your location, a phone is an essential running item when it comes to travelling abroad.

4. Wireless Earbuds

If you’re looking for something light to pack that takes up very little space and can accompany you on your runs, then I can’t recommend a set of wireless earbuds enough. These have been one of my essential running items for travel and everyday life for several years now, and if you haven’t used them before, then there’s no better time to try them out than now. The other great thing about wireless earbuds? They’re very affordable. Check out this quick Google search if you don’t believe me.

Earbuds typically last several hours once they’re in use, and most cases can recharge them numerous times before needing to be recharged themselves. That they come in a container that can fit in a typical pocket is just the ciing on the cake when it comes to travel. I normally put mine in my pocket, but they can also easily fit into a backpack without taking up a few cubic centimetres of space. Save some space for your travelling and grab a pair of these essential running items when you’re travelling next.

5. Your Shoes!

Again, you might be thinking this is a stupid entry on my list, simply put here to pad out my blog, but because of a friend’s mistake, I’m compelled to remind you that shoes are essential running items for travel. The long and the short of the story is that a friend of mine meticulously planned his luggage and had packed it accordingly so that he could have all his running gear in his backpack, got to the airport, and realised that he had forgotten to pack his running shoes.

For the above tale, I’m once again reminding you to make sure that you pack your running shoes when heading abroad or across the country. If you’re worried about not being able to fit a bulky set of long-distance shoes in your backpack, then I would recommend wearing them on your flight days and putting a more lightweight pair of shoes in your backpack. If you’re thinking that you’ll only need the one pair of shoes, then your feet -and everybody around you – will disagree with you: you do not want to spend your entire holiday in a sweaty pair of running shoes. But remember, your trainers are essential running items for travel, and I will not apologise for reiterating that fact.

These are the most essential running items I recommend you pack for travelling, even for the most lightweight packers out there. Believe me, I’m aon your side – the older I get, the less things I want to take with me when I travel, but these few running items are really essential to pack.

I hope you’ve found these useful! Do you have any other essential running items for travel? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time,

Conrad 🙂

P.S. If you’re looking for more essential running tips whilst travelling, maybe check out this post of mine, or this one here