With the big day now less than four weeks away (yes, you heard that right!) you may be looking for the ideal gift for the fitness fiend in your life. Now I promise this isn’t just an excuse for me to get my own Christmas list out in the public domain, but needless to say I wouldn’t be sorry to find any of these things in my stocking on December 25th.

Sweaty Betty Accessories

It’s no secret that around two thirds of my workout gear is Sweaty Betty, but if you’re looking for some stocking fillers, you can’t go wrong with their brilliant skinny headbands. They don’t budge from my head (although my sister says they don’t work on her “torpedo head” so, if your gift receiver resembles a conehead you might want to give these a miss). I’m also a big fan of their super soft trainer liners, which they do on offer for 3 for £15.

Foam Roller

Foam rollers are quite honestly injury-preventing little cylinders of genius. Ok, I can’t promise they’ll keep the fitness fiend in your life totally injury free, but they will allow them to give their muscles a deep massage without the help of a pricey physio. Just five minutes a day on one of these bad boys can make a huge difference. I credit mine with keeping my IT band healthy.

Sweaty Betty Hairband – £6, Foam Roller from £11.39

High Vis

It’s winter. It’s dark out. For the love of all things festive and holy please make sure that if the one you love is exercising outdoors, they’re wearing something that will make sure they’re seen. Honestly, the number of times runners and cyclists have suddenly loomed out of the darkness all in black and made me slam on my brakes is frightening.Get them a vest or an armband or a bright yellow top. They don’t have to cost the earth and they are so important at this time of year.

Medal Holder

I keep all of my medals in a tiny box (I reckon my sister has a storage unit somewhere) but I think this medal holder from Siop Gardd is a lovely gift. Plus it can be personalised which I always think is a great touch and shows you’ve put a bit of thought into it, rather than just buying whichever perfume was on offer the day you went shopping.

Ronhill High Vis from £10.80, Medal Holder £24.50

Trail Trainers

As the weather gets colder and wetter, it’s not a bad idea to get the runner in your life some trail trainers. These are “grippier” than your standard running trainers, so will set them up right for an off road running session (at Wandlebury say….)! I can recommend the Asics Fuji trainers.

Training Log

It’s always good for the serious fitness fan in your life to keep a log of their training. I’m not brilliant at doing this it has to be said (I ran out of space on my scrap of paper that had my weights programme on it and haven’t been keeping a record since – sorry Tristan!) but if I had a runner’s notebook like this lovely one from the Quirky Gift Library from Not On the High Street I might keep better records. It can be personalised and also comes with chocolate – what’s not to like?

Asics Fuji from £34.95, Runner’s Notebook £15

 Fitness Band

If you feel like splashing out and your fitness fiend likes a bit of tech there are a lot of fitness bands out there. There’s Fitbit, Jawbone and Withings, but I personally have my eye on the Microsoft Band 2. The band has a continuous heart rate monitor to track heart rate (d’uh) calorie burn and sleep quality, and email, text, social updates and call alerts can all be viewed. 11 sensors include GPS, UV monitor and barometer and it’s compatible with Windows Phone, Android and iPhone.

FlipBelt

I wrote a review of the FlipBelt a few months ago, and I’m still a huge fan. I’m confident that anyone who does long runs on their own would find this a real asset for storing their keys and phone without it hindering their running in any way.

Microsoft Band 2 £199.99, FlipBelt, £25

Personalised Running Achievements Print

This may well be my favourite item on the list, because it’s not only incredible stylish, but it’s the most personal item here. Mrs L Cards’ print can be designed for a range of running distances or times, and is available in two colourways. I adore it. It’s available on both Not On The High Street and Etsy.

A Running Top

It’s a festive running t-shirt for crying out loud. Just buy one immediately. Alternatively, the awesome RedBear also do this brilliant sugar skull one.

Running Achievements Print £15, RedBear top £29