Get On, Clip In, Fall Off

Another attack of the runs

The thing about running is that it's sort of the opposite of playing with computers. When you start computing, all you need is a computer, which will cost you at least a few hundred quid unless you're very lucky and can somehow pick one up from somebody else or do anything else which lets you avoid the curse of going to PC World and asking one of their Helpful Sales Assistants (tm) what sort of computer to buy (and regretting it a few months later when you've learned a bit). Later on you can get upgrades and accessories and so on, but they'll generally cost less than your initial outlay on the machine. Unless, of course, you have an inkjet printer that needs a complete set of new cartridges, in which case you might as well take out the second mortgage right now.

When you start running, all you need is a pair of shoes suitable for running in. This could just be any pair of trainers, but a pair of decent running shoes is a must. However, all but the most snazzy ultra-technical gold-plated running shoes will cost less than a computer. You could run in trainers, even those silly ones with what look like rubber shock-absorbers in the heels, but you'd be wise to bear in mind the words of my psycho ultramarathonning brother - "Oh, I've seen people run races in those. Well, come to think of it, I've seen people start races in those."

My shoes cost £65, which is sort of about what you'd expect to pay for a decent shoe without too many whizzy features. A lot less than a computer (and a lot less than a set of cartridges for my Photosmart 7960 at PC World), but ah, that's just the beginning of it. With a pair of shoes, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt or two you can certainly get running, but then you start reading running magazines and running websites and suddenly find out that hell, there's a whole new area of geeky toys which you can buy now you've found out that they exist.

Heart rate monitors, rain jackets, wind jackets, pedometers, gloves, clothing made out of special microfibre materials which wick perspiration away from the body, "hydration packs" (posh word for a rucksack with a water bladder and a long straw), specialised hats, specialised socks, energy bars, bum bags, shoe bags, you name it. No single item costs particularly much unless you go for the massively high-end stuff which for most people, including me as a rank newbie, is absolutely not necessary, but buy a few bits and pieces here and there and you can suddenly find you've spent a lot of money. However - and this is the good bit for a computer geek - it's important to remember that it is extremely hard for a beginning runner to spend more than the cost of a 15" Powerbook or even a fairly cheapo PC on running clobber, so this makes me feel better.

I now have a stretchy T-shirt which allegedly wicks moisture away from the skin and makes me less sweaty (which it does, except in the band where my heart rate monitor sensor attaches round my chest and holds the fabric away from the skin) and some extremely short shorts which are actually more comfortable than my cheapo shorts, and will probably soon have to figure out what to wear to run in when it gets colder as winter draws in which will probably involve more shopping. Of course, one of the other primary functions of running gear is to make you look like more like Someone Who Is Running rather than like someone who's just trying to get somewhere in a hurry before the buffet's all been eaten, so the more skintight Lycra you can sport the more passers-by will consider you a force to be reckoned with. There is another side to this, of course. If your kit looks too new, it'll be obvious to other runners that you are just a rank newbie with delusions of grandeur and more money than sense (quite common around London), so it's important to get caught in a few rainstorms to make sure everything gets soaked and starts to pick up that "used" look. At the elite end of the road or cross-country running scale, the more mud stains, frays and holes you can get into your thermals and Ron Hills the more you'll be able to intimidate your opponents with your years of experience and implied ability to casually pass them as if they were standing still while you give them a little nod and pass a cheery remark about the weather.

Most improbably, I've now been running for about five weeks and am still enjoying it despite getting massively lost in Thames Ditton last night and running almost 15km rather than 12 as a result. Curse these Tory councils with their low council tax rates and no decent street signage, but at least I got to discover why long-distance runners all seem to have a pot of Vaseline in their bags. I, too, now have a pot of Vaseline of my very own - by far the least expensive piece of running kit I've bought and, probably, the one which will give the most return on the investment.

Posted by mpk at October 8, 2004 10:09 PM | TrackBack