What would you want as a pre-marathon “I’m proud of you” or “I believe in you” present?
I’m looking to get my husband a little present before his first marathon in a couple weeks. He is a former college athlete but newer long distance runner and has been so dedicated to the process over the past year.
He’s all set on his shoes, nutrition process, hydration aids, etc. but does anyone else have any ideas of cute little things? When we were 15-16 he told me that if he ever hypothetically runs a marathon, he wants a dozen krispie kreme donuts so I’ll already have that covered ha.
There is a very obvious, but not necessarily polite answer that your husband would surely appreciate
Gift certificate for a massage to be used after would be my vote. In a nice card that says how proud you are of him.
Love this idea, not sure why I didn’t think of it!
This is the way
Give him a tshit “Marathonman”
You could get him a running ID bracelet. It serves a good purpose for safety no matter what kind of shape you’re in (had a friend in his mid 30s go into cardiac artest training for a triathlon) plus you can add a message if you like. I got mine from Road ID.
This is why I love my Garmin, I’ve had it twice send alerts once when I’ve pushed a tad hard and my hart rate went over the threshold for too long, the other when I took a massive spill on a trail, I was OK both times but it’s good to know I who think be dying in a ditch waiting for someone one to happen by and find me
I fell on my first run wearing my new garmin, I was just testing the feature, I swear!
But it was very reassuring to know that it works. It was early in the morning, so nobody would have noticed I wasn’t home for another couple of hours.
I like race swag from big races, like a nice shirt, jacket, or hat with the race name. Some races sell “finisher” items, but I don’t wear those until after the race. Or anything with 26.2 or marathon on it.
This is very sweet, and I might be weird in this but I wouldn’t want any gift beforehand. In this essay I will…
I know that I have what I’ll call non standard emotions and a particular set of neuroses, but if I got a pre race gift I wouldn’t feel like I earned it yet, I would fixate on it through the race, and I would feel extra pressure to perform and if I didn’t meet all of my goals I would then be dismayed that someone did something super nice and great for me, but I don’t even deserve it. Unless you know for sure your husband won’t feel any of these things, I would simply offer your unwavering support before the race and abstain from any gift giving until after.
That being said if he doesn’t have recovery sandals like Oofos or Hoka you should briefly steal a pair of his running shoes, go to your local running shoe store and have them size them off of your sample and give him some recovery slides to him at the finish line. (I think slides are better than the flip flops because you can keep your socks on).
Idk if he’s flying, but when I ran the Paris Marathon, my sister went in and upgraded me to first class for the flight home. So appreciated.
My wife does this for me (she’s the best 🥰🥰) for my last city 2 surf (14km fun run) she got me some goodr sunnies for my ultra this weekend gone she got me some JBL ear phones (lasted the entire race with 30% left when I checked the app before putting back in the case )
She also met me at the finish with a warm hug and had a table at the pub over the road and a beer met me as I walked in
pre marathon present
I honestly don’t know but remember the saying “nothing new on race day” any kind of food or thing you wear during the race might become an issue so maybe a hug a slap on the ass and a promise that donuts are waiting is just the thing.
My wife slipped a “we love you and are proud of you” note on in my bag before my 2nd half that I found just before the race (after I had left them).
After my first 1/2, my wife made a “plaque” with a picture of me holding my son after the race , the time date location and distance. It’s mounted over my “medals” wall mount.
She didn’t get me anything for my full but helped with the training planning/training and logistics of food and making sure I packed all my stuff/had access to the food o planned. That was a LOT of help, more than You’d realize.
I know you want a pre run present, but I think pre run just a note of encouragement and help with logistics (making sure he has what he needs, the right socks make the bag, you bring some sort of lube for the nipples, help plan the right pre race day/morning of meals so he can focus on the race) is what I would want along with something to commentate it afterwards.
What a nice gesture. If he doesn’t have a garmin already, that’s a great gift for runners. Post race (or after several), you can put the medals in a shadow frame to hang on display. My husband loves his!
I’m not sure how long it’s been since you were 15-16, but that is super thoughtful that you’ve remembered what was probably an off the cuff comment about doughnuts.
Not much help, but whatever you get, don’t place any expectations on it to be something he wears or that’s different from the many many miles he’s trained and prepped for
A little frame to put his first race number in and hang his medal on.
Im getting ready to run a marathon and I want those fancy slides! Bonus points if you are going and can bring them with you for right after the race.
If he has everything needed then maybe just say something nice to him