Hello, my name’s Mrs. Duff and I’m a #kitaholic.

(Hi, Mrs. Duff)

One of my very favourite things about running is the exciting new opportunities it offers to drain the bank balance with the purchase of new kit. Often the unnecessary purchase of new kit.

Oh alright then, mostly unnecessary…but it’s so pretty!

I had promised myself I wasn’t going to look at any new kit until I had got rid of the stone or so of race weight overdraft I’m carrying since being a bit sidelined. I told myself I’ve got plenty of kit and could manage perfectly well with what I already have for the moment, even if it was a bit tight.

Well, that was until I went to parkrun on Christmas Eve in my size 10 tights. Tight being very much the operative word. Tight to the point of digging in is not comfortable or pleasant, and looks appalling. It made me feel like crap. Not very festive.

Since we were in Aberdeen we popped to what seems to be a perpetual sale in the excellent Run4It shop they have there, and I got these rather gorgeous Ronhills which have flashy hi-viz bits on acting both as slimming panels and go-faster stripes.

They are super comfy and are more than earning their keep, having been worn for every run since Christmas Day!

It also occurred to me at that same parkrun on Christmas Eve when it started snowing that some of my training runs were likely to be pretty chilly for the next couple of months, since I will be running very slowly for long amounts of time in January and February in training for London.

Naturally I therefore had to treat myself to this very cool Nike aeroloft gilet. It’s got actual goose feathers in it to keep you warm (there was a tense moment yesterday when it was washed for the first time, but it seems ok…..!).

Admit it, it’s pretty cool. Especially modelled here with the compulsory Duff Buff. I love it – it keeps you warm but doesn’t overheat you, it’s got good hi-viz bits and it sort of feels like putting on body armour of the superhero variety. Sadly no cape is included.

So far, so necessary. Both of these will still fit when I’m back to full fitness, and they are good quality bits of kit which have already been well used.

Another purchase which really was just because I liked it was this rather snazzy baseball tee style running top – total impulse and not needed in the slightest, I just liked it!

I love a baseball tee in normal clothes and couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a running top in this style. Shame it’s not in Giants colours but I can’t think of a MLB team that plays in purple so hopefully I’m not accidentally supporting a different team…maybe the Rockies? Well that’s ok, I’ve been to Colorado and it’s beautiful, so I don’t mind supporting them.

Anyway it’s comfy, soft and warm and it’s an expensive Asics top nabbed for £16 in TK Maxx, so I’m letting myself off.

My shameless kitaholicism continues with an actual proper recommendation. Have you ever seen these little beauties?

These are heel lights which you fit around the back of your running shoes when heading out in the dark. I’ve had these for a couple of months and they’re great. You can’t feel them, they stay on, and they give you the comfort of being seen in the same way as a cyclist’s tail lights. You can get them in lots of different colours but I went with red as the most often seen safety light, to give drivers a fighting chance of recognising that red means ‘please don’t run me over’. They also offer a bit of comfort since you run in a little pool of your own light. Cheap as chips from Amazon and well worth it.

My last recent kit purchase is probably the most excusable. I managed to find those elusive red shorts I need for the marathon! Here they are, and goodness aren’t they small?

They look a little orange here but they are bright red, and will hopefully match in well with my red socks and charity running vest when I complete the London Marathon in April for Coram. I ordered the same size as my other Nike flappy shorts, but these look distinctly smaller and flappier…..so they will not be getting an outing anytime soon, noone needs to see me in these just yet and anyway it’s too cold out!

I may have a bit of a kit abuse habit, but I stand by it. We spend a lot of time in these clothes and I do think feeling good in your kit makes a difference to how you run, even if it’s just to encourage you to get out there in your own superhero outfit and get moving.

It certainly does for me anyway – currently killing it in those Ronhills!