The runner's tech toolkit: 10 gadgets that you should add to your arsenal

Half the fun of doing exercise is getting yourself all geared up for it. There’s nothing like a new pair of trainers or a decent pedometer to really get your fired up for your training.

And given all the marvelous advances in sports technology we’ve seen over the past few years, it’s easier than ever to get really nerdy about health tech. From fitness trackers to heart rate monitors, it’s never been so simple to check your stats and figure out your running plan.

Still, that’s not to say a runner’s arsenal needs to be all about the numbers. There’s plenty of intriguing gadgets and gizmos which, despite not necessarily helping track your progress, every runner should consider investing in.

Theragun liv - £275, Theragun

Imagine a miniature jackhammer with a stress ball and you should have bit of an idea of how Theragun’s percussive therapy works. Simply hold it against a sore or aching muscle for about ten seconds to pound it into submission.

The idea is that giving your muscles a brief, light beating, will shake out any knots in them; like shaking a kink out of a hose. The rapid compression and release is supposed to  bring new blood into a muscle, promoting faster recovery, and speeding up warm-ups.

The liv is the newest and cheapest model, designed to be accessible to everyone, but there are pricier models with more speed settings and accessories for more serious athletes.

McLEAR smart ring - £129, McLEAR

A handy one for long distance runners or just those who find themselves gazing at the gym vending machines during a work-out. This plain, unassuming ring hides a contactless payment chip, so you can pay for a snack, a bus ride home, or even just some groceries at the shop on your way home. You’ll never have to fit a big wallet into those oh-so-tiny pockets on your gym shorts ever again.

The same company also makes NFC rings which can be programmed to unlock a smart lock too, so you could conceivably buy one of each and leave your house keys at home too.

Zwift RunPod - £29.99, Amazon

Despite having literally zero running experience, I ran a half marathon with just five weeks training a few months ago. I managed to do so with some help from Zwift, a sort of cross between a video-game and personal training app.

The RunPod attaches to your laces and syncs with your phone via Bluetooth to measure your movement speed. Your in-app avatar runs along with you, and you can see other runners from around the world running alongside you, ideal for those who are motivated with a bit of competition.

The app comes with a few decent training programmes aimed at everyone from first timers to seasoned pros who are looking to improve their times. The video-game trappings, such as unlockable outfits for your avatar, are also great motivation to keep running even when you’re not training for anything in particular.

AfterShokz Trekz Air bone conduction headphones - £149.95, Amazon

Pictured above

An increasing number of races these days are banning headphones due to the safety concerns associated with being unable to hear important instructions from course officials. However, most make an exception for bone conduction headphones because these don’t need to go in your ears and thus, you can hear the outside world perfectly well.

They work by sending tiny vibrations through your skull to vibrate your cochlea directly, rather than vibrating the air in your ear to be picked up by the eardrum. One of the best examples of this technology is in the AfterShokz Trekz Air. They’re comfortable, sweat-resistant, and come with a six hour battery life which should be enough to last through most marathons.

LifeBEAM Vi - £132, Amazon

If you’re fully plugged into the AI revolution, an avid user of Siri and Google Assistant, Vi might just be perfect for you. Think of this gadget as the Alexa of running with the functionality of a very good pair of headphones and the features of a fitness tracker.

So what does that look like in practice? Well, pop the Vi into your ears and the AI will come to life and ask you to connect to your smartphone. But the headphones themselves are the part that house all the tech. You’ll find biosensors that can track your heart rate, posture, calories, speed, distance and much more.

Next time you step out for a run Vi uses all this data to tailor its training sessions. If your heart rate is higher than usual in your warm-up, it might suggest you’re fatigued and advise you to take it easy. It’ll track your metrics while you run and then upload all the data into Apple Health or Google Fit.

Halo Sport Neuropriming headphones - £449, Amazon

Neuropriming is one of those technologies which we’ll almost certainly start to hear more about in future. In short, this headset fires small electrical pulses into your brain which activates neurons so they fire more often when you train. This increases your brain’s “plasticity”, building pathways faster and allowing you to pick up skills more quickly.

That’s important for runners because the feeling of fatigue comes from the brain sending weaker signals to the muscles, if you can activate your neurons, you can keep the brain sending strong signals to your muscles throughout a long race, staving off the fatigue.

Neuropriming also helps learn skills faster, so if you’re working on your breathing or pace with a specific technique, a pair of neuropriming headphones might help you learn that technique faster too.

Stryd Sensor - £214.95, Amazon

Another sensor which ties into your laces. The Stryd Sensor measures your running power; the amount of energy you use while running; taking into account speed, terrain change, form, and fatigue. The idea is that this method of measuring your run is more useful than measuring your heart-rate and GPS coordinates, because it gives you real-time data to improve your run, rather than information after the fact.

The sensor sets a power target for each run you do and by simply aiming to hit at that target, it claims to be able to improve your race times. As an added bonus, the device comes with various training plans for every kind of run from a 5K to a marathon.

Also, as an added bonus, it can be used in place of a Zwift RunPod, if you liked the sound of that system but don’t want to clutter up your laces.

Garmin Vívosmart 4 - £99, John Lewis

Every modern runner worth their salt will have a fitness tracker these days, but if you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade or your older device needs an upgrade, you can’t do much better than the Garmin Vívosmart 4, Telegraph Recommended’s pick of the best fitness trackers.

The sheer amount of metrics that the Vívosmart 4 can measure is dizzying. As well as all the standard things like heart rate, steps, and timers, it can also test for things like stress (and provides meditation instructions when it is detected) and the obligatory smartphone app is the pick of the bunch, presenting all your running details in a charming, clear way.

Plus, at under £100, this slim, unobtrusive bracelet is a bit of a bargain too.

BeachbodyGear Intent apparel - £5.20 - £93.95, Amazon

While everyone out there has their own personal favourites when it comes to running clothes, smartwear is definitely an area worth looking into. There are plenty of brands out there which do something similar, but few look as good as BeachbodyGear’s latest collection.

The fabric uses Nilit yarn which is well-regarded for its moisture wicking properties, but the nylon fibre also has a uniquely modern usage. Essentially, as your body generates heat, the fabric bounces energy back into your muscles to promote oxygen absorption improving stimulation and preventing fatigue.

Libratone TRACK+ - £169.99, Selfridges

Even if you can’t use them on race day, a decent pair of headphones a must for those who do most of their training on a treadmill. My personal choice would be Libratone TRACK+ because the noise-cancelling is simply incomparable; always a good thing when your gym’s weight section is near the treadmills and you’re around some enthusiastic grunters.

They’ve also got a tangle-resistant design, they’re sweat proof, an eight hour battery life, and come with no less than five different ear grips to make sure you get a perfect fit.