Ran out of time to shop and heading out in a matter of hours to a holiday shindig where you’re expected to have a gift for your athletic friend? Spouse surprised you with a bonus gift and you want to quickly one-up them? Gift got stuck in the mail and you don’t want to show up empty handed? We’ve got you with this list of presents for athletes that can be procured with a few easy keystrokes, but still are much more personal than an Amazon gift card.
A Gift Card to the LBS
Support your (or their) local bike shop (or running shop) with a gift card! And of course, you may be able to grab a stocking stuffer or two while you’re there. (If you don’t have time to stop in, try calling or emailing. Most places will help you get a gift certificate via email.)
Ride / Run Snackies
You can bake or buy some tasty in-ride treats and make up a stocking full of snacks pretty darn quick. Runners and cyclists will appreciate a grab bag filled with things like homemade gingerbread cookies, packets of drink mix ranging form nuun tablets to hot chocolate powder, and of course, a few Clif Bars or Lara Bars. And now, most grocery stores have plenty of endurance racer go-tos, so this is much easier than it used to be!
Gift Certificate for a Massage
Tip here: Don’t just book a random massage at a nearby place. Ideally, get a gift card from your person’s usual massage therapist. Don’t have one? Look for someone local who has good reviews for sport-specific massage.
The Gift of Time
Have running or riding friends with young kids? Give them the gift of time by making a few certificates for babysitting duty while they get out on their long ride/run!
Kindle Version of a Sport-Specific Book
Did you know you can gift ebooks? You can! A few faves:
- Shred Girls books 1-3 by Molly Hurford: For middle-grade + young adult athletes (or girls who you’re hoping to get excited about sport!), this series is a fun way to introduce riding.
- Born to Run 2 from Chris McDougall
- Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow.: Quick-Fix Recipes for Hangry Athletes LOVE the simple recipes in here
- Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein is, of course, fabulous for a consummate athlete!
- And of course, our book, Becoming A Consummate Athlete
Sport-Specific Gift Certificate
A gift card for a local bike park, climbing gym, yoga studio, or any other sport-specific place can be a great gift. Even better if you gift it as something you can do together—bonus points if it’s trying a new sport, like a gift card for the driving range.
Magazine or bike-specific subscription
A subscription to Runner’s World,Bicycling, Canadian Cycling, Canadian Running, or Outsideis a great last minute gift, as is a gift certificate for something like FloBikes or GCN (just make sure your person doesn’t have one already!). Those are just a few of my favorites and almost all of them are under $20 for the year (WHAT?!), but I’d be remiss as a journalist if I didn’t mention them! If you love reading their content online, support them + help keep the doors open. I get my dad a subscription to something like this pretty much every year. Ditto my sister (though since she’s a baker, I stick to something more in her lane, like Real Simple! Still, magazines are great because every month, they get a nice reminder of you in the mail!)
A phone consult or custom 3-month training plan with us!
Have an athlete who needs some direction? A phone consult or a custom three-month training plan might be the perfect present!
(If your person is near Collingwood, Ontario, you could also gift them a bike skills session!)
