As I'm starting to closer to the Boston Marathon, I've been giving more thought to the details. One of the things that I've been thinking about is how to find my family after the race. This one is going to be many times bigger than any of the marathons that I've previously done, so having my phone with me would be handy. The problem though is that it won't fit in the pocket of the shorts I plan on wearing, but thanks to the good folks at SPIbelt (www.spibelt.com) and Nathan (www.nathansports.com) I have a solution. I'm going to use one of the tiny waist packs that you sometimes see runners with- just large enough for a phone & some gels- all I'll need for the race.
I was able to test out 2 models- the Phantom Pak from Nathan and the Large Pocket Belt from SPIbelt. They are both very similar to each other- a stretchy waist band, and an expandable neoprene pouch that holds a lot more than you would think from the look of it.
I was able to test out 2 models- the Phantom Pak from Nathan and the Large Pocket Belt from SPIbelt. They are both very similar to each other- a stretchy waist band, and an expandable neoprene pouch that holds a lot more than you would think from the look of it.
The SPIbelt Large Pocket seems to have slightly more capacity than the Nathan Phantom, but for the essentials, either one would do fine. If you're looking to lug around loads of stuff, these aren't what you want, but if you need somewhere to carry your keys, phone, and some gels, these are perfect. The real key feature that I found with both of these is that you forget that you have it on, which is exactly what you want- you don't want to have any discomfort or bouncing. I'm going to start using one all the time for my runs. I don't normally carry my phone with me, but for the sake of safety (and so I can take pictures of all the neat stuff I see when I'm out running) I have no reason not to now.
Both of these models are available for about $20-25 online.