Belt It

I bought my first iFitness belt after reading Danica's review back in 2009.  Before that point, I had tried on a few different fuel belts and hadn't found anything that worked for me.  Everything was either too tight around my waist (making my already awkward love handles look even worse) or bounced around when I moved.  I was thrilled to find that the iFitness belt sat "just right" on my waist and stayed in place when I ran.

Since then I've bought two more.  Have I mentioned lately that when I find something that works for me I tend to buy multiples?

My first iFitness belt is on the bottom.  It's the Neoprene Ultimate Running belt.  The main pouch is perfect for holding my phone, keys, ID, and credit cards (there is a separate slot inside the pouch for cards).  In addition to the main pocket, there are six pockets for GU (which, if you think about it, is a LOT of GU), and cords to hold your race number.  I usually wear the belt with the pouch on my back, so I have no use for the race number holder.  I have friends that wear it in front and use this feature - apparently it works really well.

The next iFitness belt I bought is the Neoprene Hydration belt (shown on top).  The main pouch is the same as on the Ultimate Running belt, but there are only two GU pockets on this belt.  The two 6 oz. water bottles stay in place pretty well and usually hold enough water/Gatorade to get me through a 15 mile run in the summer.  When I'm done, I throw the bottles in the dishwasher.  Easy peasy.  This is my go-to training run belt.

My newest iFitness belt, in the middle, is the Neoprene Ultimate II Running belt.  I bought this belt because I forgot my Ultimate Running belt at an out-of-town race, and now it's the belt I use for most races.  It's very similar to the Ultimate Running belt, except that it has four GU pockets instead of six, and an additional side pocket perfect for stashing sport beans or Cliff blocks.  I love using this belt for marathons because I like to switch up what I eat - I get bored eating gels or GUs exclusively for 5 hours.

Here's a photo of the hydration belt in action.  It's hard to get a good shot of it while running - this was taken right before the hand-off for leg 6 of American Odyssey.

I usually position the belt so that the pouch sits on the small of my back.  I find this to be the most comfortable arrangement, but everyone is different.

If you're in the market for a race belt, I can't recommend iFitness belts enough.  If you don't trust my judgement, they're at most race expos so you can try one on and form your own opinion.