Water belt or fanny pack: which is cuter?

As I’ve been running, I’ve noticed a lot of people wearing belts with tiny water bottles all over them. I realize that actually, a lot of people wear these belts.

I see the practicality of them; keep water close and stay hydrated while you run. Both are things I completely agree with. But I don’t think I would wear one. “I’ve never wore a fanny pack and I will never wear a water belt!” I thought to myself.

I asked my friend, who’s my age (early 20s), if she wears one and she said, “Yeah, sometimes for long distances.”

If she does it, it must be cool. So, I tried it.

As I was running, I didn’t feel my normal cute self in my lulu run pants and pony tail, but I figured it was for the greater good of staying hydrated, so I kept it on. Personally, I didn’t really like all the fumbling with the tiny bottle and puting it back on. Oh, and I had a not-closing-it-right-so-it-made-my-back-wet disaster. That wasn’t very fun and when one fell off and dropped on the ground, I had to stop and pick it up.

Overall, my waterbelt was not my friend by the end of the jog.

Aside from the practicality of it, I wondered if stopping for water at a fountain would make more sense than all this fumbling that was just slowing me down anyway. Or, maybe I’m just not a seasoned waterbelt runner and it may take some getting used to.

After reading a couple of forums, I realized that wearing a waterbelt is not a must. Some runers stash water bottles on their route (seems a bit sketchy, but whatever works for you!), or some runners map out routes where there are public fountains. That’s something I could definitely look into.

Personally, I felt like I needed a waterbelt to stay hydrated because everyone else was doing it, but I realized I don’t really get thirsty while I run. I decided that honouring my body was the most important thing, not following what everyone else is doing or trying to look fashionable while running.

In the end, when I start to run longer distances, I might decide to become more friendly with my tiny water bottles on a belt! Well, as long as there’s no fanny pack to follow.