It is a little late to do any serious Christmas shopping if you plan on sending the gift by mail.

If you are like my Dad, I can remember going out on Christmas Eve night to buy a gift for my mother. Now, that is really cutting it close for buying a gift, and many of the stores close early on Christmas Eve day. Somehow he managed to find the right gift every year and get it under the tree in time for the opening ceremony.

You still have a couple of days left for shopping for any runner on the list of friends or family that you may have. Runners can always use the necessary items to make running comfortable; and if they are heavy-mileage runners, everything wears out fairly quickly.

For stocking stuffers, the small things like socks, gloves (when it used to be cold around this time of year), or even a high-tech, quick-dry fabric T-shirt can be stuffed inside a stocking. Larger items like running suits, long tights, workout clothing and items like that are good and can range in price from low-dollar to some very high-dollar costs for the very high-tech fabric that is windproof, rainproof and reflective for evening running.

A quick trip to a bookstore can always yield a book on running. Books can be about training or about a famous runner’s life. There is a new edition of an old book, or a new book coming out almost every month; so finding a book that the runner on the list has not read yet is easy. Most every runner enjoys reading about a passion they care about; and every new tip, training method or update on equipment is good reading.

If you are into the high-dollar electronic equipment for runners, you can find computer programs for everything from a running diary to program workouts to electronic computers in the shoes they wear. Wrist watches can now tell you your pulse rate, average speed of a workout and how many calories you burned on the run to how far you ran, if you are into technology things.

A practical thing that I found useful is a towel-like material that fits over the seat of your car. It really works great after a run to keep the sweat off the seat; and since they are washable, it is easy to keep the sweat smell out of the car after a few workouts. A nice soft towel fabric is nice to sit on anyway, so it comes in handy just to protect the seat; and they come in various colors to match your vehicle.

Some other stocking stuffers that are handy include those little food items that runners carry with them on long runs, or just for a snack around the house. You can find a lot of choices in food and energy items, from jellybeans, candy bars, tube-squeeze things, and even “gummy bear” type candy. Drink mixes for before the run, during the run and after the run are also available and come in a variety of flavors both hot and cold.

If the runner is an early-morning type and needs a wake-up cup of coffee, you can buy some candy that is loaded with caffeine that will not make that urge to go to the bathroom halfway through the run like a cup of coffee will.

I received my copy of “Backside of 50” last week that I wrote about a few weeks ago. I mentioned that it was an easy read, and that is a very true statement. The day it came, my wife had read it before the afternoon was over; and I had read it before supper that night. It is very enjoyable reading; and if you are interested in how food works for energy and what organs in the body do with the food you eat, expressed in very easy-to-understand language, this is a good book to order.

Some of it is quite humorous, and keeps you smiling as you read the pages. It is quite motivational in content; and he makes a good point about being responsible for your own health and fitness. He also makes a point about being 50 years old and the responsibility that you have for passing on your life experiences to the younger generation.

About the only thing I disagreed with in the book was his emphasis on strength training. Having always been interested in lifting weights and knowing the advantages I obtained from lifting, both in running and in strength, I felt that it should play a more important role in fitness. This is especially true when a person gets past 50 years and on into their 60s and 70s and above, to prevent falling or weak legs to limit mobility. For older people, resistance training can help with bone strength if it was started early enough in life.

Other than that, it is a book worth reading. It can ordered from www.amazon.com, or email the author directly at robert.lehnhard@umit.maine.edu.