Bye bye bum bags?

At a recent event at Ellis Brigham, I was chatting with the lovely folks at Osprey about running.  I explained how my new phone doesn’t fit into the bum bag I usually use, which has made marathon training a bit of challenge.  For long runs, I need a small bottle of water, my Oyster card, fuel, keys, and my phone.  The phone allows me to listen to my Harry Potter audio books or My Dad Wrote a Porno podcasts.  Bum bags often make me feel like I need to use the bathroom too (I think this is because it repeatedly bounces on my lower back, encouraging my digestion system to go into overdrive).  

Soft mesh lining

The solution to  my bodily function woes seems to be the Osprey Duro 1.5 rucksack.  Of course, I was worried that I would get too hot running in this so I took it out on a few short runs during the brief London heatwave we have been experiencing.  On the first run, I wore a t-shirt because I was afraid the mesh lining would chafe my skin.  I  was pleasantly surprised that the bag was really comfortable to run in.  The adjustable chest straps helps make the bag unisex, so any shaped body can fit in.  It does feel a bit weird when I initially put it on at the start of a run because the 250 ml water pouches lay right over my breasts.  Maybe I need to adjust it somehow so the pouches rest more on the sides?  The straws have a bite valves and are bent at an angle to make them easier to reach while on the go.  There are pockets everywhere and half of these have zippers to keep important items tucked safely away.

Last week, I wore the pack to an Adidas Runners cruise interval session while wearing a vest top.  I knew it was going to be hot out and that I would need sips of water along the way.  The Duro allowed me to have water but keep me hands free.  The bag also held my phone, which I like to have for snapping photos on the runs, but hate carrying.  I barely noticed that I had the bag on.  It never once irritated my skin nor did I have to adjust it.  It was so helpful to have the water available every time I needed it with the high pollen count in the air.  I could also take a few photos of the group when we got to the park without too much faffing.