Running Clothing

Running in the UK means dressing for four seasons in a single outing. The jacket that keeps you dry on Stanage needs to breathe on the climb up. The shorts that work in July are useless on a December night run.

We test waterproofs in actual rain, not a shower head. Base layers in proper cold, not a walk to the shops. If you run outdoors in Britain, the clothing section is where you'll spend the most and regret the most — unless you read this lot first.

The waterproof jacket question is particularly fraught. Gore-Tex vs. proprietary membranes, 2.5-layer vs. 3-layer, packable vs. structured — there are real differences and real trade-offs, and most reviews don't get into them properly. We do.

Kat Moran covers a lot of the women's running kit. Rob covers the fell and trail end of the waterproof market. Between them they've got the Pennine weather thoroughly tested.