This is the season for giving, so don’t forget the runners on your shopping list. Here are a few suggestions to brighten runners’ faces and lighten their steps.

• Food. Runners love to eat. How about a gift card to a favorite post-run coffee shop or pizzeria. Even if you’re not a runner, you can join in for refreshments and conversation.

With running, work, and family commitments, most runners I know scramble for quick calories between life events. Pack a gift basket with healthy snacks for runners on the go or make a big pot of soup or stew to freeze in single-serving portions perfect for lunches or quick post-run comfort meals.

• Food, part two. Even with time constraints, some runners enjoy preparing their own foods. Download and print easy-to-prepare menu items from one of many online cooking or running sites for a personal cookbook or give the gift of a nutrition guide so that runners can create their own dishes.

• Shoes. This is the foundation of all running, even for those who ascribe to the barefoot craze. But don’t try to give your runner the actual pair of shoes, even if he or she has worn the same model for the last decade.

Instead, give a gift card or certificate to a running specialty store so that your runner may compare and contrast the latest technology and style of various models and benefit from expert fitting and performance advice.

• Socks and underwear. It’s not glamorous but it is necessary. Runners’ socks may seem expensive in comparison with fashion or cotton tube socks from the discount store, but quality running socks can prevent blisters, keep the feet warm and dry in winter and cool in summer, and even keep feet and shoes smelling good. Some socks actually get warmer when wet, making them the perfect winter base layer. Sock style is a personal preference; so if possible, find out whether your runner prefers low or high, thick or thin, black, white or bright colors.

• Hats and gloves. In winter, hats and gloves can mean the difference between comfort and potentially dangerous hypothermia. And since hats and gloves come in all thicknesses, there’s bound to be a perfect pair for every weather occasion. Hats, including headbands and neck gaiters, and gloves and mittens of various materials can be layered for the coldest of Pennsylvania winters.

• Technical support. Technical support includes any of the gadgets available to quantify training or running. From the simplest wrist watch that records elapsed time to the latest GPS, heart rate recording, uplinking chronograph, technical equipment is available to tell runners as little or as much information as they deem interesting or necessary. If your runner runs on information, they’ll appreciate having more of it at their fingertips and on their smartphone.

• Non-technical support. This category includes everything that doesn’t require batteries: ice cleats that attach to running shoes, foam roller to work out the kinks, or books on everything from nutrition or running form, biographies of running greats like Grete Waitz or Fred Lebow, or the re-released classic ‘Once a Runner’. Or how about a gift certificate for a massage or session with a personal trainer.

• Destination gifts. Although we have plenty of running opportunities right outside our door, sometimes it’s fun to run away from home. Whether it’s a weekend camping trip that includes a trail run, or a major marathon in a large city, running road trips are always adventures. Give your runner a collection of race brochures to choose from for a destination or a list of activities to include in an already planned trip.

You don’t have to give your runner an expensive vacation package to an exotic place. Give them a voucher for an afternoon run through the park while you prepare a picnic lunch.

Sometimes the best destination is the one in your own mind. Give your runner permission to simply run away once in a while.

Upcoming events

Saturday, 8 a.m.: Up-N-Running Group Run, Valencia. Your choice of mileage, post run coffee and snacks. 724-898-2525 or shoes@runpa.com

Saturday, 11 a.m.: Old Fashioned Christmas in Volant 5k, Volant. Starts at Scooter’s Ice Cream Shop. bonnherb@yahoo.com

December 31, 3 p.m.: Harmony Silvester 5k Race & 1 Mile Fun Run, Harmony. Part of New Year’s Eve Celebration. 724-452-3149 or saltemus@zoominternet.net

December 31, 6:30 p.m.: First Night 5k Resolution Run, State College. 814-571-1960 or dhel@psu.edu

January 7, 9:30 a.m.: James V. Snyder Resolution Run, North Park. 412-607-3060 or info@jvresolutionrun.com

January 8, 9 a.m.: Frigid 5 Mile, North Park. www.race360.com/14353 or 412-490-0881

February 11, 10 a.m.: Valentine’s Day 5k, North Park. www.valentinesday5k.kintera.org or 724-272-8797

Race results

Oil City Cold Man’s 5k Run, December 3: Doug Basinski, 1st Overall M, 18:04; Herb Cratty, 2nd Overall M, 18:29; Sara Brunazzi, 1st Overall W, 25:10; Bob Clark, 1st 60+ M, 21:45; Shelly Wade, 3rd 30-39 W, 27:58; Sarah Huth, 32:04

Oil City Cold Man’s 5k Walk, December 3: Christine Klapec, 1st Overall W, 35:36; Rodney Daum, 1st Overall M, 36:00; Sidney Bowers, 50:09; Judy Shisler, 50:30

Trot for Tots 5k, December 4: Jake Dialesandro, 1st Overall M, 16:38; Lisa Chilcote, 1st Overall W, 19:26; Dominic Wyzomirski, 1st Masters M, 17:58; Ryan Budnik, 1st 15 & Under M, 17:55; Camden Seybert, 2nd 15 & Under M, 20:41; Ron Hartle, 3rd 55-59 M, 22:54; Lois Adams, 1st 60-64 W, 31:25; Julia Strejcek, 24:38; Jennifer Bole, 25:09; Alicia Swanson, 27:37

Trot for Tots 10k, December 4: Jake Dialesandro, 1st Overall M, 37:12; Karen Rivetti, 1st Overall W, 45:46; Rob Snyder, 3rd 40-44 M, 53:47; Heather Slater, 52:36; Ron Hartle, 53:12; Maria Cortijo, 1:05:21; Mindy Dibello, 1:21:32

Nittany Valley Half Marathon, December 4: Luke Watson, 1st Overall M, 1:12:43; Rebecca Donaghue, 1st Overall W, 1:17:25; Theo Reynolds, 2nd Under 20 M, 1:19:44; Brian Forester, 2nd 40-44 M, 1:26:32; David Adams, 2nd 60-64 M, 1:51:41; Mark Courtney, 1:34:09; John Armstrong, 1:36:21; Chad McDonough, 1:44:20; Bill Carr, 1:44:58; Bob Clark, 1:54:17; Jillian Luvelle, 1:55:27; Jeremiah Friday, 1:55:28; Andrew Glavin, 1:58:45; Cindy Waltemire, 2:00:47; Karl Hart, 2:01:55; Michael Waltemire, 2:37:10Send comments and suggestions: Patricia Neubert, 435 Cherry Valley Rd., Saxonburg, Pa. 16056. Phone 724-352-4395. Email lotzak@consolidated.netPat Neubert is a running columnist for the Butler Eagle