There are two things that I really look for in running shorts:
They have to be long enough that my thighs don’t chafe
They need to have some kick ass pockets!
New Balance 2 in 1 Shorts
Honestly, I wish I could tell you that the first thing was the most important to me, but if a pair of shorts had great pockets, I would probably happily load up on body glide in exchange for them being able to hold all of my crap when I am heading out for a long run.
My go-to shorts for the last few years have been the new balance 2-in-1 shorts, which used to have a great pocket in the waist band that my cell phone could fit snugly into. The downside was that when I raced in them – something I did often, as I have run 3/5 of my marathons in these shorts – I needed to also wear a fuel belt with them to hold my inhalers and Gu, as there is no way that anything other than my phone is fitting in that pocket. But last summer when I looked to expand my collection of these shorts, I found out that they had been redesigned, and the pocket that was previously large enough to fit my phone now could barely fit my inhaler – a total bummer.
So, I began my new shorts quest, since I would really like to own a pair of shorts with enough pockets to comfortable fit my cell phone, inhaler, and race fuel. I like my SPI belt, the fuel belt that I own, but sometimes the weight of anything beyond gels in it makes my back hurt, and lately I have been using Skratch gummies over Gu as long run fuel, which takes up more space.
I already owned a few pairs of shorts other than my trusted 2-in-1s, all of which I like for shorter distances, but just weren’t capable of the carry capacity that I need for half and full marathons. I’m going to run through a few of them here, because I would still recommend these shorts, and the new shots that I purchased that have become my go-to shorts:
For track workouts:
New Balance accelerate 2.5” shorts:
These shorts have a wide opening around the legs, and allow you to really get moving with some strides. They do have a small interior pocket that I would say is sized to carry a key, but there is no means to close the pocket, so I have never used it. The one downside? They are a little bit on the short side, so on humid or rainy days, I do apply body glide before running in them to avoid chafing.
Oiselle Roga Shorts
For a long run when you don’t have much to carry:
Oiselle Roga Shorts
I purchased these when oiselle did a warehouse sale last summer, and they are a little on the short side, but are made of a super comfortable material. They have a good sized zipper pocket on the back of the shorts, large enough for my inhaler or one Gu, but too small for my cell phone. I ran in these for the Star wars Dark side half marathon in 2018, and while it was a humid day I can happily report that no chafing occurred.
Reading the product descriptions on the oiselle website, it seems that the “toolbelt” rogas offer more pockets, but I have yet to try a pair of those shorts myself.
But as for my hands down, favorite shorts:
So, in my search for the holy grail of pocket shorts, I spent a lot of time on running websites, looking at photos and descriptions of pockets. I checked out shorts on the brooks website, on REI – which carries a variety of brands, and at target, hoping maybe they would have something a little more budget friendly than the big running brands offer. Ultimately, I decided to order a pair of Pocket Jogger shorts from Oiselle, because I was basically drooling at all of that pocket potential, and I had a $20 coupon code to Oiselle for referring a friend to their site.
Two weeks or so later my shorts arrived in the mail, and I fell in love with all of the pockets. They have two deep side pockets, that full fit an iPhone X, one back zipper pocket, and two small open pockets in the waistband, which fit fuel well. It was still winter in NY when I ordered them, so I hopped onto my treadmill with them, and they fit like a dream. They stayed in place, without rolling up along my legs, an issue that I have with some spandex shorts. Heck, I can’t even wear the Nike PRO shorts that so many runners love because they immediately roll up on me! To really test these shorts, I loaded them up with my phone and race day fuel, and put them through the paces on the treadmill. Everything seemed to stay put, with no bouncing despite loaded pockets.
When I ordered these shorts, I figured I would continue to try other styles and brands if I was not happy with them. But I never did get around to ordering any other pairs, and for valentines day Dennis surprised me with two more pairs of pocket joggers – I had talked about how much I liked them so much that my non-runner husband had decided that I needed more pairs of these perfect pocket shorts.
My next warm weather race was the events at the princess half marathon weekend, and when I packed for Florida, I gave myself options for shorts – I had never run outside or over 6 miles in these shorts, so I wasn’t sure how they would compare to my New balance 2-in-1 shorts on race day. I packed a pair of each short style to go with my outfits for the princess 10k and Half, figuring I would make a race day decision. I was wearing a skirt for both events, so figured I had time to decide as things didn’t need to coordinate perfectly.
Oiselle Pocket Joggers
The morning of the 10k it was hot and humid, and I was going to attempt to race the event. I made the decision to go for the pocket joggers, since it was the shorter distance of the fairytale challenge, and if I liked them, then I would do the same for the half. My gamble paid off, and even when I was pushing the pace, my phone stayed securely in the side pocket. Plus, I no longer had to fumble with a zipper with pulling my phone out for photos, which is a frequent occurrence during RunDisney events. Since the shorts had served me well at the 10k, I decided to wear another pair for the half the following day, when they would really be put to the test, as I would be running with my GoPro.
I ran the WDW half marathon in January while wearing my newbalance 2-in-1 shorts, and spent most of the race just holding the camera in my hand, as I didn’t have a large enough pocket for it and it bounced too much when I clipped it to the waist band of my shorts, even if I was clipping it to my SPI belt at the same time. I figured worst case I would just wind up holding it, like I had done in January. But when we got moving, I slid the camera into one of the side pockets, and was shocked to discover that it sat there comfortably when I wasn’t filming with it, with no real bounce or annoyance. So, the pocket joggers passed yet another holding stuff test, and officially became shorts that I would wear for longer distance runs.
I plan on continuing to run in these shorts as I train for the Chicago marathon this summer, and will update this post if I purchase any new shorts, or have anything to add. But as of now, the Oiselle pocket joggers have officially become my go-to running shorts.