I LOVE running trails. I HATE sticks and rocks getting stuck in my shoes. What to do about it? Buy gaiters! Gaiters are very popular with hikers and runners. They’re bits of fabric designed to go around your ankle and shoe to keep debris out. When I first learned about them I rushed to the store and bought a pair. The gaiters worked great but I am a distance runner and when I wore them for runs mores than a few miles, they started to cut into my ankles and really annoy me. When I’d take them off I’d have a sharp indention around my ankle where the elastic had been cutting into my skin.
 
Gaiters really do not take up a lot of fabric. They didn’t look complicated to make and I thought to myself, why not make my own pair? It took quite a bit of trial and error, but I am really happy with the version I came up with and I want to share my knowledge with you so you can skip the mistakes and end up with a perfect pair on your first go round!

Let’s get started.
 
What you need:

• A sewing machine and thread
• A piece of paper
• Scissors or rotary cutter
• Sew on Velcro
• Sticky back Velcro
• Hooks (2)
• Performance/moisture wicking stretch fabric. The fabric I used for this tutorial was a directional print with 50% stretch width wise and 30% stretch length wise. I’m sure a variety of fabrics will work. Just know you might have to adjust your pattern piece bigger or smaller if your first try isn’t a good fit.
• A 3 inches by 7 inches piece of non-stretch cotton fabric.

​First, let’s get started by making your pattern piece. You can use a regular piece of paper or you can use wax paper. This pattern piece will include seam allowances so no need to add them.
1. Mark 7 inches up from the bottom corner of the page.
2. Mark 7.5 inches from the bottom corner to the right.
3. Draw a line from 7 inches, 3.75 in into the paper. It should be a flat line and not angled up or down.
4. Draw a curved line from the 3.75 mark to the 7.5 mark. It's not a straight line, it's a slightly curved line!
5. Mark the fold so you remember where to line up the fold of your fabric.

​This is what your pattern piece will look like so far.

​6. Cut along the lines to reveal your pattern piece. 

​Now it’s time to cut your fabrics!
1. Fold your stretch fabric in half. Line up the fold on your pattern piece with the fold in your fabric. Cut 2.

This is what it will look like after you've cut it. Make sure you're NOT cutting on the fold line. Just cut the other 3 sides. Make sure you cut TWO. You'll need one for each foot! 

​2. Cut 1 piece of non-stretch cotton fabric 3 inches by 7 inches. Honestly you can cut this shorter, it could be 3 inchs by 5 inches but sometimes I like a little extra fabric just in case so that's why I made mine larger. 

​Are you ready to sew?!
 
1. Fold the 3x7 piece of fabric in half. Sew with ¼ seam allowance the short ends of the fabric. It will look like this when it’s done. 

​2. Flip inside out and push so it makes a point and the seam is in the middle (see photo). Iron flat. Set aside for later. 

​3. If you would like you can serge or zig-zag stitch the top and bottom of each pattern piece, however, this isn’t necessary as the stretch fabric won't fray. It just makes for a more professional finish. 

​4. Fold right sides together and stitch along the curved/diagonal edge. Use a stretch stitch (it looks like a lighting bolt) or a serger. Once you've done both they will look like this. 

​5. Take the cotton piece you prepared earlier and trim along the piece to make a triangle. Repeat for the other one. 

​6. Find the larger opening to your pattern piece and fold the fabric so you can see the seam line. Line up the seam line of the triangle with the seam line of your pattern piece. Pin in place. 

​7. Using the stretch stitch, sew the two pieces together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Serge or zig-zag stitch the same spot. This will prevent your cotton fabric from fraying. Repeat for the other side. 

​8. Push the triangle tip up and flip over. Fold down ½ inch and pin all of the way around. Using a ½ inch seam allowance, use a wide zig-zag stitch or a cover stitch all of the way around. Repeat on the other one. 

This is what they will look like when you're finished with that part: 

​9. Fold the TOP part that will go around your ankle down (the other side you haven’t sewn yet) ½ inch, pin in place and zig-zag stitch around. Repeat for the other one.

​10. Cut TWO 1.5 inches of the loop side of Velcro (it’s the softer side).

11. Fold the gaiter in half to find the middle back seam. Line up the middle of the Velcro with the middle of the back seam. Pin in place and then stitch the velcro in place using a regular stitch. Repeat for the other side.

This is what they will look like when you're done:

​12. Hand sew the hook so that it is at the tip of the triangle and facing the tip of the triangle (it should not be facing you). Repeat for the other side.

13. Clip threads and you’re done with the sewing part!
 
Now it’s time to add Velcro to your shoes!
 
Take your sticky back Velcro and cut two 1 inch hook pieces (the hard side of velcro). Use scissors to curve the corners. Peel off the plastic backing and place the Velcro in the middle back of your shoe. Some trail shoes already have Velcro on the back. You won’t need to add some if you have it already.
 
Watch the video for how to put your gaiters on and have fun on those trails!

You might ask; what IS plogging?  It is a combination of jogging and picking up litter.  Sounds fun and good for the planet, right?  The concept began in Sweden (Swedish: plocka upp) in 2016 and has made its way around the globe this past year.  In addition to helping the environment, you burn more calories than just running alone AND by bending over you are stretching your back, your backside, hamstrings and calves; all good things for runners.  Many Stroller Warriors chapters have  joined in on the plogging fun this year and many more have this type of event on their future workout list.  

With the willingness to do a not so glamorous task, armed with a trash bag and a glove, our members and their Mini Warriors have set out to make a small, but meaningful difference in their communities.  It is no surprise that brown commissary bags seem to be our chapter's choice for collecting the trash; we are military families after all.  Check out how many bags of trash have been collected because of Stroller Warriors plogging!  Instead of running right past the litter they see along their routes, these Warriors are choosing to clean up the area instead. 

Camp Lejeune Warriors hosted their first plogging run on April 27th, in honor of Earth Day, and were shocked at how much trash could be collected in just 40 minutes of run time.  Many hands made light work.  ​It was a huge hit and they picked up over 10 bags of trash!

Shout out to two other chapters, SW Jacksonville and SW Monterey, who also recently hosted a plogging workout!

Although not plogging... all three of our Hawaii chapters, SW Kaneohe Bay, SW Pearl Harbor and SW Schofield Barracks, regularly participate with 808 Cleanups to help clean up their local beaches. 

Lastly, but certainly not least, we are excited for our SW Fort Worth Chapter who recently “adopted a spot,” through the city, at one of their regular run locations.  They will be responsible for keeping their adopted spot clean throughout the year. Way to be committed to helping clean up litter on a regular basis!

Thank you Stroller Warriors for making a difference in your local community and ultimately for our world; one bag of litter at a time.  Keep up the great work - we are proud of you and the example you are setting for our Mini Warriors! 

Have YOU been plogging?! If not, encourage your local Stroller Warriors Chapter to join the fun or simply bring a bag and glove on your next neighborhood run and share your adventures with us.  We'd love to hear about it!  

​Stroller Warriors around the world are jumping in on a streaking challenge to run at least 1 mile DAILY.  Often streaking starts out as a one-month challenge hosted by a chapter. Many Stroller Warriors, however, are finding they enjoy the streaking lifestyle and are sticking with it! Kristen S. is likely to blame as the mother runner who started streaking for the Stroller Warriors. I know the first time I ever heard of run-streaking was from her and her group of Stroller Warriors in Lakenheath!
 
In 2014 Kristen decided to take part in the Runners World Thanksgiving to New Year Streaking Challenge. Little did she know she was going to get hooked. Kristen ended up running 1,223 days IN A ROW!  That’s close to 3.5 years!! Through the course of her streak Kristen ran in 4 Countries and 10 different States. As you can probably imagine, she has run in all types of weather from sunshine to rain and snow to a hurricane.
 
What advice does Kristen have for you on streaking? “My advice is, do it!!! Even if it’s only a few days or you end up going 3 years like I did. Knowing you can achieve it is amazing!!” 

​Kristen really put her dedication to the test during her running streak. She has run in a truck parking lot at 11:30pm carrying a crying child, while on the way to a marathon. She has run a mile in her hotel room in Malta in her pajamas. She ran on a visit to Charleston while playing Pokémon go. She ran her first 50k and also the day after, limping through the parking lot. She has run everything from 1 mile to 36 miles, Countless 5ks, 10ks, half marathons and full marathons. Kristen says it got to the point where she remembered to run better than she remembered to floss. Often, her husband would drop her one mile from home and she’d run home in order to keep her streak alive.
 
The craziest mile Kristen says she ever ran was, “also her creepiest mile, in a creepy caravan park [they] were staying in the night before the Portsmouth Marathon.” 

Kristen isn’t the only Stroller Warrior who is streaking. Lindsay S. started streaking with the Stroller Warriors of Quantico when they did a Thanksgiving to Christmas streaking challenge in the hope of keeping their members engaged and active. Lindsay says the running streak appealed to her because, “It sounded like a great way to stay motivated over the holiday and cold weather. I would tell myself it’s only a mile, but then it would push me to keep running on some of those days that I didn’t feel like running.”  She continued running past the 40 days the chapter was streaking and ran 151 days because, “It became a new goal for me. Could I make 100 days? Could I make 150 days? I had other Stroller Warriors continuing the streak with me too so I had a lot of support and accountability.” 
 
Often, Stroller Warriors chapters are making streaking exciting and fun by adding in a bingo challenge where you try to cross off various things during a run, like running with a dog (it can be a borrowed dog!) or a “Joey mile” where you run with every single possession of Stroller Warriors clothing that you own. The photos of Joey miles are often quite hilarious!

If you haven’t done a run streak, I encourage you to give it a go. However, keep in mind these important lessons:
 
Lessons learned while streaking:
1. It is possible to streak in regular clothes, regular shoes, no shoes, sports bra over regular clothes, etc. You might look silly but you’ll get the mile done!

2. Cross training is important. You need cross training to be a good runner. You need cross training to be injury free. Don’t neglect your cross training to do a running streak or you’ll end up sorry.
​
3. It can be hard to stop at 1 mile or at X number of days. MANY of the Stroller Warriors streakers that I talk to have reported that it’s often hard to stop running at 1 mile. Once they get past the first mile they keep going. They also report that once they start streaking they can't stop and even when they've reached their first, second or third streaking goal they are still sad if they have to stop their streak. 

4. Rest days are needed. Maybe even rest weeks! When you’re ‘resting’ during a streak it means just running 1 mile that day (or that week). Don’t keep going to rack up more mileage for runopoly.

5. Foam rolling is probably more important than ever to help break up muscle adhesions and helping your muscles keep or get back their full range of motion.

6. Sleep when you can! Naps are okay. Naps while driving on the highway are not okay. Take extra rest when you can to try and help your body reload and recover from the extra work you’re putting in.

7. Streaking can help you not take running so seriously. It can also help you to share the joy of running with your kids or family. When a training schedule dictates a certain mileage or a certain pace it can be easy to leave the kids on bikes and scooters home so you aren’t slowed down or burdened by tag-alongs.  Streaking will teach you the joy that comes with doing a mile with your kids. 1 mile may be the perfect distance for your kids, and when your goal is just a mile, the pace doesn’t matter. The kids can grab their bikes and loop the neighborhood with you or jump on the path to check out the ‘secret pathway’ through the trees. Streaking can open up an opportunity for kid-led runs where the distance and pace are completely set by them. 

​Streaking can lead to a lot of lessons learned and confidence built. However, you’ll never know if you don’t try.
 
Have you ever done a run streak? Tell us about it! How many days did you streak? What made you want to do it? What lessons did you learn along the way?