Howies Run Shorts are the best shorts for ultra-marathons that I've ever tried

I don't usually do product reviews for clothes as they either work or they don't. But when you run an ultra-marathon what might work fine for a regular run or even a full marathon can quite literally fall apart at the seams on a run 4 times as long.

I've tried many different shorts over the years, mainly from Nike, but also from Adidas and Salomon too. They've all been running shorts and they've all served me very well in training and on shorter events.

When using them on an ultra however, even 50 milers, I've often found that I have to make sacrifices, such as more frequently adding lubrication to the nether regions or adjusting my running gait so that I'm not rubbing material against a part of me. Overall they've completed their purpose to hide my nether regions from the eyes of others and kept them warm and dry too, but always at a price. And they've always meant an uncomfortable few days post-race recovery with the familiar penguin waddle.

The shorts ride a little, but you don't particularly notice it

(goofy gait and arm swing, models own)

Enter the Howies Men's Run Short

These are different. Firstly, they only come in black and offer 4 sizes. I'm a medium (32 - 34" waist). They're also quite 'floofy' as they have an excess of material around the crotch area. Which at first looks odd and can be somewhat distracting. However, when out running, they are not only very comfortable, but best of all they are the least distracting too.

The inner short means that you don't have to wear separate under-wear and everything stays 'tucked-in' like you would expect perhaps from a set of snug boxer shorts. There's no movement, but the material is soft and comfortable and friction free.

Centurion Running North Downs Way 100 2017

I ran the NDW100 this year and went through a few different types of weather (bright sun, humid cover and pouring rain) and with temperatures ranging from 10 at night to just over 25 during the day. Not too extreme a temperature change, but notable when you're the one running through them.

And the shorts shrugged it all off. I did apply a generous helping of Vaseline to the nethers at the start, and usually I'd have to re-apply during the run and change my gait, but this time I had to do neither. They remained itch and scratch free the entire time. There was no build up of heat-spots and what was even more impressive was that there was no discomfort post-race.

Merino run vest is light,

wicks well and remains super comfortable.
I have 4 of these vests they're that good

I have 3 sets of these shorts and at first I suspected that the all-polyster construction would leave these as training-only shorts, but I took a punt with them on some longer runs and haven't used anything else since.

Matching running vest

A great one-two combo is to match the shorts with a Howies Merino vest or top. I've got a bunch of different merino tops from Howies and they're easily the best run tops I've had. In fact, I probably should have written a dedicated post just for them.

Howies stock

Howies are a wonderful company. They're ethical, care about the environment and the products they make, but are always offering new clothing lines. Which has led me to panic that the 2 sets I have may be the last I'll ever have. As soon as they're back in stock, I'll be ordering more.

Check whether they have your size in stock for the shorts and for the running vests.

Worth noting that I'm not a Howies ambassador, I didn't get anything for free and no one asked me to write this. I genuinely believe they offer the best short for running an ultra-marathon that I've ever tested.