Trying the Jogging Stroller

We’ve been shopping for a jogging stroller since the girls were born, but we’ve been delaying the purchase because these strollers are so expensive (also, infants shouldn’t use a jogging stroller until they can support their heads fairly well). Our understanding is that people generally use jogging strollers for a long time and that we wouldn’t want to go too far towards the cheap end of the spectrum, or we risk having it break well before we are ready to stop using it. Agnes’ friends Ellie and Nicole both recommended Baby Jogger or BOB, but the twin models from both companies end up near the $400 range.

In the meantime, Agnes’ cousin let us borrow her single jogging stroller. This morning I went out running with Eleanor (Miranda was taking a nap and Eleanor was wide awake). We just jogged around the neighborhood. Since Eleanor wasn’t doing the running, I dressed her in her jacket and put on a hat.

I was a little worried because the first ten minutes of the run is partially facing the sun and the canopy of the jogging stroller isn’t enough to shade her face, but she fell asleep as soon as we started moving. I checked up on Eleanor partway through the run and her hat had shifted around so that the ear flap was right in her face. It’s just as well — it helped protect her from the sun.

With the exception of a bit of fussiness in being strapped in, the jog went really well. I was afraid that Eleanor would make a fuss when I was at the farthest point from our house, but Eleanor slept the whole way. Pushing something while running does take some getting used to. One’s arms just don’t move as freely.

In our search for a jogging stroller, we’ve found that some have a fixed front wheel, which makes it run straight more easily, and others have a pivoting front wheel which makes it more maneuverable. The jogging stroller I used today has a fixed wheel. For running, I now realized that a fixed front wheel is definitely the way to go — a smooth, straight ride is pretty important. I also think that we’re going to need either infant sunscreen or an enclosing sun shade for the stroller. Even though Eleanor didn’t get a lot of sun, it probably wasn’t right to expose her to so much of it without protection. At least we now know a little more about what we’re looking for in a double jogging stroller.