Attention, shoppers! Are you thinking of gifting someone on your list a pair of running shoes?

Don’t.

I’ll qualify that instruction. Give someone running shoes if you (A) are giving them the exact same brand, model and size as the shoes they already use and love, (B) are taking that person shopping with you when you get these shoes, or (C) assume that whatever you give this person will be exchanged.

As most runners know, the way to get a pair of running shoes you’ll like is to try them on before buying. Ordering online works only when you’re ordering a duplicate pair of what you already have – and even then, you need to make sure it’s the same year of that model, because sometimes the size will change slightly between years. Otherwise you may need to return the shoes. (Or, sensibly, give a running store’s gift certificate.)

Other gifts for runners are easier – good socks, energy gels, reflective vests, a trip to run the Bermuda Marathon.... But what I’d be asking for, if I didn’t already own some, are red running shorts.

Once upon a time, everyone knew that you can run faster in red shorts than in other colors. Google a video of the 1983 Boston Marathon and check the shorts Joan Samuelson was wearing as she set a women’s world best time.

It’s harder now to find red shorts than it used to be. The trend seems to favor dark blue, gray and black. In a local running store the other day I did find shorts in bright deer-hunter orange, but orange is not the new red. You can find red shorts online, but buying stuff in an actual running shop is more fun. If you’re a novice, you can learn a lot by looking around and talking with the sales staff. If you’re an experienced runner, you can swap stories.

Novice or experienced, perhaps you’re among the more than 5,000 people who’ll be running the annual Hot Chocolate Run on Sunday in Northampton. If not – registration closed Friday – you can participate by standing somewhere along the route and cheering, which makes you a big part of this great community event. You can also make a donation to Safe Passage, the race’s beneficiary. As of Tuesday, 6,288 donors had contributed over $600,000 toward Safe Passage’s goal of $800,000. Starting time is 8 a.m.

To run for another good local cause, enter the South Hadley Holiday Fun Run 5K & 2 Mile. A benefit for the South Hadley Food Pantry, this event takes place at The Ledges Golf Course on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 11 a.m. Sign up before midnight, Dec. 13 (https://eorcrunner1.wufoo.com/forms/2024-holiday-fun-run-5k-2-mile-walk), or register in person on race day between 9:30 and 10:45 a.m.

The crowds of spectators will be smaller but the running will be harder-core at the Sawmill River Run in Montague on New Year’s Day. This 10-kilometer race features a scenic rural course with hills just big enough to make you glad you’re actually in shape. Starting time is 10 a.m. Register online (https://www.runreg.com/sawmill-river-10k-run) or at the Montague town hall at 9 a.m. on race day.

Nothing beats the New Year’s Day Fun Run & Swim in Mystic, Conn. Amby Burfoot, the 1968 Boston Marathon champion and Runners’ World editor, created this particular insanity with a couple of friends as the antithesis of sitting on a sofa drinking beer and watching football.

The run starts in Mystic at noon beside the statue of John Kelley, the town’s 1957 Boston champion, and proceeds to Esker Point in Noank. “Maybe 3.5 miles,” said Amby this week. “We all run super slow, stop atop hills, keep the throng together.”

When you get to the beach, you run into the ocean and dive under. The rule is, you have to be completely submerged, then come back onto the beach, and then turn and plunge back in a second time. Having run and swum in this party twice myself, I can affirm it’s even more fun than it sounds.

The Snowstorm Classics series in Springfield’s Forest Park starts today with a 10K and continues every Saturday through Feb. 22, alternating 10K and 5K races week by week. The start is at the Skate House beside Porter Lake at 9 a.m. Hot chocolate, cookies, fruit juice, pastries. Cost is $5, visit www.harriers.org. “Merging the Arts with Athletes,” as the Greater Springfield Harriers state it, the race includes a raffle for tickets to the Springfield Symphony and the Majestic Theater.

John Stifler has taught writing and economics at UMass and has written extensively for running magazines and newspapers. He can be reached at jstifler@umass.edu