UKH

I’m after recommendations for decent Bluetooth headphones to wear running 

I have had so many crappie ones where only one ear piece is working so I think now is the time to spend a bit more money than normal.

any recommendations please

Aftershokz bone conduction, blue tooth headphones for me.

I find Apple Airpods fine (I hate the rubber gasket things) but Aftershokz bone conductors mean you don't lose your hearing and are allowed in races so if it's specifically for running those are probably best.

How do these bone conductors work do you hear your music and all the external noise??

Yes, so plus and minus. I use Aftershockz too and strongly recommend them. Downside is that wind noise in your ears can drown out noise sometimes. I'm in the countryside and run mostly trail so traffic noise isn't an issue. 

One negative is in winter if I've got a Buff wrapped around my head and ears it can be a bit uncomfortable. For XC skiing I prefer ear pods. 

Yes, I'm not a fan of them for that reason. Especially if listening to a podcast. I prefer a single in-ear headphone (like an airpod) and the other ear free to be able to safely hear what's going on around me. There's loads available at pretty low cost, I have a Jlab one which I like and was about £20-30.

Aftershokz are good for podcasts IMHO but not so good for music. 

I like JBL reflect mini 2 (if you can still get them), but only the ones which have a cable between earpieces and buttons to press. Decent sound, long life, and don't fall out of your ears at all. 

I tried a set of the newer model which are just ear buds with tap to touch "buttons". These are useless for running, as the "buttons" just don't work well, and you can't even switch them on or off without the case. Something to bear in mind for ear buds only? 

Was unable to find the JBL reflect mini 2 (but you may be able to in the UK), so ordered the Endurance Run BT which seems to be the closest equivalent available, but haven't tried them yet. 

I assume from your tone that you may be correct regarding road races, but NO headphones whatsoever are allowed in a track environment. So anyone with them please don't wear them in such a situation, as you will be told (not asked) to remove them - it's a safety thing as well as to prevent getting unfair assistance.

Yes, I'm referring to road/trail/fell races.  I've never done a track race but can quite understand that it is a rather different situation.  (I'd have thought UKC would more naturally tend towards trail racing given its outdoorsy nature!)

Some road/trail/fell races do allow in-ear ones, but some don't, and the UKA rules default is that they don't unless no open roads at all are crossed or used - but only the strictest of those wouldn't allow Aftershokz - the likes of Mark Cockbain's "super-hard ultra" stuff where he wants to set a mental challenge and thus rule out the motivational aspect of listening to music or a podcast, for example.

I've got some Jlab retro headphones - nice comfy orange sponge - that are good for running and very cool.  Light, firmly attached and on the ear so you can hear background noise fine.  About £20.  

David

I've tried stacks of them over the years and I reckon these are the best ones I've found. 

Anker stuff is really good and the service is great, I've had a couple of power banks off them. They're pretty low price, but really high quality, I've used them constantly for probs about 1.5-2 years. They're dead comfy and at £30-40 they don't owe me anything now. The signal never fails, battery is good, they charge quick, they're waterproof and comfy - I sleep in them sometimes.

I'm pretty sure there are newer and better models of these available now.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soundcore-Wireless-Customized-Waterproof-Bluetooth...

Does this make them unsuitable for road cycling?

I am not a runner, but I am a cyclist. I find Aftershockz works fine for me. If you are going downhill at 50mph you probably need to run the volume up, but for 15-20mph they are OK. However, I mostly listen to podcasts and audiobooks so can't comment on how good they are for music.

I'm another aftershokz fan, as folk have said they don't blot out background noise though so depends on where you're running.  I've hearing loss / tinitus as well and they drastically improve the quality of sound I get even compared to good in-ear headphones.

Cheers,

Stu