It’s that time of the year when I purge my closet of old, unworn, stained and/or unsightly clothes. Over the years, I’ve participated in many running races and triathlons and my evidence of participation comes in the form of a t-shirt.
Honestly, I NEVER wear the shirts! Ok, a small exaggeration, I wore my San Diego Marathon t-shirt a few times to work- when I was a Physical Education teacher and I wanted my students to see my PROOF. But, other than that, they sit in my drawer, clean and never worn for years… Then, I finally decide to throw out, donate or yard sale them. Why you might ask???
They are NOT stylish, fitted, or functional! 100% cotton t-shirts do not wick moisture away from the body when sweating. I can’t think of anything worse than a soggy t-shirt hanging on my body in the middle of spin class. My second “beef” with my race day tees are that most of the time, the shirts don’t fit. I always ask for medium, but, usually, I swim in it. Logos are not cute, pretty and honestly, if I wear one, I feel “frumped out”. They are great, however, for painting the house, washing dishes, mopping the floor, giving the car a wash, lifting weights in the garage, hitting your local gym at midnight, dusting furniture…
Race promoters, sponsors, and t-shirt designers here is my request:
1. Give the runner the option to not purchase a shirt with the race entry fee.
2. The race day t-shirt would be GREAT if you used a high-performance, wicking material.
3. Design a cute, classy, fitted t-shirt and give the runner a choice! I would pay extra for a top that I liked and wanted to wear. IRUNLIKEAGIRL makes a great workout top that is not expensive and cute! You could put your logo on the front and sponsors on the back, no problem!
Readers, runners, participants…what’s your opinion? Am I whining? Do you know of a race that has a cute t-shirt as part of the entry fee?
It is best that you have the perfect triathlon training schedule to be more effective.
11 responses so far ↓
1 Stephanie // Feb 18, 2008 at 11:21 pm
You hit the nail on the head! Race t-shirts are usually “drab” – not to mention that they’re usually made of the the very cheapest cotton! I’d love to see more stylish options in moisture-wicking fabrics!
P.S. I don’t know of any races with stylish shirts, but I do know that you get a VERY cute running SKIRT if you enter SkirtSports’ SkirtChaser 5ks.
2 Sally Bergesen // Feb 19, 2008 at 4:03 am
Finally. Finally, someone had it out on this one. Thank you Rachel! Race shirts are absolutely the worst. And I’ve been complaining about them to the race directors in the Seattle area for about 7 years. They’re poor quality, they don’t wick, they’re as square as a table cloth, and for the most part, they’re too ugly to even sleep in. Just one of the many factors that caused me to say “c’mon ladies, we can do better than this!” and led to the founding of Oiselle…
3 kch // Feb 19, 2008 at 4:05 am
I couldn’t agree more!
I know of a couple of races in Colorado that at least give out technical tees, or have in the past – Boulder Backroads Marathon/Half Marathon, and the Platte River Half Marathon. Much better than cotton!
4 Sleek, stylish workouts tops by Oiselle « Fitness for Mommies // Feb 19, 2008 at 6:45 am
[...] Press My beef with race day t-shirts. [...]
5 Kristen M. // Feb 19, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I don’t so much have a problem with receiving a shirt as I do with the fact that the sizing is often unpredictable. I received a nice technical t-shirt this year that I pre-ordered in size large and it was way too big. I generally wear a sz. med or large in my regular clothing. I’d love to be able to wear the shirt to show off my pride from having run in the race but I don’t like the baggy look (or having to roll up the sleeves!).
6 Nap Warden // Feb 19, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Holy moly, you are so right! I have run six marathons and all of them had ugly, 100% cotton, men’s large t-shirts…Thanks for nothin’! It’s like they think we all just want a huge shirt, boo hiss:(
7 workout mommy // Feb 19, 2008 at 8:39 pm
you are absolutely right! There are a few local races near me that give technical tees but most of them offer the standard cotton (and yes, too large) tshirt that ends up as a painting smock for my son!
8 Becca // Feb 19, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I agree with most of your points, but in defense of race organizers everywhere, here are a few counterpoints:
100% cotton t-shirts do not wick moisture away from the body when sweating. I can’t think of anything worse than a soggy t-shirt hanging on my body in the middle of spin class.
Getting into dri-fit materials is a lot more expensive. Some races now offer shirts like this, most don’t. Some races are making lots of money and could easily afford the extra cost, but a lot of races are just non-profit fundraisers and are trying to keep the costs down so they can minimize the overhead and maximize the amount raised.
100% cotton shirts are not worthless. Lots of people wear them for casual uses, and they make a good coverup if your workout clothes are not exactly something you want to walk down the street or go grocery shopping in.
My second “beef” with my race day tees are that most of the time, the shirts don’t fit. I always ask for medium, but, usually, I swim in it. Logos are not cute, pretty and honestly, if I wear one, I feel “frumped out”.
I am assuming that you only enter races that have size medium as the smallest? Otherwise, I don’t understand why you just get a small?
Unless a race specifies men’s and women’s sizes, the sizes are always unisex, and yes, a unisex medium is huge. Even a unisex small in some brands (Nike, adidas) is huge on me, and I am 5′6!
I think all races should offer a youth large as an option for adults, but it seems like most events are run by men who have little concern for these things.
Lots of good stuff in this blog post, but try to cut the race directors a little slack sometimes
9 Cindy // Feb 19, 2008 at 11:57 pm
My favorite T-shirt is from the Marine Corp Marathon. It’s a little big, but there’s something special about having that reminder that I actually did it. The last two races I’ve done have been 5Ks and they both gave awesome shirts. The I Run to Party Shirt was actually a tank top that fits perfectly. They gave shirts out based on gender, so women’s sizes were just right. The Zoo run gave out a Nike FitDry shirt that had neat Zoo Animal’s running as a small front logo. I guess, I’ve been pretty happy with my race day tshirts.
10 Testing: Are we on track for the marathon? // Aug 18, 2008 at 4:23 am
[...] really nice! Very cool to actually meet the woman behind one of my favorite running skirts! The race day shirt is improving. It had a nice color and graphics but they still don’t fit us. If I could cut [...]
11 Lovely Long Sleeve Running Shirts from New Balance // Feb 12, 2009 at 5:19 am
[...] tide shifted for me on running shirts long before I wrote about my beef with race day shirts, in fact, the only time I wear a cotton shirt is to work and only if it is fitted and somewhat [...]
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