THE SHIRT OFF MY BACK…

Apr 9

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Sweet running wear.

One of the unexpected benefits of being a regular runner/racer, is I’ve amassed a second wardrobe, separate and apart from my regular clothing. Brands like Levi, Lucky and Calvin Klein must now fight for closet space with Nike, Mizuno, Brooks, Asics and New Balance. And judging by sheer numbers, I think my running clothing is winning the great Wardrobe War. And the greatest combatant in this conflict: The race tech T-shirt.

Thanks to having completed over 100 races (of varying distances) I have more than enough race tech shirts to clothe a small country. Some race shirts are really cool, some are just functional. Some are bland and some are flat out “fugly.” They come in every color known to Crayola and some that I don’t think you’d even find in the 64-box (with the built-in sharpener). One color, two colors, color stripes, color gradients, short sleeve, long sleeve, sleeveless, crew neck, V-neck, loose fit, athletic fit, tight fit, some designed not to fit anyone, male sex, unisex, insects (gotcha), finisher’s shirts, series shirts, bonus shirts, freebie shirts and seemingly countless other variations.

Last summer before I relocated to Atlanta, I got all of my race shirts together. Official count: A friggin’ shitload.

SC_FinisherShirt_Men

One of my cold weather faves.

But just like your regular wardrobe, you wear 20% of your running shirts 80% of the time. For every super comfy, memorable or sweet-looking shirt I wore, there were at least two others who never saw the light of day anymore. So when the time came to purge for my move, I decided it was time to put some of these lesser-worn shirts out to pasture.

I spent a lot of time (way too much time) trying to decide which to keep and which to set free. But I eventually gathered up several dozen race shirts and brought them to Goodwill where they will hopefully find new owners who will happily don them and head out to run for many miles to come.

But just before I bagged the shirts up, I took photos of the front so I’d have something else to remind me of those races past. And I wanted to share some of these shirts with you… enjoy.

 

Now don’t worry, I still have far too many tech shirts, but I have at least managed to cull the herd a bit for now. I assure you, there will be future purges and more photos to come.

Dress for success… and Run on!

Do you have pictures of any of your favorite (or least favorite) race shirts to share?

Posted on April 9, 2018, in General. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.

  1. larry willis | April 9, 2018 at 7:58 am

    I can make the case for keeping the Half Fanatic shirt as it’s more than a mere race shirt, more like part of a uniform.
    There are several shirts I wear in races to identify me as part of a team. (OAR, 50StateHalfMarathonClub, MegsMiles, Half Fanatic, etc., come to mind.) The camaraderie and encouragement has, on many occasions turned strangers into new friends, and turned a boring outing into a fun one.
    Maybe you had more than one, or have moved on from that group. . .

    • Scott D. | April 9, 2018 at 11:20 am

      Thanks for the note Larry. And yes, the HF shirt was a tough one to part with. I bought the Half Fanatics shirt when I first qualified for the group (HF #5256) in 2013 and wore it at several races. I also later qualified for the Marathon Maniacs (MM# 9416), which also makes me a Double Agent (#784). They’ve updated the shirt designs so that one is a little dated… I’ve considered getting a Double Agent shirt but they are $50 (a tad pricey) and as you can see, I have quite a few other shirts to spare.

      I did consider holding onto it, but I have a soft spots for a lot of those other shirts too that went bye-bye… purging isn’t easy, but it was necessary and my cluttered closet said thank you.

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