5 things I want from a race T-shirt

My second half marathon.

A thread was taking place over on the Beginner Triathlete forums titled "RD wants to know what you want in a race t-shirt."

This RD was getting a bounty of feedback from the community. People are clearly passionate about their swag.

Most posters agreed that Technical T-shirts are the way to go, but a few said they wouldn't mind cotton Ts as long as they were decent cotton. (Wrong!)

The community was almost evenly split about whether T-shirts should be white or not, and there was some discussion about where logos should be placed.

I chimed in, too, and these were my thoughts, though I've expanded them a tad more here.

Fabric
Please. No cotton Ts. That's like having moved to CDs in the early 90s and then your parents go and buy you the new album that you wanted for Christmas - on tape! Disappointment. Please use current technology.

Sizing
Please offer women's sizes, and make sure they're long enough. Nothing like your muffin top peeking over and bouncing above your shorts. Not all of us "look like runners."

Color
White is fine with me. Just don't order a gross color like mustard yellow. I have one and it is visible only at bedtime.

To buy or not to buy
Give the racer the option of not buying a T-shirt for a lower registration price. This is true especially if you've decided to order cotton Ts. (By the way, why are you ordering cotton Ts?) If you're offering Technical Ts, make it clear on your registration form.

In lieu of a T
People typically expect a T-shirt. If you're going to replace it with something else, it must have the same "a ha" worth. I don't know if a visor does that. Now, a nice wicking ballcap would be a suitable substitute.

What do you want in a race T?

Running from irony

My mileage has certainly been down lately as I have been nursing my feet injuries. What little running I'd done was on the treadmill. So, when the weather warmed up recently, I put on this long-sleeved shirt, a pair of running pants and hit the pavement.

(I won this shirt from the Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon organization last January in a New Year's Day Twitter contest organizers were holding. Really very cool.)

Though I was only running two to three miles, I had to stop more times than I wanted to, gulp, walk.

Walking at the end of a steep hill more than once, I imagined what the jerks would say as they would drive by, watching a person struggling to breathe just walking, but wearing a big sign on the front of her shirt that read "RUN."

But then I didn't care. I've had to take some steps back as I heal, but I know my training will increase and I'll be running full steam ahead on those same hills in a few weeks - and then, my shirt won't seem ironic to anyone, but most importantly to me.