It's all about the race shirt...

The Beer and Bagel Run was a great event. Running on an “off road” course provided variety and a change of pace from triathlon training. The course was laden with hills and even required you to scale down a steep grade, jump over a small steam, and climb-up the other side of the ravine with assistance from ropes. The event played host to almost 1,500 runners, 3x the number of participants from the year prior. The event also boasts the best race shirt in the state with famous tag line, “I’m a drinker with a running problem.” Which got me thinking about my drinking problem…just kidding. It got me thinking about race shirts.

It’s all about the race shirt! Tip to race directors, if you want people to sign up for your race…have an awesome race shirt. My wife says the only reason she enters running events is for the race shirt and I know she isn’t the only one who feels this way. What makes up a good race shirt? I think it starts with a good color. No one wants a salmon pink race shirt, sorry Cirque Du Soleil 5K Vegas. It should have a good race logo. It also should NOT be overloaded with sponsor logos, sorry Race for the Cure 5K. While I support the Susan G. Komen Foundation, I do not support putting sponsor logos on the front, back, and even the sleeves. I also think it should be Dri-Fit material or equivalent, because a cotton t-shirt says “we’re cheap and we know nothing about running.” (See Previous Blog “Let’s Talk About Socks….” for reasons why cotton sucks.)

So race directors, just remember when someone is asked on Monday “How did the race go?” People will usually answer with the following three subjects:

1.) General consensus of the event (“It was fun” “It was awesome” “It was tough”)

2.) Course Description (“It was hilly” “the course was flat") and

3.) T-shirt (“The t-shirt sucked” “the t-shirt was awesome” “the t-shirt was ugly”)