When I was in high school, I ran a local 5K over the summer. I rolled up to the start line in old yellow and blue Umbro soccer shorts and an oversized cotton t-shirt – it was the ‘90s. Next to me on the start line, another girl my age was dressed in a super cute, and probably new, running outfit complete with matching shorts, top, and hat. I’ll never forget her mom turning to another adult and saying, “Suzie is going to win today. That’s what she does.” Well, I thought, she was dressed the part…. Fast forward 3.1 miles and the old Umbros and cotton t-shirt broke the tape.
1990s Umbros just like the shorts I wore that day – found on Poshmark (Should I buy them?)
This is not a post about my high school running glory days. Nor am I advocating for running a race in July in an oversized cotton t-shirt (summers are hotter and more humid now!). But it is a post about the importance (or lack of importance) of having the newest and flashiest outfit while racing.
I get it. We all want to feel good about ourselves and clothing can be an important part of that equation. We also also want to perform our best and some running clothes have a performance element that my outfit definitely lacked.
But do we really need a new outfit (or 10) each season? And do professional runners really need a new uniform color each year?
If you follow any professional runners or running influencers on social media, you may think the answer is yes. Almost every major (and minor) brand is constantly churning out new kit – both racing kit for the professionals and everyday kit for the everyday runner. Looking at the professional ranks, last year, many of Nike’s marathoners and track athletes were wearing stripes in either burgundy or blue for races. This year, it’s a new pattern and new colors. And in 2020/21 it was a geometric pattern in either blue and green or black and white. And Nike doesn’t stand alone. Every big brand does this for their pros. And that’s just the professional racing kit – I’m not even going into the number of new products or new colors introduced annually from each of these brands for the masses.
The professional racing kit is not even available to the public for purchase – it’s a uniform. So why do athletes need a new color each year? Does it actually make them faster? Is Nike, a company that’s always looking for an edge, still figuring out which color or pattern makes its athletes most likely to break a world record? And what happens to the old kit when the team rolls out a new color? Some of it, like this brand new/unworn singlet, ends up on EBay for a pretty penny. Much of it probably ends up in the trash along with most of our clothing after having been worn only a handful of times at most.
I would love to see a brand roll out kit for its professional athletes and keep the same colors in use for multiple seasons. I’m not advocating for no uniform for the pros (though I could get on board with that) and I’m not advocating for bad quality kit or damaged kit (though I do think kit should be repaired when broken). I’m simply advocating for the same uniform to stay in place for multiple years so that each individual item has a chance to be worn more than just a few times.
If you’re a running fan, do you get excited about seeing your favorite runners race in new colors? Does it make you more inclined to support that brand or that athlete? And does it make you believe that you too need a new uniform for each season of racing?
If you’re a sponsored athlete, do you feel faster in the new colors? Would you consider reaching out to your sponsor and asking that they keep uniform colors in use for multiple seasons so that each piece of kit has the potential to be used by athletes longer?
I really am curious about this one. For most sports, teams don’t completely change up their colors annually. Why do we do it in running?
The Green Ostrich 