From DonkeyTs.com
Sitting at the gym, minding everybody’s business but my own, I got into a conversation about a recent road race. I didn’t run it but several of the Gym Buddies did and as everyone knows, one of the best parts of running a race is getting to swagger around in your race jacket (or tee or sweatshirt or medal or beanie or pink diamond necklace or – if you’re a real super star – all of the above) for weeks afterward. Except this day, the Big Day After the Race, oddly no one was sporting their swag. What was going on? Everyone get a case of the humble virus?
Allison explained that it was because her new sweatshirt had been upgraded to her “nice clothing” category and therefore was too good to be sweated upon at the gym. (And really it is a super cute hoodie!) Another Gym Buddy explained that while she loved hers and it was super comfy, the slogan – “Get Lucky” (it was a St. Patrick’s day run, get it??) – felt too risque to wear in public. Especially when she is surrounded by her kids; naifs, yes, but also walking, talking proof of her ability to, ahem, get lucky. (Side note: Anyone remember Lucky Brand jeans in the 90’s with their “Lucky you!” printed on the inside of the fly?? I wore those all through college and blushed every time I peed. Needless to say, I was the only person who ever saw it.)
But it was the third response that surprised me. “I didn’t earn it,” she explained succinctly. See, she’d gotten sick the day of the race and that added to the fact that it was -10 degrees F at the starting line and the course was the Ice Capades minus the talent, made her decide to sit this one out.
“But you paid for it!” I exclaimed. And for those of you who’ve never run a race, that swag ain’t cheap. That was basically a $75 sweatshirt. (Also, in case you aren’t familiar with typical race protocol, most races have a “packet pickup” in the days before the race where you get your race bib, timing chip, shirt and other goodies so quite often you never have to cross a finish line to get your “finisher’s” shirt.)
“But I didn’t run it,” she answered. “So I didn’t earn it. I’d feel like a fraud if I wore it. Would you wear a shirt for a race you didn’t run?”
I was about to answer when I looked down and realized what I was wearing, right at that very moment. This:
I run to get strong! Yes!!
It’s my favorite gym sweatshirt. It’s super soft, fits me perfectly, is my favorite color and is high-quality Nike.
And look at that adorbs detailing on the hood! Unfortunately it’s also this:
The finisher’s sweatshirt for the Nike Women’s 2011 Marathon. Which I didn’t run. And I wasn’t even going to run it. Pretty sure I wasn’t even in the same state where it was held. Yep. I snapped this beauty up at a thrift store in 2012, brand new and still with the sizing sticker on it! And while I’ll admit to some initial angst about wearing it – I considered putting duct tape over the words on the front or adding “non” in front of “finisher” with a Sharpie – I just loved it so much I even wore it in a Shape.com photo shoot! (Which is what these pics were from – It was the self-defense piece with Sensei Don, Gym Buddy Megan and my adorable Intern Brittney. Obviously I am the bad example of what not to do. Story of my life.) Plus, I have run a marathon distance so it’s not like I’m faking the athletic part. Right? Maybe?
“Why, yes. Yes, I would,” I answered. It’s just SO PRETTY!!
“But what do you say when someone asks you about the race?” she asked.
I was momentarily stymied. I honestly don’t think anyone has ever seen me wearing one of my race jackets (of which I have many and I will say that all the rest of them I did actually run the race for) and asked me about the race. A few times I’ve had people comment something like “Oh I ran that race! It was awesome!” More often it’s along the lines of “You run? I keep thinking I should start running…” But I’m pretty sure I’ve never had anyone ask me what the race was like, if I liked it or what my bib number was so they could check online to see if I finished.
“Well I’d certainly be honest and tell them I didn’t run it and just bought the jacket second hand,” I said finally, wondering why I’ve never actually had to do so. It got me thinking. I imagine that when people see me wearing it at the grocery store (I wear my sweaty workout clothes everywhere because of course I do) that they assume I ran the Nike Women’s Marathon. Either that or I imagine they’re not as into reading my clothing as I am and don’t give me a second thought. I would never intentionally lie to someone, especially about something that’s so easily verified online (amiright Paul Ryan??) And yet, just wearing the shirt is kind of a lie, yes?
So is it fraudulent to wear a race shirt you didn’t run? What about if you bought the race entry, paid for the shirt and then got sick or stuck in traffic or whatever and couldn’t run it? Would you ever pick up a race shirt second hand like me? What do people say to you when you wear your race swag (if anything)? And – be honest – should I stop wearing my sweatshirt??
I think it’s adorable on you ! I must admit, I’m far too self absorbed to read other people’s clothing. I might read that back if I was following you up the escalator or something but the race details on the front wouldn’t register. I guess the only people who would are people who did run the race. I don’t think it really matters, I have shirts that says I went to Arizona State Uni, Cambridge Uni, and UCLA. I suppose technically for 2 out of the 3 I did, as a tourist 😉
I don’t think you’re a fraud at all – and it’s so cute on you !
I have lots of swag from over the years, and have never been asked about any of it when I wear it…and yes, I even wear/wore bling from several races that I intended o run, but woke up sick and had to take a pass. It happens, no one plans to get sick. Besides, so many of the runs are considered a fundraiser so I just wear my stuff and consider it a contribution to a good cause.
Whoa, I have a pair of Lucky jeans, purchased second-hand in San Francisco (trendy!). They’re my only jeans that both fit and are flattering, so I wear them almost every day. I’m sad to say that the double-entendre of “luck you” has never once occurred to me. This whole time, I thought they were talking to me, not my husband!
I wouldn’t automatically assume that someone wearing an event piece of clothing necessarily actually participated in the event. It could just as easily be worn to promote said event, or have been bought for fundraising purposes. (Plus I suspect many people wouldn’t pay that much attention to the detail – there’s so much sport apparel out there with meaningless words plastered across it that I’m sure it’s all a bit of a blur to most.)
So you wear your cute hoodie without any guilt, Charlotte!
I’ve got a red shirt with thunderbolt that says “Flash” but I’m not the fastest man alive. I’ve got a floral shirt that says “Hawaii” and I’ve never been there. I’ve got…you get the point. Don’t worry about it. As long as you don’t lie if someone asks you about it, everything’s cool.
Eh, I wouldn’t worry! It’s cute and you like it. I have lots of thrift store clothes that advertise places I’ve never been to. No one has ever asked me about them. I see it the same way. You’re not trying to defraud people so that’s what matters.
I gotta say I started laughing halfway through this; not mockingly but because it’s a total case of extreme overthinking of the type that I do all the time. So I guess I’m kind of laughing at myself, too.
But this is one thing that it just never occurred to me to overthink. Yes I’ve missed some races and gotten the tshirt anyway. Yes I’ve worn those shirts to workout in. Heck, they’re expensive, good quality sweat wicking shirts (or warm sweatshirts). I paid for them, even if I didn’t run. It never occurred to me that I shouldn’t wear them because I didn’t “earn” them.
I suppose if someone asked me about the race I’d be honest and say that I’d missed it for whatever reason, but I still wouldn’t feel guilty about wearing the shirt.
I see no problem with wearing paraphernalia for an event you didn’t participate in, as long as you aren’t wearing it to purposely deceive people into thinking you did. If it’s cute, comfy, and makes you happy, that’s really all that matters in my opinion. Also, in the case of your friend who paid but got sick, I would think that she did earn the swag by supporting the event, even if extinuating circumstances kept her from running. But, that’s just me.
I agree with those who say it is fine to wear things from an event you didn’t do. The only thing I didn’t see mentioned that I try to observe, is not wearing items from another year’s version of the same event, if you didn’t participate. For instance I signed up for Tour de Wyoming and was unable to go at the last minute, so I won’t wear the jersey from that year when I do participate. But I would totally wear it at Ride the Winds event.
The other day I saw a Boston Marathon jacket at Marshall’s and wondered how someone could ever buy, and wear, it! Now I know. Hee hee! I would wear a race shirt from a race I registered for but didn’t run, but that’s about it.
I totally wear race shirts I didn’t earn all the time. I guess it never occurred to me to feel weird about hand-me-downs, but my sister is a huge runner and sometimes her race shirts shrink a bunch in the wash, so she just gives them to me. They are typically comfy and I love to wear them to workout or lounge around, even though I kind of hate running and would probably never run a marathon. I’m so used to having her old team shirts as hand-me-downs from when we were kids that it didn’t seem odd. If anyone asked I would say I’m just a big clothes mooch. It’s true of my non-workout attire as well. Some days my entire outfit is from things that were shrunk.
Hmm. I wouldn’t….only because I’m annoyingly proud of wearing my finisher shirts. I even wear the dog-ugly shirts that are brown, or pumpkin orange, or neon green. (The San Fran Nike 2012 marathon shirt is NEON green. Wtf?) See what I did there? I just happened to slip in the fact that I ran the Nike… Annoyingly proud I tell ya!
This is a no brainer, especially if you paid for it – wear it! I never assume that just because they wore a shirt they ran the race. You know how many people go around Spokane with Bloomsday shirts that never ran the race? It is a way of advertising and supporting the race, whether one ran it or not. No one goes up to someone in a Chicago Bears jacket and says, “Did you used to play for the Bears?”
I’d wear it if it was nice. I have a lot of crappy gear from fun runs so if I found some nice gear to wear around or to the gym I’d totally wear it even if I hadn’t run the race. I’m the thrift store queen 🙂
If someone asked I’d be honest about it, but I just assume noone is looking at me, so I doubt they’d care one way or the other. 🙂
For me it’s about the same as wearing a shirt that says “Yale Alumni” when I didn’t go to Yale. I don’t think you necessarily have to stop wearing it, but naturally it’s going to lead to some awkward questions you just are going to have to feel comfortable answering.
You should absolutely keep wearing your hoodie – it is awesome!!
I was sick before the Dallas White Rock Marathon when I was in college so I didn’t even go but I wore my shirt 100s of times!!! (I had done all the training!)
Charlotte, you know how much I love your blog, but on this I completely disagree. When I see someone wearing a race shirt, I assume they ran it. It’s a great conversation starter, particularly if I ran the race too! I’d be really weirded out if I ran into someone wearing a race shirt, excitedly asked “what did you think of that race?”, and then they told me they didn’t run it. Clothing is VERY cheap these days (check out “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion” for a really interesting read), and there’s no reason to wear something with words on it that you don’t like / don’t reflect you. If you were given a shirt that said something vulgar, would you wear that? Probably not – so if you’re not desperate for something to cover your back, you shouldn’t be wearing a shirt that says you ran something you didn’t.
When you enter a race, you are NOT paying for the shirt or the medal; you’re paying for the chance to run. I’ve entered a few races that I didn’t end up running/finishing, and I either don’t collect the t-shirt, or I give it to a friend who DID run. This happened to me twice – once I had car problems on race morning and couldn’t get there, the other time I did packet pickup three days before the race and then got deathly ill and spent the weekend in bed. Neither of those were my fault, but that doesn’t mean I should wear the shirt! Life isn’t fair. I really wish that marathons would give the shirts out at the finish line (along with your medal) instead of at the expo – I’ve seen many people who didn’t complete training but wanted to go pick up the shirt “since they paid for it.” Train for it, run it, and THEN get that year’s shirt – you didn’t earn this one.
I compare it to the Myrtle Beach Marathon a few years ago. The race was canceled the day before due to a crazy freak snowstorm (which they are not prepared for in South Carolina), so no one got to run. However, a big debate ensued over whether people should be given their medals anyway “since they had paid for them.” What are your thoughts on that? (As you can guess, my stance is that it’s ludicrous that anyone would take a MEDAL for a race they didn’t actually run – but apparently some felt differently.)
Please note that this is all really strongly worded and probably makes me sound like I think about this WAY more than I do. I obviously recognize that there are other MUCH more important issues in the world, but thought I’d represent this viewpoint since most people commenting are saying the opposite 🙂
DO NOT stop wearing it! If it completes the trifecta of cute/comfy/fits perfectly, you absolutely MUST keep wearing it! 🙂
I heard a great quote last night, from Daniel Amen. He talks a about the 20-40-60 rule: At 20 years old, we’re worried what people think of us. At 40, we don’t give a damn what people think of us. At 60, we realize no one has ever been thinking of us.
We get so self-conscious about things that most other people don’t even notice. And, if I may be blunt, if someone actually cares that you’re wearing a hoodie from a race you didn’t run, they need to get a hobby. And maybe move out of their parents’ garage. It says a whole lot more about them than it does about you.
This needs a like button so badly ! Excellently said 🙂
It really depends on the person. I think most people would wear a top advertising an event they didn’t take part in.
I agree with Alyssa above – most people don’t really care. They are too busy thinking how they can afford to pay their mortgage, among other things.
By the way, that green really suits you!
I’d wear it everyday of the week if it makes you happy! Think of all the people who wear sweatshirts and hats and everything else from colleges they didn’t attend?
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Nope. I wouldn’t wear it. The one time I entered a race in which I couldn’t run I didn’t even bother to go pick up the goodie bag with the shirt. No reason to. I didn’t run it and wouldn’t want to misrepresent that I did when in fact I didn’t. I would feel really awkward if someone did ask me something about the race. I would feel a little like a fraud. That is just me….everyone is different!
I wouldn’t wear it only because I’m afraid of jinxing myself for other races.
I’ll admit, when I see someone wearing race gear, I automatically assume they did the race.
I was registered to run the Women Rock Half Marathon, but bailed last minute because I had rolled both ankles falling off a curb (and I’m not usually clumsy) a few days before. On race morning, I was still sore and didn’t think it would be a good idea. I ended up getting my jacket a packet pickup the day before and got my necklace mailed to me…however, I haven’t worn either yet because I’m torn on whether I should wear them at all. And while it sounds cool to say I couldn’t do the race because of an injury, it’s not a “cool” running injury, so it just seems like a lie to me, if that makes sense. Some day I’ll probably get around to wearing the jacket because I DID pay big money for it, but for now it’s still in the trunk of my car with the tags on it…and I feel a little sad every time I see it.
I also don’t wear race clothing I get a race pickup until after the race is done, because I’m afraid it will jinx the race.
All that being said, though, I wouldn’t judge someone else for wearing race gear when they didn’t do the race. After all, you can often get surplus race swag at other races for cheap or free (I’ve won a tri jacket and scored a free t-shirt, both from races I’ve never even HEARD of).
The real question should be why I put so much thought into something so trivial. Maybe I need to find more hobbies or just spend more of my thinking time actually running!
My lucky jeans say “lucky you” on the outside and “lucky me” on the inside; they thought this one through.
A while back I bought a cute runnin shirt at city sports basement that said “Heartbreakah,” Boston accent and all and had to get it. I didn’t realize that it referred to “heartbreak hill,” a notorious hill in the Boston Marathon. No, I did not run this, not am I interested in running a marathon, but I’m not going to NOT rock this shirt.
I would wear it – if someone asked me, I would tell the truth. What if you bought because you wanted to support the cause & run but not run OR you just liked it.. I see no prob with wearing it & again, if a person asks, let them know the truth…
This kind of makes me laugh. I work for a fire department (actually was a firefighter for a while, now am in Administration), and whenever I wear a fire dept sweatshirt in a social situation where I don’t know everyone, invariably someone asks me if my husband is a firefighter.
I meant to add…”which he is NOT,” he’s the last person who would ever run into a burning building. 🙂
I am not athletic or a gym rat. However working in the medical field I see lots of people everyday. If I assumed all those people went to the college, played for the sports teams, own vehicles, went on vacation, ate at certain places that their clothes claimed. All this to say – if you like it, rock it. And you are definitely rocking that shirt, the color & fit are fantabulous on you.
I have trouble wearing shirts I didn’t “earn”. Although, I did get a shirt from that one race I did that got a ripper of a thunderstorm right in the middle and they had to cancel the race. I only got about half way through it.
I did wear the shirt though to show that I still made it back to the car through a hail storm and one of the pedals on my bike fell off so I was only riding with one leg.
Some races aren’t the ones we signed up for, but they are challenging none the less. I would count a shirt you didn’t race for, Karma for all of the other races and challenges in life you didn’t get credit for.
Don’t stop wearing it it is really cute! Plus you’ve run one before so technically it is the same thing. I bought my mum’s bf a Boston Marathon polo shirt when I was traveling because it was really nice and cheap! And he wears it often. But no one would mistake him for a runner, ever!
I am running the wrong races! I’ve never gotten a jacket for a race! Maybe I just need to move to a colder climate.
I don’t get to wear very many of my race shirts becasue if they’re unisex they are always too big for me. SO I get mediums so my husband can wear them. I mean, he watched the kids so ic ould run it, right?
I used to care more about this, but honestly, it’s so trivial who the heck cares? (I mean, a lot of people care, but it’s not important.)
Gone are the days that what’s written on a cool-looking sweat or tee shirt makes any difference. I saw a very large man wearing a I conquered Mt Everest sweatshirt the other day. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t envision this fellow on the top of that mountain. On the other hand, if HE were to envision himself on top of Everest while wearing that shirt, it might just be the motivation he needs to actually accomplish that feat sometime in the future. Thanks for a great post … it got me thinking about what’s hanging around in my closet.
I would be much more interested in the thrift store in which you picked up such a sweet hoodie.
I used to wear a mechanic’s shirt from Northwest Airlines that I bought at a Savers. (It was the late 90’s and I thought I was Gwen Stephani, OK?) Every once in a while someone would say something like, “My brother works for Northwest!” I would say something like, “Cool! I personally don’t, but what does your brother do?” and I talked to a few interesting people that way. I never felt like a fraud and I met some neat people. Same goes for race shirts. Don’t sweat it. Unless you’re sweating IN it. Ha. Haha.
After winning an intramural golf tournament in college, I was given an extra shirt from a recent 5K haha. Even though it displays a race I didn’t run, I do frequently wear this shirt. I also sometimes wear a rec league inline hockey t-shirt, which I caught at a high school football game.
The important thing is that you like what you are wearing–in that way it definitely represents who you are. And if anyone asks, just be honest! Who knows, it could spark an interesting conversation!
I’m strictly in the camp of you don’t wear a shirt for a race you didn’t run (or volunteer for). Same thing with wearing the shirt the day of the race… it’s doesn’t get worn until you cross the finish. 🙂
Wear it! I doubt anyone is going to complain, and if they do . . . tell them to get a life! You paid for it and thereby helped provide financial support for it. Thus you should wear it proudly.
Don’t worry about it, and keep wearing the shirt. 😛 After all, I’m pretty sure anyone who judges you for that probably has a Hawaii or LA or NYC shirt or some other shirt from a city they’ve never been. I’ve had people ask me if I’ve been to Catalina Island because I have a tank top with the words on it, and I’m like “nah, just like the shirt,” and they’re all, “cool.” Nobody cares. 🙂
I’m in the don’t wear it unless you finished it camp. And I have been asked about many of my race shirts, so I think I’d be paranoid that people would ask . I did DNF a triathlon a couple years ago due to an ankle sprain, and I didn’t even pick the shirt up.
There’s even a whole (completely unserious) list of race shirt etiquette! http://www.psychowyco.com/id74.html
Don’t worry about it I sometimes where my husbands Barcelona T shirt to bed which has Messi’s name on the back. Don’t get me wrong hes no Messi when he plays soccer and neither am I. Having said that the shirt would better suit if it said ‘Messy’ rather than Messi 😉
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Am I too late to reply?…Ok. It depends on the person. I’m a runner, so for me, I have to earn it. Run it! I have seen really nice race shirts on Ebay but I will NEVER buy one. I love to look at my shirts and remember the day I ran that race.