Sizing Up Race Shirts

By Leigh Savage

Toby Miklinski doesn’t sign up for races for the shirt – but after months of training and preparation, she wants something useful to remind her of the event. “Running 13 miles is hard,” she says. “I think you deserve more than a cotton t-shirt that will just sit in your drawer and collect dust.”

It’s a common refrain from runners of a variety of speeds and experience levels. These days, when racers pay a fee, they want a microfiber, wicking shirt – and ideally one that comes in both men’s and women’s sizes.

Runners are less particular about 5K give-aways, but for a longer race – requiring extra training and a heftier entry fee – many expect more. “If it’s a long race, they should give a technical t-shirt,” says Allison Mayernik, who has been a runner for 12 years. “They should be cut for men and for women, and ideally they shouldn’t be fluorescent green or see-through. You want to be able to wear it.”

Susan Hood, who has been running and racing for 15 years, says the unisex shirt doesn’t work for many female runners. “A small men’s shirt is just too big,” she says. “If I am paying for a shirt, I would love to wear it, rather than having another too-big sleep shirt.”

Ed Hughes directs numerous races around Greenville, including Spinx Run Fest, which is often praised for its performance-fabric, gender-specific shirts. He has learned his lesson about unisex sizes thanks to the input of women, in particular Jane Harlan. “If it was just me, it would probably be all guys’ shirts,” he says. “But we know it’s important. If you pay a lot of money for a race, you want a decent shirt.”

Hughes has been racing since 1981, and has amassed more than 300 race tees, mostly cotton. He wears some occasionally, but he knew his collection was too large, even after his girlfriend turned his favorites into a blanket. So he made a song and video featuring his shirts before donating them to Goodwill. (Search YouTube for the Greenvillehughes channel to find “T-Shirt Song” as well as a variety of videos showcasing Hughes’ unique take on Upstate running and events.)

Scott Bagwell, co-owner of Go Green Events, has noticed that the shirt is less of an issue for more hard-core runners “who could care less, because they probably have 200 running shirts in their closet.” But the vast majority of event participants are interested in the swag, and it does play a role in what races they choose to do.

“If runners are looking at two races on the same day, they are going to go for the cool shirt,” he says. That’s why, for the St. Patty’s Day 5K in Greenville this March, he made sure the race packet included a long-sleeved technical tee – green, of course.

Andy Coyne of the Graphic Cow has also seen the trend toward performance shirts in the last three to four years. “Performance can be more expensive – sometimes 40 to 50% more,” he says. While more race directors are making the leap to wicking fabric, few have gone to the gender specific sizing, mainly because it makes ordering and distribution more complicated. “I’d say 95% of the time, they go with the unisex shirt, which is the men’s shirt,” Coyne says.

Melanie Armstrong, a runner for five years, says she likes the performance-fabric shirts, but understands why fund-raising events would go with less expensive cotton. “I don’t want them to spend extra money on it,” she says. “They could even let people opt out of the shirt at those races and then more of the money could go to fund-raising.”

It’s an idea that makes sense to Lori White, who is administrative assistant for the Lauren’s Hope Foundation and co-directs the Lauren’s Hope 5K each October in Fountain Inn. The race raises funds for research focused on Sanfilippo Syndrome and closely related diseases. “The shirts do affect the money raised for the foundation,” she says. “It takes close to one-third of each participant’s registration fee to cover the cost of the shirt and is the biggest expense paid out from race funds each year.”

However, she does think they are an enticement for many runners and walkers, and they help spread the word about the foundation and the cause, since the T-shirt often prompts people to ask, “What is Lauren’s Hope?” “I love sharing about the foundation and who Lauren was,” she says.

In a crowded marketplace of races, runners can be selective about which events they choose, and Bagwell says the shirt is a key piece of marketing. “You want to see people wearing it out and wearing it in training, which gets people thinking about the race,” he says. “It’s all about next year.”

Race Shirt Superlatives

Long-Term Favorite

Greenville News Run Downtown 5K

A simple, clean logo and design combined with a quality microfiber shirt make this one a top pick every year.

Most Improved

Spinx Run Fest

Does anyone remember the running legs stalactite design from a few years ago? This great event now has a great design to match, in female and male sizes.

Best Out-Of-Town

Inaugural Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon & Half Marathon

If you produce and give away over a million shirts a year, you know what runners want.

Best Cotton Shirt

Peachtree Road Race, Atlanta

Proof that you don’t have to have technical/wicking fabric to make people happy.

Small Race, Great Shirt

Furman 5K

Proof that you don’t have to have a big race to provide a good shirt.

Shirt Most Likely To Be Seen At Your Next Mud Run

Cooper River Bridge Run, Charleston

Proof that you can have a huge budget and full-time staff and still screw up the shirt.

– Based on a small and informal, yet amazingly accurate, poll conducted by Go Magazine