"When did skirts become work out gear?"
"I don't know, and it doesn't seem comfortable."
"Is it somehow an offshoot of tennis?"
"What's the point?"
"I ran a road race recently, and every time a woman passed me in a skirt I was like, 'Fuck, I can't let that girl pass me. She's wearing a skirt! That's not okay!' "
Oh, ye, of little chub-rub . . . .
So, here, my dear weekly Double X Gabfest friends, let me elucidate "the point" of running skirts. Here's the one that I wear running, five to seven days a week:
This is the Brooks PR Mesh Skort II. It is available in black, gray, pink and light blue. I have it in all four colors. It features little stretchy-pant shorts underneath. There is a little pocket on the side of the right short leg and a little zipper pocket at the small of the back. It is, in fact, incredibly comfortable to run in -- far more comfortable than your normal running shorts.
And why is that?
Well, for many of us who are not so blessed that we can stand with our feet together and see daylight between our thighs, regular running shorts bunch up in the crotch. This phenomenon of running gear is the opposite of comfortable. Your thighs end up rubbing together, and they get chafed. You spend time you should be just running tugging your running shorts out of your crotch. It's not fun to run this way. It's not easy to run this way. It's a little embarrassing to be constantly pulling at your crotch as you skip down the road. Digging your shorts out of your crotch does nothing for your minute/mile time. It is way more comfortable to run in this skirt because the little stretchy-pant under-shorts do none of this annoying crotch-bunching. They stay in place half-way down your thigh throughout your run. I have run farther and faster this summer because I've been running in this skirt. (And I have lost more weight on account of it -- some running bodies are not yet perfect, but are actually chasing perfection.)
So why not just wear the little stretchy-pant shorts without the skirt apparatus over it?
Oh, slim-thighed friend, if you've got chub-rub enough to make crotch-bunching a problem, then you've also likely got a couple of little saddlebags hanging around your posterior too. Nobody wants to show off those jiggly bits while they're running. (And I'm going to guess that nobody wants to see those jiggly bits bouncing past them either.) So the skirt gives you a little modesty when wearing your stretchy-pant shorts.
Plus, yes, they're pretty darned cute, especially when worn with a long-sleeved (yes, even in the summer, even in Texas -- it saves your skin) running shirt like this:
Running shoes like these:
And a running hat like this:
So lay off the running skirt, ladies! I've lost 12 pounds and two jeans sizes while running in this skirt. Sure, maybe I look like a middle aged mom as I run down the street in my skort, but, well, that's what I am. But there is no denying that I am a happier runner because of this skirt. See you at the 5K! Catch me if you can!
