I have been running in local races for years. Every so often, there would be a woman at one of the races in a long skirt. These women were usually Mennonite women. I was always amazed at them running in their skirts. Lately there has been a new fashion craze in the running world. It is called the running skirt. A running skirt can be many things, but it all comes down to being a skirt. The first example of a running skirt is essentially a pair of tight shorts with a skirt attached to them. It very much resembles a tennis skirt. A variation of this is a skirt that is not attached, but can be worn over shorts or tight leggings. The last variation of this is a skirt attached to some leggings or spandex-type pants.
I was initially skeptical about running in a skirt. It’s very hard to be proper when you are wearing a short skirt. However, I had previously played tennis and I was also having trouble finding comfortable shorts, so I decided to give the running skirt a try. Quite honestly, I chose to buy a tennis skirt. I went into the local athletic store and compared tennis skirts and running skirts. I could not see any difference, so I decided that if there was a difference, it probably wouldn’t bother me. I put on my skirt and went for a run.
The benefits were immediately obvious to me. First of all, since the inner shorts are stretchy spandex-like material, I didn’t have the chafing that other athletic shorts had aggravated me with. This had been my initial complaint with shorts. Second, the skirt allowed me to wear the tight shorts without showing off my “mommy backside.” I was able to retain some modesty while wearing the shorts underneath. Third, the whole contraption breathes well. I’m sure the flowing skirt moves and creates some sort of airflow, but I do not feel as if I’m running in a cold sweat. It was a very pleasant experience. Another benefit I found was that I could wear a pair tights or leggings underneath of the skirt. This created a winter version of the running skirt for me.
Aside from the benefits of running in a skirt, I really like the feeling of being feminine and athletic at the same time. I like the feeling that I can be woman and competitive. I like running by little girls and hearing them say “she’s running in a skirt!” I also like being a little different from the runners around me. I feel empowered, but still like a woman. To me, the running skirt embraces being a woman, but embraces strength and independence as well. To me, the running skirt is symbolic of the kind of woman I want to be.
Running skirts aren’t taking the women’s running world by storm. In fact, it seems that women either love or hate running in a skirt. Further, passers-by most definitely give you weird looks when running in a skirt. I’m sure that many people thought I was crazy when I went running in the rain in my skirt. But it is something that is catching on. I ran a half marathon this weekend where I counted at least four other women wearing skirts. Since this is a relatively new item, we will have to see how it catches on, but it appears that there is already a strong base of strong women running in skirts.
For purchasing information on running skirts:
http://www.runningskirts.com/running-skirts.html
http://skirtsports.com/
http://niketown.nike.com/niketown/catalog/category.jsp?l=shop,pwp,c-1+100701/f-+10001+12002+4294965498+4294967132/hf-/t-ONESTORE/pn-1/ipp-48
