Just right to a 'Tee' for runners

I received a text message on my phone from Darrell Rhodes earlier this week. He wanted me to look over a draft of the entry form for the Camp Ben 5K race he was planning. He just wanted some advice to make sure he had not missed any information. I read over the entry form and noticed the fee for the race seemed unusual.

The early entry fee was $8, and late registration and day of race entry fee was $10.

I looked a little closer at the entry form after that. At the top was the ‘5th Annual Camp Ben McCulloch 5K Run’ and the date for the race was June 20, 1992.

I have to admit he fooled me with his request about proof reading his entry form.

How, and why, he saved that entry form I don’t know, but it is a piece of history as to how racing has changed over the years.

I remember we bought race tee shirts for around $3 and that was the reason for the low entry fee.

Looking back at early races, the other change I recall was the race tee shirt itself.

All of the shirts were 100% cotton. There were two levels of cotton shirts.

One was a thin cotton shirt and the other option was a heavier cotton shirt and it was slightly more expensive.

The difference was in the quality of the shirt. That thin cotton shirt was good for maybe two washings. After that, the shirt either stretched or shrunk–and sometimes both (usually shrunk up and stretched sideways)– and any resemblance of looking like a tee shirt was gone.

At least the heavier cotton shirt held its shape and form.

The next advance in race shirts was what was called a 50-50 shirt. Half the shirt was cotton and the other half was a polyester fabric.

These shirts would hold their shape and the race logo seemed to stay a bright color after many washings. It was not as thick as the heavy cotton shirt and was a much favored shirt with runners.

Next up was the ‘hitech’ shirt that was 100% polyester or some fabric that wicked away the sweat and moisture.

The principle behind this shirt was that it did not absorb the moisture and would wick the sweat from the body to the outside of the shirt where air would let it evaporate.

This in theory was a way to help the body keep cool on hot days. It worked after a fashion except that when it was wet it clung to the body like a second skin glued on to the real skin.

If the shirt was pulled away from the body and air had a chance to circulate around the fabric it did evaporate the moisture. If it clung to the body it did not work as well and the cooling effect was minimal.

And with any advancement in material it wasn’t long before the hi-tech shirt had about three or four choices for a race director to choose from.

Some were a softer hitech and others had a wider weave of threads and some had a different type of polyester for the shirt.

I remember getting samples of each to try out to see which I felt was the best choice. And with any advancement, the cost of the shirt went up, and that in turn increased the entry fee for the race.

The hi-tech shirts were almost indestructible and the printed logo kept the color clear even after many washings.

They held their shape and didn’t shrink or stretch in size. By adding a long-sleeved addition to a fall or winter run, things were going well.

When a race organizer advertised his or her race, the one thing you added to the entry form was that the race shirt was hi-tech and that seemed to attract more runners.

Not all runners liked a hi-tech shirt because of the feel the shirt had when moist and some just favored the old cotton blend race shirts.

Once again technology has changed the options for race shirts. Race directors can now order a cotton blended race shirt.

It is a cotton shirt that feels very thin and soft against the skin. It holds its shape, fits well, dries fast and wears well after many washings. Most runners now seem to favor this new cotton shirt for the comfort it offers during every day wear.

The cost is reasonable in comparison to hi-tech shirts and with a method of printing the logo without a dye that did not allow the logo to “breathe.'

The old printed shirts that had a big logo on the front was not favored with runners as it did not allow sweat to evaporate which became uncomfortable during a race.

Now with the light cotton blend and imprinted logo runners are finding a race tee shirt that feels soft to the skin, is comfortable, looks good and can be used as an everyday tee shirt.

While the race tee shirt is now back to cotton the entry fee will never be $8 and $10 as it was in the past.