The famous London Marathon has just passed us by, and with it has passed a whole world of fashion, from freakish costumes to personalised team gear; these days running events are more about sporting fashion that you might think. Some of my favourite fancy dressers from this year’s race included a dashing Rubik’s cube and a giant, if a bit disproportional looking, running nurse. Though big congratulations also go out to classic dressers like Paul Simons who set a new record as the fastest Santa on record.
Next weekend I will be participating in the Great Edinburgh run, and though it’s no 26 mile marathon I am still having nightmares. As I’m accustomed to running in a used-to-be-white-but-now-it’s-a-bit-greyish men’s tee and some embarrassing ‘Yale’ shorty shorts, I thought that it might be time to invest in some uber cool running gear (ideally to make me look faster than I actually am).
A sweat band is the first essential for all serious runners, as is an accurate watch to time your speed. Thankfully TimeBandits have combined the two. Though the watch may not be digitally sound, it will add a little bling to your get-up, and resting on a blue and green toweling sweat band will ensure that you keep the sporty vibe alive.
tick tick tick
Next in importance are the running shades – don’t want any sun glare to impinge on my athletic abilities now. I think I might opt for these Galactic sunglasses from Lazy Oaf to add a trendy retro feel to my pace. They’ll protect my eyes, and as you might be able to see, they are slightly(ish) streamlined down the sides for ultimate performance.
The afro rules out the streamlining effect a little bit
Finally, as every professional sports personality knows, the key to success lies in the visor. These days you can glam up your visor with sequins or get on in the shape of your favourite foam animal, will that be toucan or shark? In fact you can even get your hands on ones that light up and flash a rainbow of colours. There’s just too much choice, I can’t decide. But hang on one second, there’s something crucial I’ve forgotten: the trainers…oops. After having a leisurely browse I think my feet would be on fire in a pair of these houndstooth high-tops from Nike, available at Flatspot. They look super-soft too – though maybe not so good for actual marathon running.
Old man smoking jacket meets trainer
With my sweet-sweat watch, streamlined shades, visor and trendy trainers, I’ll be a sight for sore eyes. Watch out Edinburgh. But if you fancy some more scary looking fitness gear then you could always play it conventional with Stella McCartney’s designs for Adidas. You might think this is just a white t-shirt, but it’s actually a ‘Perf Run Tee 09’ with breathable ‘ClimaCool’ fabric, sounds very technical and complex, but if you’re a stylish pro then it could be the perfect shirt for you. Gees, you’d think with all this hi-tech runner-wear they’d have designed something that could just do the running for you?