Running Skirts — Crossing a Thin, Frilly Line?

Happy Saturfarts to all! I hope you are having a great weekend thus far, and for those that raced do feel free to brag on your fine selves, I want to hear all about it!

Today, I think I finally need to bring something up. I hope it doesn’t offend any of my lovely lady bloggers because I think it’s something that may be a little touchy subject. Running skirts.

running skirts
Okay, let me start off by saying that since they’ve been around they’ve become more and more popular and I’ve seen lots of people wearing them and my tolerance for them has grown as such. I actually will go out and state that I’ve seen pictures of some friends wearing them and they do look cute, but here is my dealio with the whole running skirts thang.

When they very first were about to come out, I was working at the Nike World Headquarters up in Oregon and so I saw the wear testers doing the whole testing and fitting then first. Right away I said to a very good friend of mine (he’s a guy and shares my snarkness…we were probably twins separated at birth and a couple of years removed) “What in the heck is that??! What are they doing…those are the stupidest things I’ve ever seen…I hope they don’t actually start selling those things. I swear if those things take off I’m going to flip my top!”

Well, they did hit the stores…they did take off.

Here was my line of thinking, hear me out. This tomboy sort of saw them as yet another attempt to ‘girlify’ our sport. Here we go through all these great pains to be seen/treated as equals and now they go and bring back the skirt? I mean we already have to fight and scour shelves for any article of clothing that ISN’T in a pink or similar color palette.

On the competitive scene, girls already get plenty of flack over the fact that yes, we will forever run slower than the guys, but dang it that’s genetics and women pros are still stellar and deserve the same level of respect. They put in the miles (albeit generally less overall than the males but again that is mostly due to body composition…and if you totaled up the amount of actual time spent running versus miles the gap is even less), bust out the repeats, and can be just as gritty as the dudes. There have even been college/professional level coaches joking that, “Eh, it’s just the women’s races, they don’t count all that much.”

woman runner
So that’s where I saw the skirt as a bad direction for our sport. I will admit I did cringe when I saw a few professional ladies even wearing and talking about liking the running skirt. I dunno, that’s just me. I haven’t ever worn one myself so maybe I’m not giving them a chance out of just principle and being a dorkette….that and the fact that I don’t even own a normal kind of skirt.

I’m also super picky about running shorts, so there is the comfort issue. I think the skirt part would only keep getting bunched up and ‘eaten up’ by my thighs and that would annoy the heck out of me.

So am I just being way overly feminist about this issue, girls? Like I said, in the years since I’ve seen more and more people wearing them, some of them friends, and I don’t hold it against them necessarily, but I still don’t ever see myself donning one of those running skirts. That’s just me.

1) Running skirts, have you ever worn them, where do you stand?

It’s sort of funny that I pick THIS topic to go on a rant about, particularly since I’m not one of those people who tend to go all overboard with reading into social things and women’s rights. Haha.

2) If any guys are reading this, what are your thoughts? Do you think running skirts are stupid or do you think they are ‘cool’ or whatnot for ladies…obviously you might not want to wear one for other reasons.

3) Anyone race today, if so how did it go? If not, what was your workout?

Love affair with my treadmill today (a bit over 9 miles) followed by ab and core work.

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21 Replies to “Running Skirts — Crossing a Thin, Frilly Line?”

  1. Hahaha Cait you crack me up! I actually just bout TWO of these skirts from Lululemon. They are sold as running skirts but I have actually only worn them to play tennis. Do you approve? I don’t know if I feel “right” running in them. I might test it out one day but I feel I may look kind of silly!

    I took Saturday off from exercising. I went to the Rogers Cup instead and stalked the pros!

    • CHRISTINA!!! u little converter u…that’s okay, i still luv u to pieces! 😉 haha….totally kidding, but then again since u’ve only been kicking dean machine’s butt at tennis with them than it might be safe to say u haven’t been fully ‘tainted by the skirt’ yet. 😉 again please kno i’m totally kidding and if u wanna test the skirt, lemme kno wat u think…but not gonna lie my vote goes for silly. 😛

  2. Equality is one thing, but I think this is an opportunity to embrace our femininity. The reason there is such high demand for running skirts is because women like to feel beautiful and feminine no matter what they are doing. Nobody is saying that women HAVE to wear a skirt, but it just gives us more options. I personally find them more comfortable for long runs and I think the’re cute. Plus, there is nothing better than passing a guy in a race while wearing a skirt!

    • good point, racing stripes…keep on getting out there and giving them all a cute and fast rear view as u smoke ’em! 😉

  3. Even though I don’t own a running skirt, I love em. I’m definitely in the market to try one out, and I think they’re really cute. I see what you mean about them maybe pushing women back in the field, but hey–if women can close the gap between men AND look hot in a skirt? More power to them!
    🙂

    • okay missy, i’ll give u that one…again with the everyone should be able to run in what they choose…so long as they’re kicking butt while at it i certainly can’t argue with them doing so!! 🙂

  4. Oh I can’t do the whole running skirt thing. I am for live and let live and those women who are comfortable in them, that’s fine. I like my knee length running tights – keeps the thigh monsters tamed and the sheer whiteness of my legs from blinding passers-by. My sister and I raced on Sunday – 10km through the city and it was great!

    • tis true, watever floats ur boat and to each their own i suppose!! ummm, and u my dear looked like u had way too much fun running with ur sis!! oh, and nice bling bling. 😉

  5. CAIT!!! I just caught up on your last 10000 posts now I’m back, and I LOVED your Yogurtopia post more than life itself. Betty is very pleased to have gotten a shout-out too 😉

    Running skirts…not me! Haha I love my shorts!! And WHAT when did you work at Nike headquarters in Oregon?! You must’ve met some AMAZING people!! PLEASE tell all!! I am jealous and I want to be you basically 😀

    • EMMA!!!! i’m so happy ur back to the online world…BUT it looked like ur vaca was insanely awesome and u had a total blast!! haha…i’m glad u also liked ur journey to Yogurtopia, errr and Betty too…u two are welcome back any old time. 😉

  6. Haha fun post and it’s definitely one that people like to think about.

    I don’t own any running skirts. And yeah I think they are kind absurd as well. But…they can look kinda cute. But isn’t the point to wear clothing that makes you as efficient as possible? Somehow I don’t think a skirt falls into that category but what do I know ;).

    And I would pay a lot of money to have been standing there watching as Nike developed the running skirt :).

    • maybe if the two of us had been there we could have tackled the testers and in effect stopped these things from ever hitting shelves? 😉 hehe.

  7. Okay… you’re going to hate me. I LOVE running skirts. But it’s not because they’re skirts! I look like crap in tight short shorts or god forbid those underwear! The skirts take away from my massive child bearing hips and actually make my legs look better.

    Don’t hate me. It’s the best of both worlds- wearing short shorts without feeling self conscious! And they are good for yoga too 🙂

  8. After reading this I thought it was very enlightening. I appreciate you taking the time to put this piece together. Once again I find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But who cares, it was still worth it!

  9. Looks aside – they are the most comfortable thing out there! I like to wear a compression short when I run to keep the thighs from rubbing together and used to wear a pair of running shorts on top because no one looks good in compression shorts alone. There is nothing more unfun and unattractive than consistently pulling the athletic shorts down, and with a running skirt there is no issue with that

    • thanks for ur perspective…i’m all for people running in watever makes them feel comfy…but that said, i have found shorts that don’t do the rub/bunch thing either. 😉

  10. I love my running skirt! I like that it has shorts underneath while hiding my chunky thighs. I get the best of both worlds – skin tight, non-chafing material over my legs, and a floppy skirt to hide the curves. Running skirts are very modest, very feminine, and very effective. I love mine!

  11. I have a running skirt – I love it, but not because it makes me feel feminine… I love it because it covers the details of my butt! I don’t want everyone seeing the not-yet-toned areas… and those are very visible in most all running pants. I see all these women (and men) in skin-tight running clothes… We know every detail of their butt shape. I’d rather cover mine up a bit and run without the thought that I’m jiggling all over the place. P.S. I wear mine with capri running pants under them.. It helps hold it all in. Just being realz.

    • haha…okay first off i’m ALL about being realz. 🙂 hey, we all have parts of our body we’re a little self-conscious about (me, my abs!) so watever makes u feel comfortable enough to get out there and kick some butt i’m all game for. BUT, hate the PSA side of me for saying: u should be confident, because wiggle, jiggle, skinny, muscular it’s wat that runner body is DOING for u…please promise to one day consider at least regular running shorts that are looser. 😉

  12. Wow. 9 years later I found this discussion and there still is no male response. So let me write some words.

    First I thought this is a stupid thing. You probably will rub your legs ’til they are glowing and I could see no pros in wearing one…

    …but…

    …today I did my first 11km run while wearing a skort and I love it! The whole thing seems to be much more comfortable than a short or tight. It has more pockets (keys, phone, chewing gum) and is so light and soft…I really got a better pace.

    On the other hand. If you want to wear this, because you look cute in a skirt while running, well, just do it.

    I think it’s a fantastic gear for running, but it’s not made for everyone. My personal experience/opinion: a skirt/skort is light, soft, comfortable. And it’s short and flapping around…well, and if you’re a man, everyone will look and shake their heads. 🙂

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