Yes, I Run Without a Shirt Sometimes

Modesty, be damned!

Ugh. It’s another hot summer day, and I need to fit in a training run. But the great debate continues to be: do I wake up super early and run when it’s warm and extremely humid, or do I take my chances on the sun and wind to burn off some of that stickiness and wait until after work to run, even if it will be hotter? 

Neither sounds very appealing. Am I right? 

Some mornings, the humidity is so thick that it seems like with each breath, you are knitting a new row of a sweater lining your lungs. These are the days that you sweat, and it can’t go anywhere. Where the only appreciable breeze is the one you create yourself as you try to swim (ok, run) through the swampy air. 

But afternoons can be humid, too, and blazing hot. Running into dusk is better than midday, for certain, but that sun can still be brutal. At least by this time of day, some of the humidity is gone. Even moving down from 97% humidity to something in the 70 percent range is a blessing.

Maybe it’s that climate change suddenly feels extremely real this summer with the record heat and humidity, or perhaps it’s just that in my old age, I don’t care what people think anymore. Still, I’ve become pretty comfortable running in just a sports bra and shorts on hot days. 

You might be thinking, “Oh! How can you expose yourself like that?” Eh. Well, I’m still wearing more than most people wear at the beach. 

Maybe your concern is, “But you are almost 50! Aren’t you too old to dress like that?” Have you ever heard of menopause? Sometimes I get overwhelmingly hot when I’m not even running. Imagine how hot I get when I’m exercising! And I’ll refer you to my earlier statement: I’m just too old to care anymore.

The other day I went for a run in my neighborhood. One of my male neighbors was sitting out on his porch, hanging out with friends and family and drinking a beer. He yelled, “I wish I were doing what you’re doing!” I yelled back, “No, you don’t. It’s not worth it!” 

I brushed off his statement, choosing to take it as a compliment instead of a heckle. Surely he wasn’t commenting because of my attire, as I was in my sports bra and high-waisted bike shorts. 

Besides my perhaps unappreciative neighbors, I also tend to run by a church that happens to be very fundamentalist. I keep waiting for the pastor to come out and say something to me about my lack of modesty. He never has, but I have a speech ready for him.

If someone doesn’t like what I’m wearing, they can look the other way. I am dressing for comfort, not for attention, and certainly not to be sexy. I just want to be a bit cooler when I run!

Modesty is a social construct. Climate change is a reality. And if men can go for a run with no shirt on to beat the heat, women can, too.

So, ladies, if you are more comfortable in your sports bra, do what you need to do to beat the heat. Because it doesn’t look like it will be cooling down anytime soon.

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Are you a female runner who is struggling to beat the heat? Do you run in just your sports bra when you need to? I’d love to hear your opinion.

As always, I hope you all are safe and healthy.