The Ray Tanner 5k – Virtual

 

 

  2020 has not been a good running year for me.  I planned to participate in several races that I would run and record with my GoPro, but this pandemic slowly caused races to go virtual, one by one. And that includes races that I haven’t had a chance to run in and put on the calendar, Ray Tanner’s famous Home Run series being one of them.

  I registered for Ray Tanner’s race months ago, though I could not find the email confirmation, maybe this COVID can be a computer virus too, who know. But I was getting updates about the race, and that made me feel better.  When word finally came out that it would be a virtual race, I would be remiss if I didn’t say I was sad that I wouldn’t be running in and around the University of South Carolina baseball stadium.

  Since the race was virtual, participants had from 1 to 17 October to knock out their miles. I was still nursing my hurt knee and waited until the 16^th to do my run for this 5k, and since I work later hours at the university, I went for my own familiar route on the Lake Murray Dam at night.

  The weather was relatively calm with a slight breeze coming in.  I grabbed one of my smaller headlamps, chose my lemon colored On Cloudflow over my somehow lighter Atrey shoes, and snagged a better fitting phone holder strap to wear for this run.  I drove out to the northside parking lot and passed a couple of cars with people still partying in the picnic area.  I slip on my gear and add the Aftershokz I keep in my car for the needed tunes to distract myself on upcoming path.  I walk and stretch to the starting line, which is just the big green sign on the other side of the parking lot.

  I started my Garmin and away I went.  My Forerunner has a tendency to push out a faster start time whenever I begin a race, and this time it was telegraphing a 7:30 mile before settling on an 8:10 mile, but Strava will say otherwise in its analysis; all the while, my right knee is screaming at me that I needed to adjust how I landed on my feet.

  My knee finally stopped chastising me after a quarter of a mile into the run and I felt in a rhythm; it really helped that Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” was playing by that time and put me in a running groove. It was a slow groove with an average 8:48 for the first mile, but the ground was flat and I had a nice, though small wind cooling me off during this easy autumn evening.  I pass the five towers and notice the cars careening by in the dark.  I hit the half-way point which is a little before the ascent to the bridge with all the lover locks on them.  While there are no castles or mountainous peaks, this scenic area with its promises of love will always remind me of parts of Germany.  As I turn around before the bridge, I feel myself slowing down, if only for a second, though again, Strava said otherwise.

  At mile two, I averaged an 8:59 mile and it was a big contrast to what I used to run, and a reminder that I need to work-out more.  I continue on, still feeling good, albeit slower, but as I get past the 2.5 mile I had to slow down due to a family walking along the dam path and not hearing my “runner on your left” comments until I was almost on them.  Once I past them, and exchanged “hellos” and “good evenings,” I chugged along, but had to crawl to a walk because now my right shoulder was locking up.  I’ve had shoulder problems for a couple of years now, but this was getting ridiculous since 1) I was almost done with the 5k and 2) I wasn’t carrying anything in my right hand so my shoulder should not have been acting up.  So, I walked for good 30 seconds while doing shoulder and arm rotation exercises and quietly cussing up a storm so that the family behind me do not hear my misgivings.  To make up for the time, I work on sprinting the last tenth of the 5k distance and my Cloudflow did not disappoint me.

  I finish up with a time of 28:06 and walk a lap around the parking lot before working on cool-down stretches while trying not to disrupt the people fishing at night because that is still a thing here.

  To go back to before the race, Strictly Running did a knock-out job as usual.  Participants had a wide time-frame to pick up their shirt, for me it was a gray Under Armour tech shirt and I currently own very few of those, and it was so easy to come in (with a face covering on, course) and particular shout-out goes to Brady for his super friendly welcome and taking care of my packet pick-up. 

The Coronavirus Affecting Races is like the First Sergeant Cancelling Your Four Day Pass

  This was going to be a slightly funny article. Military humor can be a little sadistic and sarcastic simultaneously in times of crisis.  A lot of my civilian friends and co-workers do not get my sense of humor, or lack thereof according to my wife.

  But back to the main point, since the Coronavirus became a real threat to people in America, basically while college and university students went on Spring Break, race directors and organizers have been reacting to the Coronavirus situation in their own way. 

  Events like the NewYork City Half-Marathon; the All-American Marathon at Fort Bragg and Fayetteville North Carolina; the Tobacco Road Marathon outside of Raleigh North Carolina; the Allstate Hot Chocolate 5k/15k series in San Diego, Philadelphia and Minneapolis; and the Quarry Crusher series in Columbia, South Carolina andBirmingham, Alabama have been canceled with most if not all organizers offering to defer each participant to the next year’s respective events.

  Other races such as the Boston Marathon and the Cooper River Bridge Run (10k) in Charleston, South Carolina have postponed their races from the Spring to late Summer or even late Autumn in an effort to keep the event going that calendar year.

  Running is a fickle subject with a lot of people.  Most people dredge running or outright do not do it.  In the military, you are forced upon the activity of running and “you will enjoy it.”  Running is a key part of each service’s physical fitness or aptitude test.  And a lot of people I know who get out of the service do not run after leaving because they hated the way someone or some people made them run “all the time.”

  But there’s people like me, who love to run, who look forward to it.  And signing up for a race is a way of expression for me.  I get out there and I feel free. Of course, I don’t feel completely free when a 12 year kid blows by me, but I’m an old timer now and I’m here to enjoy myself, not beat everyone’s two mile run time.

  Which is why when the Coronavirus pandemic hit, it affected my running schedule harder than expected.  My wife and I had things planned to do after each race.  But now that races are canceled until at least May, there is not much need to us to travel to places like Charleston, Charlotte, Greenville, or even downtown.  And in each instance, we planned to visit sights and eateries in the local areas.

  I had things planned out, I paid the expenses for events, I coordinated with the wife to make sure we had no conflicting agendas (because we don’t need another day of “which race did YOU sign up for?), and then Covid-19 put the kabash on that.  I know the pandemic is serious, and it affects a lot of people, some of them fatally, but watching each race I signed up for get shot down is akin to me being a little E-3 and the first sergeant figuratively kicking me in the reproductive organ area with a motor pool issued steel toed boot and say, “Not today, son. Now go hose off the Bradley tracks on the ground with the pressure washer” while it’s raining.

Because I’ve seen that happen before. The last part, not a 1SG physically kicking someone in the balls.

The Veterans Day 5k Recap

  Most non-marathon races happen on a Saturday.  But since it was Veterans Day weekend the Veterans Day 5k was not on the typical Columbia weekend run and I got to enjoy my sleep.  And I forgot to look at the race calendar to see what would be happening on that Saturday, so there’s that, too.

  I ran in the inaugural USC Veterans Day 5k last year, and one of the much faster runners inadvertently changed the course and everyone followed their lead, including me.  It made for an interesting time while crossing Assembly Street with traffic coming at us both ways.  (see last year's race by clicking on the video.)

  This year, the course route significantly changed, and it would start and end in different spots.  The route started by the Long Street Theatre, went around the Horseshoe perimeter, made a couple of turns, and ended at 920 Lady Street. 

  Sunday afternoon, I headed out very relaxed and ready to go.  Packet pick-up started at 11:30 AM, and would go on for the next two and a half hours.  I arrived at one of the UofSC parking lots and dropped my stuff off at the library around 1 PM.  I hung out and talked with some of the college kids working, to which one of them asked me about the race.  It seemed that she got stuck in traffic during the Tunnel to Towers 5k the other month and didn’t want to have that happen again. I assured her that the race wouldn’t linger past her work schedule, and that the end was off campus so she would have no issues.

  After a little bit, I go outside and walk up for my packet pick-up.  I see quite a few Team RWB shirts surfing among the crowd which was amazing because I do not recall anyone talking about it on the local RWB Facebook page.  Of course, my RWB shirt was in the wash because someone spilled a drink on my stuff and my Columbia Running Club jersey was nowhere to be found.  Instead, and thankfully because of the slightly cooler weather, I would wear my cotton Columbia Running Club t-shirt for the race, so at least I would represent one of the two organizations out there.

Me and the Prez

  As I mingle among some of the participants, I spot Bob Caslen, the President of the University of South Carolina and retired Army three star general and he was ready to run.  Cocky was out there, too, and it was hard to figure out which one of the two ended up in more picture taking opportunities for social media.  #uofsc #cocky #gococks #goarmy #toomanyhashtags.

  Eventually, we all make our way to the starting line.  According to raceroster.com, 388 people signed up for the race, but I believe there were over 400 out on the course.  The national anthem is sung and once the buzzer goes, we are off. 

  I follow the crowd before me, and everyone makes a right after passing the Long Street Theatre.  I have my Halo 3 theme music going in my Aftershokz, GoPro in my hand, and I’m weaving around strollers and walkers.  I’m enjoying myself as I get close to the gate blocking vehicle traffic on Greene Street.

  And then several of us hear a woman say we were going the wrong way.

Turn Around, You're Going the Wrong Way!

  I could see a long crowd of runners still going forward, but those of us from the back only had the minimal amount of turnaround distance to do.  I feel this certain energy coursing through my veins and I somehow sprint back onto the correct route, and sprinting at the beginning definitely goes against what I used to tell my Soldiers when I was still in the Army.

  I got back on track and there are very few people in front of me.  Eventually, I pass enough people that for a brief quarter-mile I am one of the top ten runners of the race.  Technicalities and mishaps aside, I took that in stride and ran a little faster.  It wouldn’t last.  Slowly, and one by one, the fast pack of runners catch up and surpass me.

"You better run up that hill!"

  We make it to Bull Street, one of two uphills in the race, and this one is THE dozy.  It’s steep and it has four Marine drill instructors “encouraging” us get up that hill.  They were very animated. And vocal.  I run up the hill past all four, and about 50 feet past the final one, I slow down to a walk.  I can hear the last drill instructor behind me yelling that I should not be walking and that I needed to keep running.  At this point, I’m near the apex the hill, and I spot two volunteers to which I tell them as I start running again, “if I wasn’t retired, I might have been intimidated by them,” meaning the Marines.  They laughed.

  I hit the water stops along the route and one of them was on Assembly Street, the other not-as-steep uphill.  After cresting the hill, I run by what looks like at least three platoons of Army drill sergeant candidates, who were out there actually encouraging us with signs, dancing, and clapping. 

  The route had us running in front of the state capitol grounds, and a squad of UofSC cheerleaders followed suit with the Army by cheering us on.  A couple of turns later, I made it onto Lady Street. 

  Lady Street felt weird.  I am so used to driving on it, that I never really get to take in how downtown Columbia looks like a normal metropolitan area, and I do not mean that in a bad way.  This time, I’m running down it and soaking in the building architecture.

  Eventually, the finish line is within eyesight and the crowd within earshot.  I sprint from the final traffic light and pass Cocky.  That bird is everywhere.  More cheerleaders line the finish line, motivating people as they approach.  I finish with one of my slowest times ever, but it was worth it. 

  I did not stay for the after-party or the awards ceremony because I had some sick kiddos to get back home to, but those who finished (and had the proper ID) got a free beer and sliders from Carolina Western Pub.  The race packet included a performance shirt and an FN America baseball cap.  I’ll take a hat in a race packet any day. 

Cocky and the president crossing the finish line

  Other than the initial hiccup at the beginning of the course, it was good; the crowd and atmosphere were in happy spirits, and any chance to support raising money for the Fisher House is a-okay in my book.

 

The video for the race is below, check it out.

 

DC Wonder Woman College Run Series at the University of South Carolina Recap

  Columbia has a running problem: people love to run. So much so that on 26 October, I counted at least three races around town and one happening up in the Greenville/Spartanburg metropolitan area.   Strictly Running had their Halloween Run 5k, the Go Leo Go 5k would take place at Saluda Shoals Park, and the DC Wonder Woman College Run Series happened at the University of South Carolina. Since I would work at the university library that day, it made sense to me to go for the Wonder Woman race and head to work afterwards.

  I head out and park at the Bull Street Garage, which is free on weekends, and walk down to Blatt Fitness Center where the start/finish line and assembly area are.  At packet pickup, I am greeted by Erin of Grit Endurance and get my shirt and bib.  I love this shirt; it is a red performance shirt with the Wonder Woman logo on it.   Most of the people around me were college aged, which passed muster because the university had been promoting it, at least in the library.  And speaking of the Thomas Cooper Library, they showed their support by having a table set up to talk about its recently acquired vast comic book collection along with a Wonder Woman display on hand for picture opportunities.  As I got to the back of the start line, as per my usual ritual, I noticed that I am basically one of five males in a sea of red wearing women.  That didn’t bother me much, because as the run promotes, “#IAMWONDERWOMAN.”

  The run kicks off with the DJ counting down and Erin also letting us know to get ready.  The course we run is the same course that I ran last year from the UofSC Family Weekend 5k.  And then I remember the hills.  The course route looks like squished Big Dipper constellation, but with an uphill built into the beginning and end of the course.  That second mile is nice and flat, especially since it goes around Hand Middle School, and unlike last year, directions along the course were better because I did NOT take a turn a street or three early (like a few others and myself did last year).  Throughout the course, the sea of red shirts from the start of the race would trickle down to a stream before culminating into a little pond of crimson at the finish line.

  The finish line had the usual assortment of refreshments and snacks for participants, with one exception.  Apparently, Honey Stinger is a sponsor of the DC Wonder Woman race series, and that made me pretty happy. I will eat their waffles all day long and seeing them at the event really made my day because that meant I didn’t have to break into my own stash of Honey Stinger goodies.

  It was a nice fun run, the medal was very bling-y since the middle spins around, the shirt was great, and it was a great chance to go through a part of the Gamecocks’ campus all in one stroke. No pressure to win, just good times to enjoy.

If you would like to see what the event looked like, check out my YouTube video here:

Guardians of the Night 5k - Running Montage

This is the result of running the Guardians of the Night 5k with a GoPro Karma Grip in my hand and recording with a GoPro Hero 6 Black.











The Guardians of the Night K9 5K Race/Run is a true night event that offers a fun, flat, fast-paced race -- giving runners the opportunity to run alongside Richland County Sheriff's Department K9 Deputies and their own K9 partners. This year the event moves to a new venue - the South Carolina State Fairgrounds. This is a certified race course and chip timing will be used for scoring. Awards will follow along with the opportunity to meet and greet with the K-9's and Deputies. This annual event raises funds to benefit the RCSD K9 team. These funds pay for the dogs' food, medical care, safety equipment, collars, leads and the very costly ballistic vests they need to do their jobs.

Five Things to Know About the Cooper River Bridge Run Before You Sign Up

  The Cooper River Bridge Run takes places in Charleston around April each year.  It’s one of the most enjoyable road races out there and has consistently drawn in over 25k runners for the past decade.  In fact, the Cooper River Bridge Run is one of the top ten 10k races in the United States according to several sources to include Runner’s World, Active.com, and BibRave. I’ve participated in the race the last four years and there's a bunch of reasons I come back each year. 

  Before you decide for the Cooper River Bridge Run, here are five things you should keep in mind.

1.     Sign up as soon as possible.  The registration window opens about a month after the last event, and operates on a timed tier throughout the year.  While the most expensive registration is still cheaper than a lot of races I’ve been to, I’m fairly certain people want to save money.  Below, you can see the pricing for the 2020 Cooper River Bridge Run and the time frame for each registration fee. (screenshot the registration prices)

2.     Hotels book up quickly several months before the race.  The very first year, I waited until about two weeks to book a hotel.  That didn’t go well, because my family of five ended up at a budge motel about 10 miles from the transportation site.  Since then, I’ve booked a hotel near the North Charleston Convention Center each year months in advance and haven’t regretted it once.  In fact, several hotels, restaurants, and a large shopping plaza are all within walking distance of the Convention Center, which also doubles as transportation hub for the day of the race (more on that later).  With roughly 30k people taking part in the Cooper River Bridge Run, it definitely pays to book a hotel in advance.

3.     The 2-day Expo is one of the largest you will attend.  As I just mentioned, the Cooper River Bridge Run Expo takes place at the North Charleston Convention Center.  It happens on the Thursday and Friday before the race.  Most “locals” go to the Thursday event, while the out-of-towners, and people from out of state and even out of country, attend the Friday event.  Last year, my wife and I managed to go early on Friday to the Expo and we were surprised at some of the free samples and extras vendors gave away.  We ended up with a couple of moisture wicking shirts, a few leggings, and little to no lines for the various alcoholic vendors, such as Deep Eddy Vodka, Hooch mixture, and wines sampled by Harris and Teeter.  Showing up Friday after 1 PM, though, will have you see large crowds, long lines to try things, and certain vendors run out of their best wares.

4.     Plan accordingly for race day transportation.  The Cooper River Bridge Run is a one way race, meaning that the start line (in Mt. Pleasant) and finish lines (downtown Charleston) are in completely different areas.  The race organizers have arranged for transportation, and in at least one of the places, free parking for participants.  At least four designated bus shuttle areas are available for free. For a small additional cost while registering, one can choose to take a boat shuttle to cross the river from Charleston to Mt. Pleasant.  Every year, I have chosen to take the bus shuttle from the Charleston Area Convention Center.  The Convention Center is probably the most popular shuttle area since it has a very large parking lot, is close to the Charleston International Airport, and about a dozen hotels are within walking distance of the shuttle pick-up and drop-off point.  Check out the CRBR shuttle information here: https://bridgerun.com/bus-boat-shuttle/

      There is no parking available at the starting point, but in the past couple of years, some of my friends have done ride-sharing, i.e. Uber, Lyft to get to the starting line from where they stayed the night before. 

5.     You have a voice in next year’s shirt design. I don’t know how long the race organizers have been doing it, but the past few years, they solicit people to vote on submitted artwork and the winner’s artwork becomes the poster and t-shirt design.  For 2019, the artist received 1,000 dollars as well as 100 posters and 24 shirts (presumably to give away to friends, family, fans, and as giveaways).  For participants, it makes you feel even more a part of something big.  You can read up more on the CRBR blog page here: https://bridgerun.com/submit-your-vote/

These are five things you should know before you sign up.  Unlike a local race, it does take a little planning in advance to do the Cooper River Bridge Run, but it is well worth it.  I live 90 minutes away from Charleston, and with a little bit of foresight in advance, I make sure I’m ready for race day.

WHEN YOUR BODY DOESN'T LIKE WHAT YOU DO

  When I was in the Army, especially the last ten years or so, I could almost always run off of 4-6 hours of sleep a night.  I regularly did physical training, usually on my own or in a small group.  I could take a 10-15 minute power nap in a chair during lunch if I had a particular rough day.  But retired life has shown me that I cannot do that anymore. 

  I have been trying to keep up my old set of waking hours with my current job, but I run into an issue with sleep: it gets interrupted part way through, so that sets everything else I have planned for the day off schedule. 

  Now I work at a university and I see that as a chance to make an impact in the next generation’s lives.  Granted, my job is not teaching, but usually I am surrounded by college students and I get to ask them what they studying, what they plan to do after college, and how they will either improve themselves or make the world better.  However, working there means that I had to take the afternoon to evening shift, not the normal 9-5 day shift. That means I get home around 12:30 AM and cannot fall asleep until between 1 and 2 in the morning, and the only time I get to see my youngest is in the morning when she gets ready for school.  So I get up at 6 AM to help her.  Sometimes, I take her out to the bus while other times my wife will. But once my daughter leaves, I head back to bed… with the full intention of getting up an hour or two later to go run. 

  That doesn’t happen.

  Lately, or rather the past two months have shown me that my body craves sleep more than anything. I have slept through alarm clocks, notifications from my Alexa Echo Dot, my phone blaring music and messages, but unfortunately, not from robo-telemarketers.  This “need” for sleep has reduced my speed and is bringing me back to cardio levels from when I threw out my shoulder and couldn’t catch my breath after the second mile. 

  On the positive note, though, my work does involve me moving about and with summer approaching, my daughter will be on summer vacation in a month.  Once that happens, I should be able to get back into working on improving my speed and endurance more.  In the meantime, I need to focus on maintaining what I have and definitely watching what I eat.

That Time I Ran Two Races In One Day

 You may have seen my running videos. Usually I do a race every week or two and upload a montage of it later that day or the next, but there are the rare days where I record two events on the same day.  March 9^th was one of those rare days.

  When I usually sign up for a race, I look at my calendar to see if I’m free that morning, pay the fee, and block that date out.  But for March 9th, two races were scheduled, and both supported great causes. 

the start line

  I first signed up for the March for Meals 5k, supporting Senior Resources Inc. and their Meals on Wheels program.  I’ve done this particular race off and on since 2015, mostly because Army commitments would prevent me from running each year consecutively.  Besides the opportunity to donate and help senior citizens, this race takes place in one of my favorite running areas: the Timmerman Trail.

Wooden Foot Bridge

  It’s a pretty relaxing paved trail that spans over several wooden foot bridges and a few concrete & iron bridges as well.  The March for Meals 5k starts in front of an activities center and has you running on a road for the first half mile until you get to the Lexington Medical Center’s administrative building parking lot. 

  It’s a very nice, scenic path through the woods and overlooks a few creeks along the way. While the 5k route didn’t allow us, there are parts of the Timmerman Trail that also run alongside part of the Congaree River for a bit.  

 

  The race itself was nice, the medals are pretty distinct from others in that place winners get a plate or a medal spoon. I did well enough a few years ago to earn one, and it is still one of my more treasured trophies.  This year, Senior Resources showcased their newly acquired taco truck and all participants received a free taco, be it beef, chicken, chorizo, or veggie.  This was a big bonus for doing the race. The shirt was an improvement this year as well. In previous years, the race shirt was a long sleeve Hanes t-shirt. This year, the shirt was made of a thinner material.

The crowd. Just beyond them was the parking area.

  In fact, the only issue with the race is the parking, and how to get to the parking area. Each year, participants end up driving through the start/finish line to get to the dirt parking lot.  Most times, this is not an issue, but as it gets closer to race time, people gather at the start line and you always have one or two cars show up to park, in which everyone has to get out of the way.  There is another way to the parking area, so hopefully, volunteers at next year’s race can direct people to go that way instead. 

  As for the race, I ran a decent 8:15 average mile. There were a few hills in there, but nothing like downtown Columbia, Charlotte, or even Atlanta.  However, I didn’t expect to push myself since I had a race that night and halfway through the morning run, I decided that I should range-walk or jog the second race.  That didn’t happen.

The Run for Her Life 5k Opening Ceremony

The Start

   The second race, the Run for Her Life 5k, was a charity race for the Lighthouse for Life to raise awareness regarding domestic underage human trafficking.  And this race was a glow race which took place in Saluda Shoals Park. There’s something about glow races that brings people out of the woodwork.   It was packed, but I could hear the DJ playing in the starting line area, packet pick-up went great, and the race shirt was a tech shirt (a big plus in my book). 



  The race took place well after sunset and they modified the course a little due to the rains from the previous night.  As usual, I started in the back, but my wife and youngest started in the middle. And let me say that I planned on running slow,

but once the horn went off, I got swept up in the enthusiasm, eagerness, and festive mood from other people and I started to run faster.  My daughter wanted to run as well, so she brought off from my wife.

 

High Fiving at the the finish line

I didn’t catch Tori until about half a mile into the race because of the crowds.  Once I got alongside my youngest, I stayed with her, and she was such a trooper.  We enjoyed the glow lights along the course, partook in the water stations, and most of it kept each company.  While I averaged a 10:15 mile with my daughter, the important thing was that I ran almost the entire race with her.

  Tori walked a little, but she kept going and finished strong. I got to see my little 10 year old cross the finish line with the heart of a lion, and she made me so proud.

My Tori

  If you would like, you can see both race videos here:

Race Shirts: Which Brands Runners Love and Which Ones to Avoid

My Collection from the Past Four Years

I recently went through all the shirts I got from races in the past four years.  There are quite a few I like, and some I’ll wear when it’s almost time to do laundry.  But I do like them all, even if a few of the non-performance shirts are pretty thick.  

  I will however say that there is an order of precedence when it comes to what kind of shirts a runner would like to see coming from a race organizer.

  After sifting through my collection of race memorabilia, I created my list of bottom tier to top of the wish list when it comes to what kind of shirt runners like me would like to see in our swag bags.

  Bottom tier contains brands such as Gildan and Hanes.  I consider these the mainstream and underwear brands because most people know those two names has a part of their undergarment wardrobe.

  

Disco Dash (Gildan Heavy Cotton Blend)

  Gildan has several styles and brands that they use.  My Gildan preference from first to worst are:

Anvil  (a nice thin shirt)

Gildan Dry Blend (not thick, but not thin cotton blend)

Alstyle (feels like Gildan’s Soft Style, but I rank higher because of a particular race)

Gildan Soft Style (not-so-thick cotton blend)

Gildan Heavy Cotton Blend (thick cotton blend)

811 Run (Gildan Soft Style)

  Gildan’s Heavy Cotton Blend, Soft Style, and by extension Alstyle are a lot thicker than I would like when it comes to running and cardio training. They aren’t conducive to dealing with sweat; the tops get a lot heavier the more you perspire.

Stephen Siller Tunner to Towers 5k (Alstyle)

Cooper River Bridge Run (Dry Blend)

Cooper River Bridge Run (Dry Blend)

Gildan’s Dry Blend is not thin, but it works a lot better than those others when it comes to a sweaty work-out.  I find it noteworthy that the only Dry Blend shirts I’ve gotten come from the Cooper River Bridge Run.

  Anvil, on the other hand, is a very thin shirt that breathes well and when it becomes full of sweat or water, doesn’t feel anywhere near as heavy as any of Gildan’s other brands and styles that I’ve received over the years.

  Hanes is also used quite a bit when it comes to race shirts, but it has not been as plentiful as Gildan’s variety in the races I’ve done.  From Hanes’ line of products, I have received five different types of shirts to include one line of performance or tech shirt.

Guardians of the Night (Hanes Nano)

Hot Summer's Night (Hanes X-Temp)

  As I said earlier, Hanes and Gildan almost run neck and neck in their availability to race organizers and the thickness of certain shirts.  But Hanes does produce a couple of lines of thinner shirts and the aforementioned tech shirt.

Mont Kemba (Hanes Comfort Dri)

  I’m not a huge fan of their basic shirt nor their Comfort Soft line, but the Nano and X-Temp are acceptable in quality, fit, and comfort.  The Hanes Comfort Dry technical shirt feels very similar to A4’s thin tech shirts.

Port and Company Shirt (Red Shoe Run)

I have a set of shirts made by Sport Tek and Port and Company.  The Sport Tek shirt is a tech shirt that can easily be mistaken for an A4 performance shirt, while the Port and Company shirts feel very similar to Gildan's Soft Blend.

Delta Apparel Shirt (Governor's Cup)

Delta Dri Shirt (Savannah Bridge Run)

  I own two types of Delta Apparel shirts. The first set is similar in to Gildan’s Soft Blend.  The Delta shirt I own a Delta Dri shirt, and it is a thin running shirt that is smooth feeling and fits really good on the body.

  For performance shirts, I have received race shirts manufactured by A4, Expert Brand, and Recover. 

Run Hard Lexington (A4 thin)

Run & Ride Carowinds (A4 thick)

  My A4 shirts come in two styles, thin and silky or thicker but sturdy.  I really like both since they have moisture wicking capabilities, but for A4, I honestly prefer A4’s thicker shirts over their thinner shirts.

Zoom Through the Zoo's Expert Brand Shirt

  The one Expert Brand shirt I own is similar in style to A4’s thicker performance shirts. In fact, the only reason I don’t wear this shirt more often is because the race logo’s design is a little smaller than I would have liked. It’s nick-picking, but when you own over 60 race shirts, more than a dozen regular running shirts, and a plethora of pop culture t-shirts, there’s just some shirts that don’t get worn much.

The Great Chocolate Race. Great Shirt, Not Great Race.

  The one Recover brand performance shirt is in the same boat at my “Zoom Through the Zoo 5k” shirt by Expert Brand.  I actually love the feel and comfort of this long sleeved, thin technical shirt, but it is the race that I’m not happy with, or rather the race organizers, so I don’t want to give them much publicity by wearing this particular shirt.

  But the top two brand for race shirts goes to Next Level and Tultex, with Tultex being the champion. Both have a great thin shirt that gives great comfort and style with little to no sacrifice to quality. 

  I have yet to be disappointed by a Tultex shirt and Next Level is an overall great shirt to own.

True to the Brew Half Marathon (Tultex)

Get to the Green (Tultex)

  However, if a running shoe company provides a shirt for a race, you can bet that will be the top tier for race swag. I've done races where Mizuno produced the shirts and I've done a run in which New Balance provided a shirt, but I've worn my Nike running shirt the most. Shoe companies definitely know what kind of shirts athletes, everyday runners, and fitness enthusiasts want to wear.

Daybreak 10 Miler (Mizuno Performance Shirt)

New Balance Shirt

My Team RWB shirt by Nike (well worn and washed)

  You can check out my videos showing all my race shirts here:

  And you can see the full shirt review of each brand here: