Real David H.

It’s the biggest decision after signing up for a big race. Every runner thinks long and hard about it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run the big race the first time … so we ask ourselves, what will we wear?!?!?

For my first ever race, I wore a cotton yellow shirt. I bought nothing new. For the Virginia Ten Miler, I wore all black. Not sure why … it just make me feel faster. Again, it was nothing new or special for the race. For the Shamrock Half in March I did what was appropriate – I wore green. But it wasn’t all green since it was cold – my long-sleeve shirt was green and white, and I wore green shorts. For that race, I did shop around to find something green to wear. For the marathon, I wanted to buy something new as well, but what? Most of my running gear has come the cheaper route through Target, but no offense to Target, that store lacks cool racing gear except if you want to dress in one solid color. The store does have more options than it used to, but it’s nothing that stands out enough for my first-ever marathon.

Then the other day, I got an email from Dick’s Sporting Goods about the new Livestrong gear. “Wear what Lance wore in the New York City Marathon” is the hook, but to me, that’s not really the hook. It’s not an association to Lance Armstrong that I want to have — haven’t you heard the latest in his personal life? — it’s helping cancer research. Giving some sort of money to cancer research should be the hook, so why not wear yellow?

So I went out and bought the expensive yellow shirt — I could have bought three new shirts at Target for that price, but for the Richmond Marathon I wanted to do something different. What little bit of money goes to fighting cancer is different enough for me. And wearing the yellow Livestrong shirt helps spread that word a very little bit. (Actually, I preferred the black shirt, but Dick’s didn’t have matching yellow shorts for the men.) Since the forecast for the start of the race is the low 30s right now , I’ll probably start the race with a thin black shirt underneath. Black shorts will accompany the yellow shirt. The shirt is so new, I couldn’t find the exact image online, so the one to the right isn’t the exact shirt, but it’s close.

So, if you’re out there still thinking about what to wear for the Richmond Marathon, don’t be afraid to wear yellow. If you’re watching the race from the streets and don’t know how to show your support, think a little about wearing yellow. Together we can all make a difference.