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the log
it's all black half tights.
i spent this past weekend spectating races across saturday and
sunday, distances from 100k down to 5k. the overwhelming majority
of finishers across every distance, every age group, every brand
affiliation: black half tights.
i'm no different. race day, workout day, long run sunday -- i'm
almost always reaching for black half tights. the variables are
fabric, drawstring length (i hate a short drawstring that gets
lost in the waistband), and pockets, and those matter a lot. i was
part of puma's project three program this year and they shipped
everyone the same half tights they give the pros. they look great.
clean, minimal, fast. no pockets. and the vast majority of us are
not racing marathons with bottle service. get on a trail, do
anything longer than a 10k with real effort, and you need to carry
stuff. storage matters. but still, black half tights.
and if you think about the color black and what you're told as a
kid in the summer -- don't wear black, it absorbs sunlight, you'll
overheat. so much of what we do from an athletic standpoint is
about trying to stay cool. every brand is working on airflow,
mesh, wicking fabrics, passive cooling headbands, ice vests.
anything and everything to stay cool. but the go-to color on a
performance day is black. absorb heat and core temp be damned.
but there's a reason black works and it's not just performance.
everyone looks better in black. look good, feel good, run good.
it's clean, it compresses, and for whatever reason it tricks the
eye -- everything looks tighter, leaner, more intentional. and
it's forgiving in a way other colors aren't. i'm not going to
pretend i haven't spilled my water bottle on myself at mile 18
when my brain stopped completing simple motor tasks, or that sweat
doesn't accumulate in unflattering places. black covers all of
that. it's forgiving in the way that running, honestly, is not.
i've been following a lot of new brands lately and i noticed
something while scrolling. i took a video of it just to have a
record. almost every single brand -- no matter the positioning,
trail or road, modern or heritage, bold or minimal -- their social
media icons are black and white. the gear is black. the main
exception is chicknlegs, who built a whole identity around bold
prints and cartoony fits, but they still have black in the
rotation. the colorful stuff is for group runs, a race day with
friends and matching kits. the everyday reach is black.
there is no new black. it just works. the real expression --
the thing that actually tells you something about the person
wearing it -- lives everywhere else.
what's on your upper half. what's on your head. what's on your
feet. the singlet, the hat, the shoes. from waist to knee, it's
already decided. black half tights.
so the rest of it, that's what we're here to help you figure out.
-- mark
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