T-shirt tales

I have a stack of race t-shirts in my closet that appears to multiply exponentially all on its own. 2-3 times per year I cull through the stack, giving away ones that don't fit, or aren't in a favorite color, or don't inspire me. I have a cotton t-shirt from my first marathon in 2008, all three from the 100 on 100 relay, a favorite long-sleeve from the Marine Corps Marathon, a bright purple zip-neck from the Fargo Marathon, and a very worn cotton t-shirt from the 2001 New York City marathon, only 2 months after 9-11. My sister ran both the Marine Corps and NYC marathons with me, and wearing those shirts reminds me of the bond we share as sisters and as runners.

Because each shirt has a story to tell, I asked the women in the marathon training group to wear a favorite race shirt to our last 20 mile run on Sunday. Some of the stories were short, a couple were long, and all evoked smiles.

Andrea wore a short-sleeve shirt from her first triathlon, where the water temperature was 58 degrees, she rode an old mountain bike, and her only training runs were on the treadmill. She not only survived the freezing water, she's gone on to do several more tris.

Linda wore her beautiful blue long-sleeve shirt from the 1st Wineglass Half-Marathon, and proceeded to give us a tour-guide's thumbnail  sketch of a fantastic weekend spent wine tasting, dining, traveling - and of course completing a half-marathon. Several women in the group are already making plans to join her for the event this year.

Gail wore a red fleece jacket from the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon, completed just one month after the 9-11 tragedy. The course was re-routed to circle the Pentagon, with the only sound the soft slapping of the runners' shoes as they contemplated the unthinkable events of that day.

Kathy wore an orange shirt from this year's Hooter's Half-Marathon. She didn't bring the medal, but we had a lot of fun imagining what it must look like!

Laurie wore the shirt from the Warrior Dash, a 5K romp through mud and over obstacles including jumping over fire. She didn't wear the warrior hat with fur and horns, much to our dismay and disappointment.

Mandy wore one of the many Training for More t-shirts she's earned over the past 5 years of running with the group. Several of the women putting in their 20 miles Sunday met in one of those groups, at a time when 13.6 miles seemed like an unachievable distance, and today is an easy run.

Alisa wore her first race shirt, earned just last weekend at the Plattsburgh half-marathon in freezing cold weather. She and her friends arrived only a few minutes before the race started, leaving home in the dark hours of early morning to drive to the event. They only had shirts left in size small and extra-large. Luckily for her, she wears a small!

I wore a black jacket from the Marshall Marathon I ran in November last year. 75 members of the Marshall University football team died in a plane crash in 1970, and the marathon remembers them in several ways throughout the day. The race not only finishes on the football field, but a volunteer handed me a football to carry as I ran the final yards. Even tired legs had to sprint to the finish in the endzone.

Race organizers look at their shirts as a way to promote sponsors and advertise their event. I'm not sure they understand the powerful memories that are embedded in those shirts.