Marathon Training in a Skirt

Photo: SkirtSports

When exercise skirts first arrived on the fitness scene a few years ago, I mentally wrote them off. It felt like a throwback to the days where women were forced to run down a basketball court in a cumbersome, impractical outfit. While they're a staple on the tennis circuit, I figured that was just the uniform, not an outfit women would wear if given the choice. And they seemed so, well, cute -- certainly not the outfit of a woman who's serious about sports.

On a recent run in Central Park, I counted seven skirts jogging by. Later, when I was in a specialty running shop, I noticed that all the major brands had at least one running skirt in their lines. I bought shorts, but left wondering if those skirts were serious after all?

I suppose they don't get much more serious than Nicole DeBoom. She's the former professional triathlete who won the 2004 Ironman Wisconsin Triathalon -- in a skirt of her own design. The next year she founded SkirtSports, Inc, a company that specializes in fitness skirts and dresses.

I asked her -- why a running skirt? "I found myself frustrated with running shorts," she said. "They never fit my body well and I'd spend a significant amount of time pulling them down because they would ride up between my legs. And the compression shorts always revealed too much." I can certainly relate to her points. I spent the better part of my aforementioned run tugging at my shorts which, incidentally, I think are too short.

DeBoom's skirts aim to eliminate the bunching issue, and they also come in a variety of inseams with different built-in, under-skirt options, including capris and cycling shorts. And if you're a stickler about pockets on your shorts -- and I am -- you'll appreciate that hers have what she calls "strategically-placed" pockets -- one on each leg of the shorts under the skirt -- so you can easily store your energy gels or iPod.

I was curious how they would perform, so I put a SkirtSports running skirt to the test on one of my marathon training runs. I was amazed. They were very comfortable, lightweight, wicked moisture and I didn't have to reach down once to pull the shorts down from between my legs. I was wondering if the little bike shorts under my skirt would slowly ride up my legs over the course of the run, but they stay put. The waistband has no drawstring so I wasn't sure if my skirt would stay in place, but it did. In fact, I didn't have to adjust any aspect of this skirt during my run.

The skirt passed my running test. The only thing left to tackle was my own mental hurdle of how odd it felt to run in something so cute. "Once you get over the idea that you're in a skirt, it's a really freeing and empowering thing," says DeBoom. "I like to say that women can look pretty, look feminine and still kick the boys' butts."

SkirtsSports running skirts start at $54 and come in a variety of colors. New Balance, Asics and Nike also have running skirts in a similar price range. Skirts are a little pricier than your average pair of running shorts, but I personally find the comfort worth the extra money. I probably won't completely convert to running skirts, but I will certainly add them to the rotation. After all, DeBoom makes a good point: "It can be hard to motivate to go out for those long runs but if you get a little excited about your outfit, that's always helpful."