Trickle Down Technical Running Clothes Update

Legacy Running Company (photo courtesy of Tam P. Thanks again Tam :)

          I mentioned the Legacy Running Company in my last post where after our run last Saturday, the owner did a presentation on choosing the proper running shoes. This is a relatively new store which used to be a Taco Bell years ago and incidentally is just steps away from where Runner's High store used to be. The owner, Tom has a long history of owning running shoe stores so he definitely knows what he's talking about. This post has nothing to do with shoes however. A couple of weeks ago, there was a sale on C9 (by Champion) technical running tank tops at Target in the boy’s department. I first tried the medium, then large and after finding those a little too binding, the extra large. The final choice fit me just about right so I bought two of them. Cost = $9.00 each. I stopped by Walmart afterwards to buy some deodorant and noticed their Starter brand (did you know that this company is owned by Nike?) technical t-shirts and tank tops but this time in the adult section. The adult small size fit me just right. Prices? $5.47 for the t-shirt and $8.47 for the tank top. There are slight differences between the C9 and Starter tank tops though. The C9 feels a little tight on the neck while the Starter has a skosh more room in the neck and armpit areas and seemed to dry a little bit faster after being hand washed, wrung, and put on a hanger indoors. The neck tightness of the C9 could possibly be attributed to them being children’s sizes.

Men's Starter muscle tee from Walmart =  $8.47

Boy's C9 muscle tee from Target = $9.00


          A couple of years ago, I blogged about my trickle-down theory regarding technical running wear. In it I mentioned that a couple of years after the major brands come up with the latest technical products, stores like Target and Walmart come up with very similar ones for much less cost. Case in point: while browsing the tank tops at the Legacy Running Company last Saturday, I saw that the Nike tank tops were being sold for $33 while the t-shirts went for $30 (!!!). When I bought those similar products a couple of weeks prior, I thought maybe the major brands were selling them for around $20. That just shows you how long it’s been since I’ve visited a specialty running shoe store. Can you say sticker shock? For someone who is on a very tight budget like me, those prices are just not an option. Another thing I noticed is that there seems to be a trend back to traditional cut tank tops instead of the muscle type singlets of recent years. You may have to wait another couple of years for this style to trickle down to department stores. Or if you are inclined, you can find similar cuts in the female sections of Target and Walmart, if males are brave enough to wear the feminine colors. Isn't it amazing, or perhaps sobering that the cost of technical shirts are now approaching of what running shoes in the early 80's used to cost?

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