Perhaps I live a sheltered life, but this was the first I've heard of this:
You now can get your bib number printed on a tech shirt.
My, my. Just when you thought there was no other way for budding capitalists to try to separate runners from their hard-earned money, along comes an outfit called wearyournumber.com to entice runners to go bibless at races.
I first heard about it today when I received the latest newsletter from the San Francisco Marathon. That race is offering competitors the option of spending $30 for a technical shirt ($28 for a singlet) that has the bib printed on the front.
Gee, if this catches on, what kind of impact will this have on the safety-pin industry?
I'm normally wary of gimmicks, but this kind of intrigues me.
And, for those who collect their bibs for sentimental reasons, rest assured: Participants at the races using the bibless shirts still get a paper bib at registration. But the shirt would serve as the official bib.
Here's a fashion question for you: Would you wear the "bib shirt" after the race, like to the grocery store or on training runs? Wouldn't it make it seem as if you were forever racing? Personally, I chuckle at runners who wear their bib numbers all day after a race. Would this be a similar look to that?
As for the quality of the tech shirts and the printing process, I don't know, because I haven't worn one. But here's what the website has to say about quality in its FAQ section: "We use the best printing method available for printing on today's performance apparel. The race bib artwork is dyed in to the fabric. You will not feel it and it won't fade, crack or peel."
Fade, crack and peel? Hey, that's what I do in the last three miles of a marathon!
Naturally, the company is on YouTube with this infomercial:
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