My advice on running costumes

To run in a costume or not to run in a costume that is the question. 

My answer is always run in costume! Everyone has their own advise on what to wear. So here's mine.

I don't run in tutu's. Why? I made a tutu once. I spent hours on it. It was pink and I tied these little pearls on it.

 

It was cute! I had it around a pillow while I was making it. Just loved it. Then I put it on. It wasn't comfortable. It was horrible. I'm still not sure how women do it.

I threw that thing away and never looked back.

I had made that tutu to run in the Princess 1/2 marathon in 2011. Well life happens and I ended up signing up to run in 2013. Now I wanted to dress up. I wanted to be Sleeping Beauty but there was no way I was going to run in a tutu. Google is such a great thing. That's how I found Sparkle Athletic. 

My first skirt was red. I wanted to wear it for holiday runs. The first time wearing my skirt I PR'd and placed 3rd in my age group!

There really is something magical about running in a Sparkle Athletic skirt! And that is why this one red skirt has now turned into me owning 23. Yes that's right I'm a total Sparkle Athletic addict! I own more than just skirts, I have most of the stuff on their website. And now I've started getting my niece skirts. Everyone should have sparkle skirts!! 

Ok back to the subject. When putting a running costume together you really need it to be light and comfortable. All of my costumes are running clothes with some added features. 

My first princess costume. Easy, no sewing machine required! It's just a Sparkle Athletic skirt, running shorts, a yoga top and sleeves. The white collar required some work but it took 5 minutes. I cut off the bottom of a race shirt. I chose a soft wicking race shirt. I sewed the two ends together and folded it so you didn't see the seem. I took thread and tied it together to get the look in the front. I didn't attach it to my shirt in case it bothered me during the race and I needed to toss it. But I lasted the whole race with it! I did throw it away at the end of the race cause it was so sweaty and gross. 

I'm not an expert on running costumes, but I've run a lot in costumes. If you are trying to decide to run in a tutu vs. sparkle skirt go with the sparkle skirt! There are other brands of sparkle skirts out there. I chose Sparkle Athletic because the are affordable and they are comfortable. They also have great customer service.

Here are several pics of costumes I've worn.

An 80's themed run

My mom actually wore this.

Disneyland 10k

I made this and never wore it. Next year!

Snow White

Elastigirl

A halloween run

This is just my advice. Do you run in costumes? Do you wear a tutu or sparkle skirt?