I can imagine you're wondering how I can writing about wool at the end of May, on the cusp of summer. Even in Boulder we've already had many days over 80 degrees. Wool is for winter blazers, long underwear for skiing, even socks. But running?
Absolutely!
I'm not talking about the old image of wool as scratchy and itchy. Ibex, Icebreaker, Stoic, and Smartwool are make wonderful wool clothes that feels great against the skin. Everything - tank tops, dresses, underwear (including bras for the women), long-sleeves, sweaters, jackets, and of course socks.
Wool for winter running seems reasonable, and it is. There is some fabulous wool for winter running. What I really want to talk about is running in wool in summer! I've long worn wool for cycling and have a wardrobe full of wool tights and jerseys. I also have plenty of wool shirts for regular wear. At first I was a bit skeptical of wool for summer running as well. Was it really light enough? I'm had enough great experiences with wool and the various brands that I figured it was worth a try.
I'd been wearing various shirts - lots of different variants of the new range of tech tees. I didn't like most of them. I didn't like the way they felt against my body. I didn't like the stink afterwards. Some from races, some from running shops.
So I tried wool. I bought a couple super lightweight shirts from Icebreaker and one from Stoic. Wool is it! First of all it feels great against my skin - it's soft and feels natural. Even when it's above 75 degrees, I'm not getting any warmer. It doesn't stink - I usually wear one of my wool shirts 3 or 4 times before washing it.
Go for it - give wool a try. You'll be surprised!
P.S. All those tech tees are gone - donated to One World Running
