Tweet
Whenever I go for a run, I arrive at the finish in shorts that are drenched with sweat. When we think of nude recreation, we usually think of beaches, lakes, and swimming pools, and how going without a soggy swimsuit makes things so much better, but anyone who runs could say the same thing about soggy running shorts.
An added advantage of running nude is that there is probably a speed advantage. My all-time fastest 5K might have been at White Tail Resort. White Tail's 5K has been on hiatus for the past two years due to COVID, and I sorely miss the event.
When I mention nude running to friends, there often is a question regarding whether having certain body parts flopping around unrestrained is a problem. The answer I give is that humans evolved without clothes. Furthermore, the ancient Greeks competed in the early Olympic games without clothes.
The genesis of the marathon is an interesting case as it wasn't in a stadium but on the roads between Marathon and Athens. The courier Philippides ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver news regarding the victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Philippides had actually run from Athens to Sparta (130 miles) to request help and then had run back to Athens during the previous days. He then ran to Marathon (26 miles), learned the news, and ran back to Athens. After delivering the news to the Athenians, he dropped dead. There is a statue of him along the route to Marathon that shows him running while wearing a pteruges (skirt) and carrying a shield. This is obviously wrong. No courier would have bogged himself down with such gear. Most artwork depicting his run shows him nude.
Several years ago, I was in Greece with some friends at the ancient stadium at Nemea. This was the location of regional feeder games to the Olympics. The base for the starting mechanism is well preserved, and the museum features a mock-up of how the starting mechanism worked. There was the inevitable discussion over the fact that the runners would have been nude. Our group was the only one present in the stadium, so I took the liberty of posing on the starting line in the authentic manner.
My favorite nude running experiences have been on beaches. When competing in the White Tail 5K, shoes are necessary though I have seen at least two competitors go barefoot. My feet aren't tough enough for that. On a sandy beach, going barefoot is not a problem.
An added advantage of running nude is that there is probably a speed advantage. My all-time fastest 5K might have been at White Tail Resort. White Tail's 5K has been on hiatus for the past two years due to COVID, and I sorely miss the event.
When I mention nude running to friends, there often is a question regarding whether having certain body parts flopping around unrestrained is a problem. The answer I give is that humans evolved without clothes. Furthermore, the ancient Greeks competed in the early Olympic games without clothes.
The genesis of the marathon is an interesting case as it wasn't in a stadium but on the roads between Marathon and Athens. The courier Philippides ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver news regarding the victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. Philippides had actually run from Athens to Sparta (130 miles) to request help and then had run back to Athens during the previous days. He then ran to Marathon (26 miles), learned the news, and ran back to Athens. After delivering the news to the Athenians, he dropped dead. There is a statue of him along the route to Marathon that shows him running while wearing a pteruges (skirt) and carrying a shield. This is obviously wrong. No courier would have bogged himself down with such gear. Most artwork depicting his run shows him nude.
Several years ago, I was in Greece with some friends at the ancient stadium at Nemea. This was the location of regional feeder games to the Olympics. The base for the starting mechanism is well preserved, and the museum features a mock-up of how the starting mechanism worked. There was the inevitable discussion over the fact that the runners would have been nude. Our group was the only one present in the stadium, so I took the liberty of posing on the starting line in the authentic manner.
My favorite nude running experiences have been on beaches. When competing in the White Tail 5K, shoes are necessary though I have seen at least two competitors go barefoot. My feet aren't tough enough for that. On a sandy beach, going barefoot is not a problem.
it is for this reason that I came to hiking. But, once this question simply did not exist for me in principle. Everything was so natural, and there was no discomfort. Now, too, it's not a problem. . But, all the same, not as much as in my youth.
Comment