Running tip #81
The spring road racing season is fixin’ to begin, so today’s tip is kind of a silly one about what I think is the best way to pin your race number on. I suppose if you polled enough runners, you’d find a variety of opinions about …
Most people use the pre-punched holes on the four corners of the race number, but I find this allows for way to0 much fluttery air between your shirt (or in my case, shorts) and number. Also, the four-corner pin job doesn’t allow any resizing for your more diminutive customers. So, here’s how I pin:
If possible, fold the top portion down about an inch so you are pinning through two layers of number. Then, turn your pins horizontally to attach the top left and top right sections of the number (pinning down more total surface area). I never pin the number on my shirt because I may need to take it off when hot, tossing it or tucking it in the back of my shorts (racing in jog bra, gals … or bare-chested, guys). On the bottom of the number – here’s the secret tricky part – I affix only ONE pin horizontally across the middle of the number. This leaves my legs free from the four-pin number bunching annoyance. In the photo (below) I would have folded down the “Moonshiner 5k” race advert, to leave the essential 1278 visible so the number wouldn’t feel as long or cumbersome.
The center pin would be directly under the 27 with no pins under the 1 or 8 (or, heaven forbid, using those rookie pin-holes on the sides).
Crazy, I know. I’m living on the edge here in Carrboro, NC.
And what do I do with my leftover 4th pin? I hook it on the left belt loop of my jeans … because you never know when someone’s going to need a safety pin.