Because they are ugly. Thank you for following this article on 20 Minutesand we’ll meet again for future hot topics…. Okay, let’s go into a little detail anyway. While sportswear is essential in the city, football clothing, such as Chelsea FC tracksuits or the Venice jersey, has fully entered the wardrobe and no manager will be shocked to see employees arriving in Salomon shoes in the open space, one item of clothing still holds up: the running t-shirt. Despite the boom in the discipline, which has contaminated all urban CSP+, the 10k, half, marathon or trail t-shirt, often received before (or after, for the finisher t-shirt) an official race, remains wisely stored in the closet.
At best, he helps out in training because he doesn’t have anything else to wear. At worst, it ends up straight in the trash. Under no circumstances does he go out into town, at work or in parades. An appointment is therefore made at the Poissonniers sports center (Paris) to ask the runners at the end of the session the fashion faux pas of this t-shirt.
Because yes, still, they are ugly
“It’s unbearable because it’s so ugly,” judges Sébastien, 29 years old. Even for running, I don’t wear them, so in real life…” There are many complaints. Moïra Cristescu, fashion designer, takes out the chainsaw for once instead of the thimble: “These T-shirts have a basic shape, an ordinary cut and a standardized size. By mass producing to suit as many people as possible, it ends up not suiting anyone. »
Without forgetting the elephant in the middle of the room: the colors, which are often somewhere between an epileptic seizure and an overly inspired Picasso. “Each time, he surpasses himself in horror,” Sébastien comments again. With a little more expertise, Moïra Cristescu confirms: “The colors are either too garish or too basic, because they belong to the graphic charter of the event, which must be instantly recognizable. »
The jersey often has little visual identity: “There is a lack of personality, of a more trendy or sporty design, or at least of an aesthetic bet. You will never see an oversized t-shirt while running, for example,” continues the expert. Summary by Pauline, 32 years old: “It’s both ugly and banal. If it was ugly but daring, like Desigual, why not. But there…”
Because he lacks prestige
The 12×400 meters is the bane of all runners, and after completing this torture session, Thomas, 25, begins to rave: “We could have imagined a certain consistency between the different editions of the same race. » Just like a Real Madrid jersey from 2026 looks like a Real Madrid jersey from 1996 or even 1956… He takes the example of the 20K in Paris, “by far his favorite race. Between the 2024 and 2025 edition, the t-shirts have nothing to do with it. This does not give a clean style, or a marker.”
Sophia Malagola, fashion designer and former collections director at DIM and Etam relaunches:
« There are races more prestigious than others, for example the Paris marathon, but the t-shirts don’t keep up. They all look the same, regardless of race. »
Far from the football jersey, “an object so distinct, noble, often associated with an event like the Football World Cup”. None of that, in the world of running. “We could have imagined post-marathon collector’s t-shirts, at a higher price. »
Because it’s pretentious
The only prestige possible is to wear a “finisher” t-shirt, showing the feat accomplished by running 10, 21 or 42 miles. But contrary to appearances, yes, a runner knows how to be modest. Or rather, the insufferable bugger can end up being embarrassed in the event of excessive megalomaniac pretension. “Objectively, the 2024 marathon t-shirt is beautiful,” recognizes Sébastien. “But walking around with it is really carrying a ‘LOOK, I RAN A MARATHON’ sign. »
Nothing to do with a Zidane or Neymar jersey, “a tribute to a sportsman we love, not to ourselves,” continues Thomas, or shoes sportswear “which does not claim any sporting exploits. With Hoka, we know we are running, but we run modestly.”
Because it doesn’t last over time
Line production also involves another bias: “poor quality,” says Sophia Malagola. Concretely, the seams are poorly done, break easily, “the t-shirt does not hold up well to washing” (we will come back to this). It quickly ends up holed, faded, shrunken, comment all the runners interviewed. “As a result, we rarely wear them, or we don’t have time to tie them up,” adds Thomas.
Not to mention that physics-chemistry has its implacable laws. In this case, the smell of sweat and synthetic fibers (literally) go wrong together, creating chemical reactions that bacteria feed on by producing smelly compounds that permeate clothing. “After a while, there is nothing more to do,” continues Pauline, who has tried everything, baking soda, vinegar and the philosopher’s stone to erase the smell. “If we look ugly and also stink…”.
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