No … wait: It was the T-shirt — the T-shirt you would wear as a badge of honor.
You cherish that 50/50 blend but after a few years, your wife (or husband) begins to nag you about all those shirts and you begin to give them to friends and relatives, turn them into quilts, car-washing rags and donations.
Why do we keep so many race T-shirts?
Well, probably because there are so many different categories of “must keep” shirts. Of course you have to keep that first race shirt, but there are also these:
PR shirts — T-shirts that memorialize your personal bests for all distances. But do you really have to hang on to that hideous yellow T-shirt for that 4.5-mile hill run. Get rid of it!
Status shirts — I’ll never throw away my Olympic Trials shirts, and you’ve got a keeper if you’ve ever run Boston, but is the Hog Hollerin’ 5K necessary to keep. Get rid of it!
Pretty shirts — Those rare shirts nice enough to wear in mixed company. Fits nice, good color, but one or two will do. Get rid of it!
Unusual event shirts — You haven’t worn that couple’s race, marathon relay, sprint triathlon or “other” offline event T-shirt for years. Get rid of it!
Long-sleeve shirts — It’s great to have a few long-sleeve cotton T-shirts for winter training, but I’ve never thrown one away. I always think I’ll need to keep those shirts that will cover my whole body and keep me warm. Two words, “moisture management.” Get rid of it!
Once you’ve made the decision to reduce your T-shirt inventory, what do you do with the throw-aways? The Goodwill box is a good idea so ... get rid of it!
But whatever you decide to do with those old shirts, do something! And do it soon before the advancing mass of T-shirts completely takes over, feeding off those old shoes you’re equally reluctant to throw away (hey, have you heard of Maine Running Company’s Recycle program?)
There are definitely more shoes and shirts in your future so ... get rid of ‘em!
John Rogers is the owner of Maine Running Company on Forest Ave. in Portland. Send questions or comments to him at jr@mainerunning.com or check out the store’s website at www.mainerunning.com.