What you should wear for your first half marathon is primarily a matter of personal preference.  Obviously don’t go out in a new pair of shoes, but rather one that you have worn and know to be comfortable.  Cotton shirt and mesh ball shorts are tried and true materials and will work just fine.  But if you’re so inclined, the selection of technical running apparrel is growing almost by the day, as is the case for all athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.  These products do offer an advantage over cotton and other natural materials.

Synthetic Running Apparel

The synthetic wicking products (i.e. Under Armour) are usually made from polyesters, and they are woven in such a way so as to remove moisture from the skin, thereby speeding evaporation.  This keeps you dry and cool, and in turn helps reduce chafing, and allows you to run longer, faster.  If you’ve seen the advertisements, you have no doubt noticed most running apparel is usually skin-tight.  This is to improve contact with the skin, which speeds the removal moisture from the surface of your skin.  There are products available that are not skin-tight, and they also work quite nicely.  Personally, with the exception of a base layer, I don’t like the appearance of skin-tight clothing, and choose the loose materials.

A number of “knock-off” products to the Under Armour are being made now.  I’ve tried C9 (Target’s brand) and Tek-Gear (Kohl’s).  Nike and others also have their own private labeled products as well.  Most of the ones I’ve tried seem to work as advertised.  One thing I would suggest to watch out for is standing seams.  If you’re going to be running for an extended period of time, standing seams will chafe and rub, generating hot spots.  I would suggest turning a product inside-out and looking at the seams to be certain they are turned down, or better yet, eliminated altogether.  Another thing to look is products that have built-in antimicrobial agents.  Odor-producing bacteria can breed quite effectively in some of these products, as my wife has been more than willing to point out.

One final word of caution - make certain when you fasten your race number to your shirt, to be aware of the placement of the safety pins.  I made the mistake of wearing mine high on my chest, and as my shirt bounced on my chest, the pins rubbed a spot on my chest raw.  It hurt for days.