In eighth grade, Katelyn Hutchinson, a runner from the University of Kentucky, learned the power of a uniform.
Her coach had designed a racing kit that made the middle school team feel “comfortable and cool,” Hutchinson said. The experience left a strong impression: Uniforms can make athletes feel like themselves.
It was the last time that Hutchinson remembers feeling at ease in a race day kit. By high school, “everything was skintight.”
Uniforms for women grow smaller and tighter as they ascend from high school to college to professional running, while men’s uniforms typically remain suspended in the high-school look — a loose jersey and flowing shorts or knee-length spandex for sprinters.
A growing number of amateur and elite runners are challenging these norms through dress and dialogue. Many profess a straightforward conviction: You run best when you are comfortable.
They have inspired a domino effect, allowing more runners to feel comfortable pushing what have been uniform standards. Top-tier brands are taking note: “One-size-fits-all doesn’t work for this sport,” said Jordana Katcher, the vice president of Nike women’s global sport apparel.
But the differences between men’s and women’s norms weren’t initially etched into the sport’s tradition. In…
