Runner Review: My Running Skirt

  

When I started to feel like a “real” runner, I thought I might splurge on something cute to wear while running.  Up to that point, old t-shirts and whatever stretchy shorts I had on hand had been sufficient.  My running skirt from Lululemon was my splurge, and I have had it for about 3 years.  I believe it was the Pace skirt, but it appears that Lululemon has revamped that style somewhat in the Pace II.

I have used and abused this skirt for as long as I have had it.  It works well for running, hiking, canoeing, dancing (very cute with a sleeveless top, and twirly to boot).

I wanted it over other styles for the shorts underneath, the flouncy back, and the pocket in the band.  These were great while I was mainly running shorter runs, up to 6 or 7 miles, and racing in 5ks.  Once I started adding mileage, there were a few issues, which I will mention below.

Pros: Stretchy fabric, waistband pocket, back zippered pocket, shorts liner with grippy elastic, cute styling.

Cons: Shorts liner is about an inch shorter than I would like for running longer miles – they start to be on the edge of a chafing issue, especially since the grippy elastic starts to lose some grippiness as I sweat and get salty; the pockets are great for the shorter runs, but not nearly roomy enough on a longer haul – there is not enough room for fuel, and where once the zippered pocket was plenty big for a phone, that is no longer the case with updated phones; price – while not the most expensive in the Lululemon line-up, they are pricier than what I would prefer spending on stuff I sweat buckets in.

I continue to wear this skirt weekly, and recently took it on our family camping vacation for easy-wearing, easy-packing comfort.  It has held up very well through lots of washing, and even the dryer on occasion.  I still love it for weekday runs and shorter races (up to the half marathon).  For the longer runs and races, though, I have started wearing capris and tights, depending on the weather.  I would love to get my hands on a skirt with longer shorts or capris as a liner.