"cut it out" by Esjay

One way to stay humble? Run.

As a semi-serious, pro-social runner I will be the first to shout this from the rooftops.

You’ve been there, at the start of a race, scouting out the competition with a severely judgemental eye. Personally, I always look at the shoes first, anything with a carbon plate, rod or heel means business. Not wearing a watch means you don’t have Strava and you probably shouldn’t be here.

When the race starts I’m already picking my target, the man double my age with a temporary license will be eating my dust before the first water table. The woman with short legs will walk at the half way mark, the guy on the right with tiny calves and the lady with a rounder tummy are NEVER going to beat me. “Whatever you do, ‘they’ cannot beat you” … are the words that echo through my highly competitive mind.

If you’re a runner reading this, you’re laughing, because we’ve all been there. We associate size with strength, shape with speed and sexuality with stamina. Essentially what we’re doing is we associate what our body looks like with what we are capable of, and road running is not the only place where this totally flawed perception exists. It’s everywhere; in every sport, the workplace and social circles.

This range by Esjay made me excited because it talks to this concept and reminds us that the tag in your tights is not an indicator of your capabilities. Believe me, I’ve been lapped by the temporary license, I never caught the lady with short legs, round tummy lady ran double my distance at my pace (it was embarrassing) and tiny calves man beat me, badly.

While I’ve hopefully made light of a somewhat serious issue, what I genuinely hope for is that we would stop the size and shape shaming. It’s not about what you look like, it’s about what you can do and clearly, based on multiple experiences, they are not related at all.

From a girl wearing a (S)mall pair of tights who’s been lapped by (L)arge, shared the podium with (M)edium and beaten by (XL)arge, it makes more sense, and it’s a lot less embarrassing when we celebrate every size and shape. The narrative should be this: PEOPLE are flippin’ phenomenal and capable of incredible things.

Rip the (dumb) tag off your pants, it’s itchy anyway.

Love you all, check you on the road.

Donna, a friend and fan of Esjay Sportswear.