Sure enough I got the shirt in the mail a few later.
It's pretty nice but big enough on me to be a dress. I actually put it on with a tights and a belt to take a funny picture, but honestly it was embarrassing to both me and the good people at WhyMarathon so I ditched the idea. Even though I can't wear it, I did pass on the shirt to someone who will put it to good use.
So why WhyMarathon? What's that all about? I did go check out the site before I agreed to link to them. I wanted to make sure that the answer wasn't, "Because it's a great warm-up for knocking over the all-night Taco Bell." The WhyMarathon film crew travels around to races and asks finishers- from the winners to first timers- why they do what they do. The 1.5-ish minute responses looked like they were going to be very Motivational and Inspirational. That made me nervous. I'm not really into the whole "power of the human spirit" thing. I think people who do too much introspection should get a second job, and the last three times I cried all involved banging a body part into furniture during late-night trips to the bathroom. However, I know plenty of other people who are into that kind of thing, so I thought I'd put the link out there for them.
But when I started to write this review, I thought, "You know, I really should actually watch a few of the videos." Just for research purposes of course. A few videos later and I was hooked. The 1.5 minute length is perfect. It's long to feel like you've gotten to "know" the person in the video but short enough to be ADD and watch a whole bunch of different videos in a row. I went from the woman who won a marathon 4 months after giving birth to the 18-year old guy who finished his 1st marathon sub 2:40 to the doctor who ran in honor of a patient suffering from ALS to the guy who was REALLY REALLY REALLY excited that he just finished Boston. About 5 videos in I realized that I'd watched 5 videos (I was planning to watch like... 2), and that even though they were Inspirational and Motivational, they were genuine and not saccharine. Watching a couple of these would definitely get you pumped up for a big race or even a though workout. My only complaint is that they don't have many interviews with women. However, they are actively interviewing people at races so ladies, if you see the WM film crew, stop and do an interview. We've gotta represent.
I have not been compensated in any way for my review (other than a shirt that I gave away because it didn't fit), but I honestly think the site is a neat idea*. It's Inspirational and Motivational for those of you who like that sort of thing, and it's interesting from an oral history perspective for those of you who will never admit to crying for a reason other than almost losing a toe to the dresser.
*If anyone with $$$ out there is listening, I'm not opposed to being compensated for... nearly anything that won't get me divorced or fired from my job. This ugly blog layout is not going to change itself!
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For further proof that I met the internet devil at the cross-roads at midnight see my interview here about running in Wisconsin. I should note that I actually have no desire to run a race with Daniel. I just couldn't come up with any other answer to that question. Who would I run a race with? Jesus? Probably would be against me trying to pass blind people. Kara Goucher? Probably couldn't run as slow as me even if we had run a race while she was actively in labor with her son. Usain Bolt? I don't really like chicken McNuggets. So sorry, D, you got thrown under the bus for that one.
