An Accidental Athlete: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Middle Age by John "the Penguin" Bingham

Author:John "the Penguin" Bingham [Bingham, John "the Penguin"]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Autobiography, Biography, Personal Memoirs, Running & Jogging, Sports, Recreation
ISBN: 9781934030738
Google: i4j6tgAACAAJ
Amazon: 1934030732
Publisher: VeloPress
Published: 2011-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

NINE

COLLECTING T-SHIRTS

The biggest problem I had as an adult-onset athlete was that my closets weren’t big enough to hold all the race t-shirts I was collecting. Every race gave out t-shirts, mostly cotton in the early years and technical shirts later on. Every shirt had a story, and none could simply be given away or—dare I say it—thrown away.

Some shirts, of course, meant more because the events themselves meant more. The long-sleeved cotton t-shirt from my first half-Ironman triathlon was reserved for special occasions such as marathon expos. When I wore it everyone knew, or I hoped everyone knew, that I wasn’t just a marathoner; I was also a triathlete.

The shirts came to define me as an athlete as much as the training did. Once I had a decent collection of t-shirts I could decide who I wanted to be that day, or what kind of athlete I wanted other people to think I was that day. If I was feeling like a long-distance athlete, I might drag out my Marine Corps Marathon finisher’s shirt. If I was feeling a need to connect with other runners around me, I might drag out one of my favorite local race t-shirts, like the one from the Franklin Classic or the Tennessee Park Series.

What the shirts did, as much as anything, was identify me as a part of a community. I was a runner. I belonged. I’m a big motor sports fan—I like NASCAR, IndyCars, Formula 1, you name it. I understood why someone would wear a t-shirt with the number or image of his or her favorite driving personality emblazoned on the back. Like me, they wanted to belong.

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