A Constant and Faithful Running Companion

In the social sphere of my running life, (or perhaps in the running sphere of my social life), people, places, shoes, shirts, and shorts have come and gone over the past five or so years.  My running hat, however, was a constant.  From the time that I purchased it from Runner’s Corner in Orem, Utah, I ran with it everywhere.  It’s been on three or four marathons, two half marathons, eight or nine Ragnar Relays, two Ragnar Trail Relays, two Red Rock Relay races, and a number of various other races.  It’s been with me on miles and miles and miles of training runs.  My dad runs with this hat’s twin.  He’s been running with it for the same period of time and covered many, many miles.

What is the benefit of a good running hat?  First, it keeps the sun off your face, preventing a sunburned nose and protecting the eyes.  Second, it absorbs and wickers the sweat, keeping it out of your eyes.  The wicking of the sweat also helps to keep your head cool as the sweat evaporates.  Third, the amount of sweat soaked into the hat, at least for me, is a rewarding indicator of hard work.

Freely I admit that I did buy another running hat to wear on occasion, a bright neon green hat.  It wasn’t that I didn’t want to wear my white running hat with the Runner’s Corner logo, but that occasionally, after a week’s worth of runs, it needed to be washed.  At the request of my wife I even wore the neon green hat during a few races so that she could pick me out of the crowd a little more easily.  The white hat, however, remained my favorite, even as the band began to fray here and there.

This past September, as I suited up for a run, I grabbed my trusty Runnner’s Corner hat and the plastic clasp at the back of the hat broke.  The hat is now unwearable.  Never again will it grace my head on a run, emitting a lingering scent as I pass innocent pedestrians and bystanders.  I was devastated to a somewhat significant degree by the loss, enough so that I sat down for awhile contemplating my history with that hat…the good runs and the bad.

After a few minutes I moved on, donning the neon green hat for that days run in the 90-plus degree heat.  My sadness continued for a few days.  I thought about ordering a replacement hat from Runner’s Corner, asking them to ship it to me.  Looking at my calendar, I even counted down the days to my next expected trip to Utah.  Less than a week after my hat came apart, I was at the neighborhood park with family and friends to celebrate a milestone birthday.  A good friend gave me a gift wrapped in a bag.  Since I was cooking I set it aside to open later.  At the end of the party, after my friend had left, I opened the bag.  It was a shiny, new running hat.

To quote the famous Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the Places We’ll Go.”

New running companion with me on its first race.

See also:
Read about the hat's first race: Trails of Glory Debut-November 2015
Ogden Marathon 2013: The Experience and Lessons Learned
Ogden Marathon 2014: Oops, I Did It Again