I have a few hats – eleven of them to be exact. While this isn’t an absurd amount, it is certainly more than one person can wear in a reasonable amount of time. Unless, that is, that person has a near-daily reason to wear a hat. I almost never leave the house for a run without a ballcap. It’s a weird quirk where I feel a little exposed, naked without one. I don’t have a receding hairline or an unusually shaped head, I’ve just gotten used to running with a hat.
There are a few reasons why I always make sure I wear a hat when I’m leaving for a trip that will involve a few runs or when I’m on my way to the track. First, my hat is a thermoregulator. This is just a fancy term that means it helps me stay cool when it’s hot and stay warm when it’s cold. Obviously in sub-zero conditions a ballcap isn’t going to suffice for warmth, but where I live most of the year it doesn’t get that cold. And when it does, I drag myself to the indoor track or pull a beanie on over my ballcap.
When the weather gets hot in the summer, running with a ballcap helps keep me a little bit cooler. I try to wear lighter-colored hats to reflect the sunlight and keep my head cool. This also works the opposite way in the winter (wear dark to absorb the sunlight better). Perhaps more importantly, however, the hat’s headband catches sweat and keeps it from dripping into my eyes while I run.
One of the best things about wearing a hat on a sunny day is that it keeps the sun out of your eyes. Sunglasses help too, but a hat can directly block sunlight that creeps through the edges of your lenses. I’m particularly sensitive to bright light so this is a huge help.
Of course, besides the fact that it just feels wrong at this point to run without a hat – that incessant feeling that I’m missing something essential – I just like how it looks. Running with a ballcap has become a small part of my personal identity as a runner. It’s not really unique – there are countless runners who do the exact same thing – but it’s one thing that helps me feel like me when I’m running. Everyone has one or two things they hold on to (whether or not they realize it) that make them feel like themselves. For some people it’s the way they tie their shoes and for others it’s the style of shirt they wear on a run. For me it’s wearing one of my eleven ballcaps, sweat stained and sun faded, for a few miles every day.
Do you wear a hat when you run? What’s your one “thing” that helps you feel like you on a run?
If you liked this article, check out: 50k is the New Marathon.
Quick question from your fan base on the topic of hats: Do you find that you need to wash your hat each time after wearing it for a run?
Personally I find I need to wash a hat after about 5-10 runs. Really it depends on how sweaty you get; I judge it by the salt marks (The blue hat in the picture is due for a wash). I just do soap and water in the sink and it comes right out.