One of my least favourite things to do is shop for bras. It’s up there with going to the dentist and getting my hair cut (I know a lot of people enjoy the latter but I just don’t get it).
So when I find a bra I like, I tend to bulk but and stick with it. Loyal or lazy, either way you’ll have to work hard to convince me to try something new.
When I first started running 8 years ago there was much less choice in this department. Seriously. “You young ‘uns don’t know how good you’ve got it. I remember when all this was fields – not a supportive sports bra that worked for a C Cup upwards to be seen!”
I used to run in a Marks and Spencer sports bra. At the time I thought it was pretty good and compared to what else was available, it was. I still have one of them because I’m a bit sentimental and can’t quite part with it. But then they changed the model I wore for the worst and made it all wrong so I had to shop around for a new bra. I don’t like to talk about that dark period in my life but, rest assured, after a few failed relationships with underwear, I came through it.
Today I have a couple of different bras that I run in, such is the variety available. Maybe my failure to commit to just one bra stems from a fear of getting let down like I did in the past – I like to keep my options open.
I run in the Ultimate Run Bra by Shock Absorber. It’s supportive and keeps my boobs in place. It comes in a few different colours and does what a bra needs to do while you’re running. The only downside to it is that it looks very much like a bra.
The Juno bra
I’ve also been running in a couple of Moving Comfort bras, namely the Juno and the Rebound Racer.
Again they keep my boobs from jiggling while I joggle, but they have a trump card – they don’t look obviously bra like. This might not be a big deal to many people but I’ll explain why it is to me.
Last summer I was running in the park on a really hot day – I wrote about it here. I was doing 1.5 mile efforts and got really hot. I did what I’d never done before and took my shirt off and just ran in my bra. Because it didn’t look that much like a bra, but more like a crop-top, I felt more confident.
This has since happened in the gym a few times. I live 400m from my gym and a few times this winter I’ve talked myself into speedwork when it’s cold or windy or raining by doing it on a treadmill. Only this then makes me get really hot and sweaty and I always forget this aspect, so sometimes I have to take my shirt off. But, ta-da, my ta-tas look like I’m wearing a crop top.
Obviously I should feel comfortable and confident running around in what the goddam hell I want, but that’s a whole other blog. If you’ve got any recommendations for bras, particularly in sizes D+, then pop them in the box below because that knowledge needs to be shared. There’s still women out there wearing two sports bras to run in – we can put a man on the moon, this shouldn’t be beyond science to sort out.
