Shorts Roundup, Part 2 (or, The One Where I Eat Some Crow)

Back in June, I won a See Jane Run gift certificate at this race & decided to spend it on a pricey pair of running shorts that I would never shell out my own money for, just to see whether more expensive = more comfortable / generally better. These were the shorts I was wearing two weekends ago on my magical chafe-free sixteen miler. Just to see if it was a fluke or not, I wore them again for last Sunday's eighteen miler.

And, lo & behold, I returned with nary a skin cell out of place.

I did mention how this never, ever happens, right? Do you have *any idea* how nice it is to get in the shower after a long run & not have to grit your teeth through five minutes of excruciating stinging while you wait for the water to rinse the sweat off of your skin & out of several open wounds? Because over the last few years, I've basically just gotten used to that. (It's also part of why I dread/avoid long runs.)

Apparently it's possible for me to not have to go through that every freaking Sunday.

Friends, I give you the uber-magical, chafe-defying Oiselle Roga Short.

At the risk of sounding like Oiselle is compensating me for this post in some way (sadly no), let me also tell you how thrilled I am with the zipper pocket on the right hip/butt cheek. While it's not an enormous pocket, the material is stretchy enough to fit at least four gels & maybe even five if you really work at it. I mean I'm not claiming you won't look like you have a giant butt tumor, but fitting all the gels in that pocket on my 18-miler meant I could devote my precious spibelt space to my phone, keys, Nuun tabs, & debit / Clipper cards.

Now, I am not ready to concede that every $40+ item of running clothes is automatically superior to cheaper duds. But I will admit that there are clearly cases where you're truly paying for real value & better function and not just for a fancy "me too" brand. I'll admit that I may have found my marathon shorts.