I was hanging out with my little Brother (Big Brother Big Sisters of America) this weekend at the park when he asked me why road bike tires were thinner than mountain bike tires.  Instead of telling him the obvious, simple answer; that the terrain the bike is made for riding on dictates the type of tire, I decided to explain the concept of aerodynamics to him.  I’m not sure if he totally got it.  Maybe the next time it comes up.

Then today I did a 12 mile run, traveling 6 miles out and 6 miles back.  I was feeling fine the whole run, but when I turned around I noticed a somewhat strong wind coming at me.  I never noticed it when it was to my back.  You never really notice the wind until you are going against it.  Why is it that when running fast we attribute our fast speed to ourselves and not the wind; then when we turn around, we  blame the wind for us running slower?  I guess the answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind.  The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Wind resistance is created when an irregular object breaks the air around it, forcing the air to separate upon hitting the object.  A study was done by Kyle, CR and Caiozzo, VJ named, “The effect of athletic clothing aerodynamics upon running speed” in which they found that it is possible to improve a runner’s aerodynamics anywhere from .5% to 6%.  That could be a substantial amount of improvement.  I know what you are thinking, ‘How can I combat something that I can’t even see?!’  With commitment my friend.

First you need to cut your hair.  Hair gives the most resistance to wind than anything other part of your body.  If you are a male, shave it tight.  If you are a balding male holding on to half a head of hair, then shave it bald, it looks cooler.  If you are a female, then shave it.  Or put it in a ponytail or something.  I don’t know.  I do know that if you are really serious about running you will shave the rest of your body hair as well:  eyebrows, legs, armpits; anything with hair.  No.  You won’t look weird; you’ll look seriously awesome!

Next you need to wear tight fitting clothing.  Men need to be careful doing this.  Not all men are attractive when wearing form fitting clothes.  Consult a friend or relative before attempting to reduce your aerodynamics with clothing if you are a male.  The point is simple though, whether you are male or female, the less baggy clothes you have flopping around, the more wind will flow right past you; not slowing you down a bit.  Wear a “skinsuit” to reduce the most direct friction from the wind.  We don’t want no friction.

Although body hair and clothing are the two main items that give you most wind resistance there are other things you can do while running to combat the wind.  For instance, you can run with your head down, or not move your arms, keeping them within your body.  You can also run sideways.  It’s not as ridiculous as you think.  Kyle and Caiozzo’s study also said that a 2% improved aerodynamics shaved .01 second on 100m and 5.7 seconds for a marathon.  Now that’s substantial science!

No it’s not.  While I’m all for you giving yourself the best equipment and shoes to help you attain your goals, I just personally would rather make up that 5.7 seconds with guts while looking cool doing it.  Probably wearing a seriousrunning.com shirt for optimal coolness.  Then everyone will know you’re a serious runner!