Why do runners look so awkward when they put nice close on?

The only thing cringe is that you think "clothes" is spelled "close."

Came here for this. I would worry less about how elites look dressed up and more about your spelling of words that my 8 year old nephew has a frim grip on.

$500 for a custom tailored suit at Indochino - a retailer that can be found in many large shopping malls.

Okay, I honestly laughed out loud. That's what I come to this site for!

90% of the time, it's that they are wearing off the rack clothing that's a normal fit. The sleeve doesn't break at the shoulder line because it's draping off of them, sweaters are baggy, they look like they are swimming in dress shirts. Most of these guys have no idea about their jacket size, don't know where seams are supposed to fall, and probably still aren't wearing the right sized pants. Poor fit has most everything to do with it.

On top of that, most men in their early 20's-30's feel like they have to have a statement item or try to dress things down with a pair of sneakers or something. I sit in meetings all day with guys that wear dress pants, long sleeve shirts, and then a pair of Jordan's and that makes them look like clowns. Nothing wrong with just going clean and classic with a well fitting suit.

Quirky regardless of clothes, so who cares.

Eliud Kipchoge looked pretty great when he was photographed for GQ.

As others have said, the problem is probably a combination of standard clothing not fitting well and guys not caring. It was only when I got married did I pay attention to how a suit looked on me instead of just getting a cheap deal.

Answer: American men with no sense of style and no swagger (except for the brothers of course).

Maybe you are quirky, balloon butt.

Maybe its a marathoner.

When i was a miler i looked skinny.

Now as a 400m i fill out all clothes nicely.

Women look fine. It's the men because they're trying to fit into clothing for normal folks. They have to find skinny fit type of clothing. You can find a ton of cheap stuff on Banana Republic for men. They even have some suits.

Hmm. I have also asked why sprinters are usually no good after college? Why are the sprinters at the reunions always fat?

I saw Ben Johnson promoting his fashion line, but he's not the kind of runner you're talking about.

Banana, GAP, Eddie Bauer is good, as is REI for some more active/outdoorsy stuff. I have never worn Patagonia though.

Being on the short side sometimes men's jeans/pants have to be tailored/hemmed. It's expensive but it is worth it.

Most college kids don't know how to dress. If you do you will easily stand out and attract women. The competition is not stiff unless it's in their pants.

but just weeks ago you were able to run sub-4 minute miles every day of the week

now you are a 400 metre runner. sub 45 every day of the week?

my guess:
Professional runners (except for the very top ones with 6 figure contracts) aren’t paid well enough to be able to afford clothes that fit well. They can’t really go to Nordstrom, the mall, etc and to go to a tailor to get clothes fitted with alterations, and pay the rent at the same time. Plus the lifestyle of running 110mpw means you’re not going out much so there’s no need to really dress up, except for extremely rare special occasions.

Coming out of Covid times means more zoom meetings over the last couple years which also means most people, even those with money, haven’t had to dress well for what feels/seems like at least a couple of years. The last time I went out dressed for New Years Eve was December 31, 2019.

The word has evolved - that's the frustration but also the beauty of the English language