Question for road racers: do you shower in the morning before a road race?

I like running my races funky. I usually wear an old pair of shorts with a butt stain. Thanks for asking.

Showering in the morning = less time for sleeping in before the race. Stay dirty LR.

Yes.
It’s part of the ritual and preparation.

Simple Simon meet a pie man going to the race, said the pie man to the racer did you shower? The racer said every morning, every night I shower because it Keeps a man, strong, healthy and wise. Jack and Jill went up the hill, Jill ran back down because Jack stunk like ass.

Actually, I sincerely doubt the people claiming they shower are women. As a woman, I would never shower the morning of an early race. Why? I have long hair, and it would take a good 20 minutes to dry it. And I don't want to run with wet hair, especially since I usually target goal races in cooler weather.

Thank you for the clarification!

Yes, of course one should shower. What else are you going to do while the espresso makes?

No shower. I prefer to intimidate my opponents with my brawny overnight musk.

I shower and shave before taxes.

Look good... Feel good... Race well.

It depends on the race.Two Oceans had a very nice set up where we showered after our warmup .It was in a hotel just off the start area, so our starting batch waited in the lobby before the race keeping nice and warm.

I get up, feed the dogs and chickens, brew a french press of coffee and eat a brown cinnamon poptart. take a poop, drive to race, jog around, take another poop. slam a red bull 15 minutes before. do a few strides. run mid 16 as a 52yr old and see what happens.

Races? Yes. I'm going to queue woth other people for a chip and bib, in a vest.

Training runs, no.

Why would you be smelling so bad in the morning that it offends people??

A hot morning shower warms the muscles and a clean epidermis helps with the aerodynamic flow of running.

Yeah, I don't get this. I consider myself a person that has a normal level of body odor. If I don't shower in the morning, which is just about every morning of my life, you miiiight smell me a tiny bit if you stick your nose up my butt or armpit. Otherwise no one will know. I slap on some deodorant and go to the office.

I have known some much stinkier people in my life. Some of them were just cursed with bad body odor. Others just had very bad hygiene practices and didn't know how to clean themselves.

What the h3ll do you do at night that makes you dirty? Perhaps your wife should take care of here intimate hygiene.

In the Alex Hutchinson boom "Endure" it talked about splashing water on your face as a way to wake up- water on the face activates the very beginnings of the "I'm drowning" reaction from your body. So yes, I do shower just because I like to think it helps my body wake up.

Nothing wrong with showering before hand. If it’s your morning routine before going for a run or just starting your day, then stay on routine. It would feel strange to not shower. Now, feeling like you’re going to smell and offend seems a little off.

I like to shower DURING races. It totally intimidates the competition. I keep a bottle of body wash in my shorts pocket and squeeze it on myself at the first water stop. Then instead of a cup, I take the water jug and pour it on myself.