Boston Marathon jacket etiquette

Slick - Thank you! Last year I posted that adidas should create a "legacy" line of Boston stuff without the date printed on it. My last one was back in the '90s and that stuff is either worn out or doesn't fit anymore. There is a huge market of Boston veterans that this would appeal to!

The same logic as NBN bags and NXN jackets in highschool.

If you wear one to a race, you better freaking win

Congrats on qualifying!

I have never bought the jacket, although I wish I had one from 2002, the first year I ran Boston.

Buy the jacket, but put it in your closet for a decade. It will be cool in about 2028.

Donate the money saved to a charity or buy something actually useful to you.

Wearing a jacket that basically says "I finished 26 miles" might impress your mom. Finishing a marathon is only just above the skill required to breathe tho.

Why do you need a jacket - especially one that will elicit such an annoying level of attention - to symbolize your achievement? Doesn't that situation seem weird to you? Isn't the accomplishment by itself inherently sufficient in your mind?

Jack-on wrote:

Why do you need a jacket - especially one that will elicit such an annoying level of attention - to symbolize your achievement? Doesn't that situation seem weird to you? Isn't the accomplishment by itself inherently sufficient in your mind?

No. No! No!!!

What kind of jackassery mindset is that? This is the day and age of look at me, look at me! It's not just for me. It's my 817 Facebook friends and my 28 Twitter followers and my 11 Instagram friends. They have to know I did a marathon and how else are they going to know if I don't post about it?

RvaRunner wrote:

[quote]Jack-on wrote:

Why do you need a jacket - especially one that will elicit such an annoying level of attention - to symbolize your achievement? Doesn't that situation seem weird to you? Isn't the accomplishment by itself inherently sufficient in your mind?

No. No! No!!!

What kind of jackassery mindset is that? This is the day and age of look at me, look at me! It's not just for me. It's my 817 Facebook friends and my 28 Twitter followers and my 11 Instagram friends. They have to know I did a marathon and how else are they going to know if I don't post about it?[/quot

Here's the dilly yo, I don't use Facebook never have never will. But I earned that dam coat and wear it with pride, if you don't like it you can kiss my white pimple ass. And for the record I used to smoke and was a proud card carrying member of the NRA. Oh and I voted for my man Trumpy.

IMHO, the 2013 jackets were the best. Actual BAA colors. Went back in 2014 and didn't see the point with a neon orange one.

http://www.runnersworld.com/sites/runnersworld.com/files/styles/slideshow-desktop/public/2013-celeb-jack.jpg

This will be my third marathon and I will likely buy the jacket. I won't be buying it for the attention, but rather as a keepsake to remind me of the event.

I have a nice pullover from my first marathon in NYC in 2014 that is comfortable and gets semi-regular use. Every time I pull it out, I think about running down 4th Avenue in Brooklyn and how good I felt that day (until I didn't).

I regret not getting a better keepsake from my next marathon in Chicago.

I did qualify my intent to buy the jacket with a "likely" because I intend to wait until after the race to see how I do. If something goes wrong, and I blow up or DNF, I am not sure that I will want to spend $110 to be reminded of that.

When I ran Boston a couple of times in the 80's, I never gave a thought to buying the jacket. (Did they even have them back then?) Several years ago someone gave me a Boston Marathon jacket (my brother, I think). It's for a different year than the ones I ran.

What's the etiquette on wearing that? I've never worn it. It's been hanging in my closet. I was thinking about donating it to charity, but I was afraid I would see some homeless guy in my neighborhood walking around with a Boston jacket.

A thread like this really illustrates how small and miserable some of you are.

The majority of the world's population doesn't even register a reaction if they see a jacket of any kind. The only people worried about it are the losers here, yet they feel compelled to knock a guy for buying a personal momento of a race.

I wasn't really planning to buy the jacket, but in the end I did (I'm sure I was swayed by the fact that they were blue that year). And now here we are a number of years later and I've never worn it.

I don't begrudge anyone wearing their Boston jacket, and I don't think qualifying for Boston is something to look down on, but to me the jackets are a little obnoxious. I do wear my over-priced jacket from the NYC marathon occasionally, but it has the benefit of being more functional and with small embroidered logos that don't scream "look at me!".

Jack-on wrote:

Why do you need a jacket - especially one that will elicit such an annoying level of attention - to symbolize your achievement? Doesn't that situation seem weird to you? Isn't the accomplishment by itself inherently sufficient in your mind?

What's also weird is taking the time to write the above on an anonymous online message board. Doesn't this situation seem weird to you? Does anyone care what you think? Aren't your thoughts inherently sufficient in your own mind? Why do you need to go to an online message board for validation?

OverTheHillAndBackAgain wrote:

Jack-on wrote:

Why do you need a jacket - especially one that will elicit such an annoying level of attention - to symbolize your achievement? Doesn't that situation seem weird to you? Isn't the accomplishment by itself inherently sufficient in your mind?

What's also weird is taking the time to write the above on an anonymous online message board. Doesn't this situation seem weird to you? Does anyone care what you think? Aren't your thoughts inherently sufficient in your own mind? Why do you need to go to an online message board for validation?

Well done sir, that should wrap this mess of a thread up

with that logic there'd be no forums for you to have posted that juvenile reply.

Bottom line to the OP, if you want a Boston jacket then buy one and make no apologies. Just know that you'll look like a dork if you wear it at certain times. Maybe you don't care and that's fine too. It is, however, reality, so be aware.

RvaRunner wrote:

Jack-on wrote:

Why do you need a jacket - especially one that will elicit such an annoying level of attention - to symbolize your achievement? Doesn't that situation seem weird to you? Isn't the accomplishment by itself inherently sufficient in your mind?

No. No! No!!!

What kind of jackassery mindset is that? This is the day and age of look at me, look at me! It's not just for me. It's my 817 Facebook friends and my 28 Twitter followers and my 11 Instagram friends. They have to know I did a marathon and how else are they going to know if I don't post about it?

Exactly. If unsure what the "look at me" person looks like, see; Dave Ross on FB. Wow. This dude is really impressed with himself.

Just left Faneuil Hall, at least 1 in 10 of the folks are wearing one. Get down there and wear it proud.

MadOnTheInternet wrote:

I've got singlets from 5 colleges along the east coast and wear them during big group runs with my club when everyone feels goofy. Same rules will apply to my Boston Jacket. Is sub 2:40 enough for a running tattoo?

no

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

I'd wait until about September when TJ Maxx gets a fresh batch of them from adidas and they will be $24.99. Just gotta find the right TJ Maxx.

This is exactly what my friend in Boston told me last night when I said I don't buy the $110 jacket. She said she'll get me one at TJ Maxx