Why do some male runners shave their legs?

It is another low self esteem and gay type deal.

because they are homosexuals

Yeah, they are definitely gay. I guess they don't want to brush up against the hair on their legs when they drop the soap in the community showers. That and they look a lot better cross-dressing with smooth legs. I'm guessing any imaginary value-added to running is not their primary motive.

In all seriousness though, it is pretty gay looking. It makes sense for biking (helping with road rash if you spill) and swimming (streamlining), but not running.

They want to appear lighter so that their coach doesn't say anything about their weight.

Because they love attention...they want people to look and stare..I do triathlons as well..there is no need for a age grouper to shave legs..its more of the look at me ..look at me..notice me crowd...

What is really funny is that Jason shaves his legs but the Asian women he does do not! Ha hahahahaha

how bout this you hair pride gross asses,

the chicks dig it. and the chicks who don't don't like runners anyway.

i bet you'll take pride in your chest and back hair, two things most women hate, and if they don't it's cuz their tits are hairier than their fat asses.

Hey Mr. Chest,

I've noticed that more often than not the thick neck weight lifter type guys at the gym shave their legs, their chests, their arms; everything. They also have a tendency to spend a lot of time on tanning beds and rubbing baby oil on eachother while posing in front of full length mirrors in tight spandex. Can you explain this bizarre behavior for us please.

If you're a geeky, colicky, DyeStat 20:53 5K pre-adolescent poser, shaving one's legs is a cool thing to do!

But those lame "should I shave my legs" threads really belong only on DyeStat. steveu really enjoys them.

for a serious response...

I shave my legs primarily to aid in therapy. massages/active release are better without hiar on your legs. you don't have the hair being pulled out and it is easier for the therapist to work.

other benefits: legs don't itch when wearing tights, many girls like it

about the swimming comment: i've been told by swimmers that the shaving isn't for streamlining, it's for the sensationwhen they jump in the water. it's a psychological thing: they "feel" faster so they work harder...

bald wrote:

you hair pride gross asses

This sentence fragment has me completely puzzled. Are there some words missing or something?

yes, anyone who has hairy legs and has gone to receive some therapy massage knows the pain that leads ahead. it is no wonder that one shaves their legs!!! it is intense. rock.

Well for triathletes it is a spill-over from cycling where guys have shaved for years. In cycling it is part of the culture and is symbolic of a level of committment and dedication to athletics. Now runners on the other hand...well, who among us gets massage enough to justify shaving?? so it is vanity pure and simple....they like to see muscle definition and trainig results.

You are confusing narcissism with homsexuality. there are some definite common features between the two. narcissism entails a person getting off or getting pleasure from looking at themselves. this is the problem a runner who shaves has. It does not mean he is attracted to other males and wishes for anal sex or oral sex from a man. This is what a homosexual wants. don't be a rube.

Shaving your legs does very little for swimmers. All it really does is remove the dead skin from your body so your nerve endings are a little more snappy and you "feel cool" in the water. More mental than anything, but sometimes that helps, so who cares if runners do it. Maybe it makes them feel better mentally somehow, and we all know how big the mental aspect to running is.

I saw a study once that shaving ones legs saves 1 second every 25 miles. The study was done on ultra runners although I don't know how??? So in a marathon you would save 1.+ seconds! What a deal! Definitely worth all the itching.

on a hot day, i would think it could be worth more than 1 second/mile. the original function of hair was for warmth. if it's already warm, why add to that ??

i know a guy who shaves his whole body or he would look like sasquatch. he says it's like wearing a wool sweater all year long if he doesn't do it.

I do it. Feels pretty good. I also get a fair amount of massages, and I can't imagine how painful that would be if I had hairy legs.

One of my biking friends told me that bikers shave their legs so when they bail off the bike and need bandages to cover up their cuts, the tape doesn't rip hair off their legs.

GoHoos wrote:

who among us gets massage enough to justify shaving??

i would bet many ppl do. especially those who are at a half decent university that has some sort of therapy support for its athletes.