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It was the great, brash
figurehead of American distance running Steve Prefontaine whom once said, “To
pay anything more than the least is to sacrifice the thrift.” With this quote
as a snippet of inspiration and a slew of empirical observations that this
author has made, an all-too-conspicuous heap of undeniable correlations have
revealed direct and pointed relationships between distance running and thrift
stores. The aforementioned heap has become, since its inaugural recognition,
too obnoxious for this author to ignore and has stirred him from mere
observation to act through compiling this evidence in the form that you are
currently witnessing. And it will become clear to all attentive readers of this
cogent essay that said correlations maybe somewhat qualitatively spurious, but
the sheer number of correlations should more than compensate for the tottering
of each individual correlation; a tottering that is commonly induced by the
pompous winds of sensibility. But do not fear good reader, though the yarn
maybe weak in its unrefined state, the tapestry that this author is about to
weave upon this steady loom will produce an art that is the acme of both beauty
and durability.
At the start,
however, I must defend thrift store shopping against those who deem themselves
“to cool for school.” There are two types of naysayers who believe their absence
from school is warranted by a self-declared importance that pulls them above the
rabble. The first type consists of those who look down their surgery-molded
noses at folks who purchase articles that have cloaked other unknown beings.
The second type involves those who claim that donning the apparel of others only
takes people further from themselves. The former do not believe in the
reincarnation of clothes, and would rather not drive on streets previously used
by anyone else either. These people are lost in their own milieu of pageantry
and are ever distracted by their insatiable thirst for stealing from the
commoner. They pose no threat to the thrifting community however, and actually
support it by forcing some to buy cheaper clothes. The legitimate threat is
planted by the latter group. They preach individuality until they loose their
voice, and see no difference in one who buys a shirt that says ‘American Eagle
Crew Team’ on it and a thrift store shirt that also claims that the second
purchaser is something they are not. This is a tricky claim to denounce, but in
the end it does not hold up. For one thing, the mass production of the ‘AE’
shirt renders it the lessor of the two. All who belong to the imaginary “crew
team” are only stroking to the call of the fascist coxswain that is popular
fashion. And the rowing is towards a finish line that creates a cookie-cutter
culture and the furthering the social stratification that is strangling of the
nation. Hopefully such uninspired wear does not find its way into thrift stores
in years to come, and instead slowly rots in landfills alongside the collection
of the other collective failures of humankind. This author believes that a
simple anecdote will put this issue with the second type of naysayer to its
eternal rest.
A friend of this author was
walking to class at a university that wishes to remain anonymous, when he
noticed a gangly individual walking the other way with an Abercrombie All-County
Boxing Club shirt on. And since this author’s friend happened to be displaying
an actual Golden Gloves Boxing shirt that he recently procured at thrift store,
the two were destined for a showdown. They agreed to go three rounds and
cleared off an area for the fight. When the first bell sounded however, the
thriftier fellow, in a move that even Mike Tyson would deem unorthodox in a
boxing match, kicked the other guy in the junk and continued walking to class.
Left on the ground, the defeated lad writhed in nausea and pain. The friend got
his below the belt warning, and the other guy received a warning of a different
nature. The moral of the story is that neither of them knew how to box, but one
of them had the better attitude and instincts.
Another reason
for one to choose thrift stores over other options is the support of the
Salvation Army. This group is an unheralded force of great potential magnitude
that could be called into action at any time. If the other lines of defense
like the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and the
Kiwanas and Rotary Clubs all get wiped out in defending the country, the
Salvation Army would fill the hole like a rubber stopper. The Salvation Army
would allow for the protection and unspeakable benefits of a fierce military
steeped in Christian values and beliefs to travel the world and annihilate other
races and religions. (Please disregard the antecedent paragraph.)
Up to this
point general reasons why all people should be attracted to thrift have been
spelled out, but now the heart of this topic will reveal itself. Both running
and thrifting can easily be considered a way of life, and for most runners the
two ways overlap each other to create a symbiotic relationship where each one
scratches the other one’s back. In running terms the two are entwined in a
constant partner stretch or are taking turns leading the race.
The truth of
the connection between running and thrifting is many faceted, and for one to
purport to know the whole of the junction would be an employment of foolish
big-headedness and avaricious, unwarranted intellectualism to its highest, most
odious degree. And so some of the connection must be answered with a simple
shrug of the shoulders. With running there is a certain amount of mystique
involved. Even the greatest and most dedicated runners have had to pause for
consideration of why they do what they do. And if those in the most inner
circle of running ask this question, those who have never toed a starting line
surely are left behind in answering the mystical query of what the deal is with
running. The same can be said for thrifting. With it too, runners are drawn to
it like moths to a street lamp, accompanied by an inexpressible beauty and
desire and pushed by a promise of a fruition much like that of an addict’s fix.
First of all, a
reliable study was recently published in a well-respected magazine that showed a
definite and strong evidence that running makes one more intelligent. Without
getting into the nitty-gritty and valid science behind this connection, it is
the increased blood flow to the brain stimulated by running that is the cause of
greater intelligence. Running creates a veritable, dramatic explosion of
reasoning capabilities, but more importantly it also propagates a bizarre sense
of humor in runners that is accented by an appreciation for the obscure and
absurd. It is this combination of effects that can be seen to account for the
types of thrifty purchases made by runners. Items sometimes characterize the
latter of the discussed mental byproducts of running. This type of purchase
abounds in ridiculousness and humor, and is only worn as a joke or to make
others feel uncomfortable, which may be part of the joke. Another type of
purchase is an example of the former mental byproduct of running. These clothes
are legitimate, viable clothing options with an eye towards style and are
reasonable and useful in demeanor. A third type is a combination of the two
byproducts and is indeterminate as to the real telos or goal of the purchase.
They are partly a joke and partly practical, but are wholly part of the cuisine
of garments worn by those whose running causes them to have so much blood raging
through their brain.
Another
correlation results from the previously communicated mystique of running. Those
who run, because they do something that is never understood by those who do not
take part, are automatically placed into something like a club. They are
knowers of a secret that others cannot fathom even if it is explained to them.
This brings about a confidence that follows a runner throughout all activities.
And it is exactly this confidence that enables one to wear almost anything.
According to many famous clothing designers the most important part of any
“get-up” is being confident with what you are wearing. In fact Gianni Versace
once said to a roomful of poorly dressed fashion critics, “Methinks confidence
is what makes the look and stuff.” One can be stylish without being fashionable
if they exude the self-assurance that running brings. Others, upon seeing a
runner wearing something a little to the left of normal, are left only to think
that since it is worn with such visible certainty, there must be something that
that person knows that they and others do not.
The fact that
running is usually done with little clothing on and sometimes with uniform
clothing on also contributes to the thrifting done by runners. It fosters a
desire for runners to make each article of wear count when actually applying the
normal amount of body coverings. Thrift stores provide that inlet for clothes
that rear back from unimaginativeness and allow a statement of liveliness to be
made. The repetitive aspect that some associate with distance running may lead
to such reasons for thrifting as well. It also allows for runners to make some
of the best finds when they are perusing the many racks and racks of endless
possibility within and good thrift store. For distance running creates a drive
that can only come from forcing one’s body to continue on through miles of pain
that could be avoided easily by a weaker will that loses sight of the end
result. Also all the time spent on the roads and trails each day tends to make
the scenery lose some of its luster due to the many journeys down the same
path. This steers the runner to start gazing more deliberately at the moving
habitat that they have chosen to escort them on each run. Wondrous things that
had gone previously unnoticed reveal themselves and runners, by developing such
an acute eye, discover a world of needles where most only see hay. Both the
drive and acute eyesight that distance running cultivates makes runners the most
adept thrifters to ever court a good deal. For it is a well known fact among
those in the thrifting community that there is often a lot of junk getting in
the way of a good purchase. Many times there are hundreds of bad options for
every gem, and it can take a runner’s diligence and good eye to search out and
reel in a good item of thrift.
Besides being
everything that great clothing can be, thrift store purchases can also serve as
mile markers for the memory. They can remind you of places been and good times
spent. This is especially meaningful for runners who frequent thrift stores
when traveling to big meets and races. One can always remember the location
they were at and the race they were journeying to when a great piece of thrift
is accumulated. And it provides a great opportunity to explore indigenous items
of thrift that are found only in certain environs of the country and world.
This is made uncannily easy for this author and those on his team because every
time the team bus stops there happens to be a thrift store within a reasonable
distance for bipeds like themselves to leisurely traverse to and patronize.
Some would simply pass this off as coincidence without meaning, but the
serendipity hereby exampled must come with a cause. It seems that although this
author has only recently become aware of the bond between distance running and
thrifting, a more powerful force than any humans can concoct, has been in the
know and has promoted the innate bond since the first clothes were sold for a
second time. And with happenings like those mentioned above, it is becoming
increasingly clear that the issue at hand is much larger than just running and
thrifting. It is cosmic in scale and yet so intimate in the heart of each
individual runner.
When compared
to other sports at the high school and collegiate levels, running mostly
receives second-hand treatment from both the respective administrations in
charge and the general public. After so many instances of such treatment it is
only logical that runners would be attracted to second-hand clothing, for like
things often seek each other out. This could sound like quite a defeatist
statement to make, and the situation even necessitates this type of commentary.
But out of the ashes of this poor treatment a beautiful, blooming flower has
emerged; the proverbial lemons have been turned into the proverbial lemonade.
The thrifting mentality could have been the bane of running, but instead has
become the boon. And while the second-hand treatment is being warred against,
the second-hand clothes are keeping the soldiers warm and looking good.
Yet another
connection springs from the knowledge that a common pool for thrift items is the
clothing of people who died before they had the opportunity to wear out all of
their clothes. So it is possible that a person could have died in the very
shirt or pants that one could purchase at a thrift store. This close proximity
to death is something all runners can appreciate. An attachment like this is
both reflective of how much a tough workout is like a near-death experience and
how death can be viewed as a sort of finish line. It is no rarity for runners
to push themselves to such a level that death is either nigh or would be a
considerable, enviable alternative to the pain felt. A dead person’s clothing
also is a reminder of the finish line we are always running to, it and motivates
the type of difficult training required to finish having raced well. Evidence
of a runner’s love of death is also found on this very website (http://www.geocities.com/runnin4tay5000/)
under the “Things we like, Things we hate” link. It is refreshing to think that
people can live on after their death through others who wear their old clothes.
Some hardcore thrifters have likened it to organ donation, the gift of life.
A fiscal
correlation between running and thrifting is developed by the amount of food
entailed in the proper nourishment of a runner and the price and number of shoes
needed to sustain injury-free running and racing. Judging by the rail-like
qualities of a runner’s physique, one would assume that either the specimen had
just been freed from a concentration camp or that anorexia had consumed them.
Both of these assessments would most likely be false, as it is quite deceiving
how much food a runner can eat. Most people are unaware of how much can be
spent of feeding one who runs. Also for those who put on many miles, new shoes
have to be purchased quite often if injuries are to be averted. The many
different shoes needed for different races also need to be figured in to the
tail of the tape. All of the expense incurred in running is offset, however, by
the cheapness of the clothes that all runners love to buy. This is a prime
example of the symbiosis of running and thrifting where the two institutions
complement each other.
The final
correlation between high mileage and low-priced clothing is the one that affirms
the main title of this essay. Young runners across this nation are purchasing
clothes that not only are out of date but that come from other people as well.
And by doing this they are similarly connecting with history and with the
community. Meanwhile, American distance running has been blatantly down from
where it was in the glory years of the 1970’s. But now some are saying that it
is on the rebound. Young, promising runners are making some noise and are
grabbing attention on the world scene. Through buying old clothes and
especially old running clothes at thrift stores, runners are hearkening back to
the glory years of American distance running in order to find ways to bring
glory to the years at hand. This mindset may prove to be the impetus of
regeneration and resurrection of American distance running. Remembering the
proud history may help to instill a sense of the successful tradition as a
foundation that will breed future successes. Young runners are currently
connecting with the past for humans are nothing with out their history, but they
are not living in it. They keep running ahead with knowledge of what each
previous step has allowed for in the next. They are connecting with others, for
humans are nothing with out other humans, but they are distinguishing
themselves. They are making personal, individual strides with the knowledge
that we are all in this together. And so, in a widespread costuming that
exhibits respect for what has come before and a hope for the future, runners
cloak themselves with other people’s garments of previous days even as they set
themselves apart from the static that surrounds them and create new histories in
forging ahead another mile, another day, another cheap T-shirt.
