Running in the rain
New material aims to keep outdoor enthusiasts dry
My dog just stared at me from inside her house. “Yeah, I know. It’s raining,” I told her as I passed by the backyard fence.
But I had been running indoors most of the winter. And rain or no rain, with the temperature finally climbing above freezing last Saturday morning, I was eager to get outside for a long run.
The misty tingle on my face and the cool breeze made it pleasant. It was great. I felt like a kid as I splashed through a puddle.
Then the mist and drizzle started fogging up my glasses. My cotton sweats were getting sticky and sopping up the water.
And my cold, wet right foot was telling me to stay out of any more potholes.
Slogging ahead, I started thinking about getting some rain-repellent running gear.
Keeping dry
“I’m not a big believer in running in the rain,” Dick Wilson told me.
I had gone to Wilson, who works part time at Francis Sporting Goods in downtown Lawrence, in hopes he could give me some good tips about the latest running gear.
The 73-year-old competitive runner, who logs five to six miles a day — and another 10 or so on Saturdays — ran track at Kansas University from 1950 to 1954.
Like me, he also had been out last Saturday.
“It was misty and a very light, light rain,” he said, referring to his log book. He even knew the temperature was 40 degrees that day.
Unlike me, he was wearing the right clothes for the weather — a long-sleeve CoolMax shirt, a lightweight pair of water-resistant pants and a water-resistant windbreaker.
Dick Wilson, an avid runner, sports Nike's breathable running top and pants.
“I don’t like running in the rain, getting soaking wet, when there are other alternatives, like running inside on a treadmill,” Wilson said. “If it’s a little drizzle, it’s no big deal.”
Microscopic pores
It’s no big deal these days to get out in a light rain because of synthetic materials that allow excess body heat and perspiration out, but don’t let the rain and the cold in.
Wilson said all the major shoe companies made water-resistant running apparel, including Nike, New Balance and Asics.
Many use a durable water-repellent finish (or DWR), which is a coating that makes water roll off in beads.
I found that several companies have marketed these types of repellent fabrics for rain shells. Among them are Columbia Sportswear, Omni-Tech Ceramic and Lowe Triple Point Ceramic.
Under Armour also has a water-resistant shell, Wilson said.
If you want to go beyond a protective outer rain shell, you might consider a jacket with a “breathable” membrane laminated to the outer shell.
Gore-Tex fabrics use a membrane from the polymer ePTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene).
Dick Wilson on what he wears when running on cold mornings
New Balance“A single square inch of the Gore-Tex membrane contains 9 billion microscopic pores — each 20,000 times smaller than a raindrop but 700 times larger than a molecule of water vapor — so while water can’t pass through the fabric, perspiration can,” the company says.
Wicking it away
A two-layer Gore-Tex fabric would have a shell laminated to the membrane. A three-layer would have a shell on the outside, then the membrane, then a knit fabric on the inside.
The inner fabric is designed to “wick away” perspiration, the middle layer traps air and provides insulation and the outer layer provides protection from the weather.
W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. recently announced it had come out with a soft-shell garment that provided the same protection of the company’s three-layer Gore-Tex fabric, combined with a softer, warmer feel.
Other waterproof/breathable fabrics are REI Elements, from the REI outdoor outfitters and Marmot Mountain Works’ MemBrain.
Maximum comfort
Another breathable synthetic product many runners use is DuPont’s CoolMax system.
“CoolMax has been specifically engineered to keep you dry and comfortable through proprietary four-channel fibers developed by DuPont. When the body perspires, CoolMax moves moisture quickly away from the skin to the outer layer of the fabric,” the company says.
Wilson said he liked to wear a CoolMax turtleneck or mock turtleneck shirt underneath a shell in colder weather.
He said different vendors offered similar products.
Adidas has ClimaCool, New Balance has Moisture Management, Nike’s is Dri-Fit and Under Armour has a Moisture Transport System, with categories for warm weather, cold weather and all-season apparel.
“Basically they all do the same thing — they wick away the moisture from your skin,” Wilson said.
Fur-Tex?
The good news was that the mist had stopped. I didn’t need to wipe my glasses any more. But the wind was making my ears wet and cold, even under my soaked sweatshirt hood.
I was breathing hard as I ran up the last hill, feeling soaked and heavy. My dog heard me.
She slowly emerged from her dog house and stared up at me. Unlike me, she was dry.
Over thousands of years of evolution and breeding, Chows have developed a thick, long fur to keep out the elements — and apparently the sense to stay out of the rain.
I went inside to get out of my wet clothes, glad that dogs haven’t yet developed the ability to smirk.