Review: Running Skirts Mums in Bloom Athletic Skirt

So pretty! And, yes, I've tidied my room since then!

I’ll admit it, I’m a Skirt Sports girl, but when Schwaggle had a deal for free shipping on discounted Running Skirts, I had a poke of the website. And I found that a skirt I’d already fallen in love with on several other blogs was on sale! Bingo! I ordered the size that corresponded to the measurements for my usual size over on Skirt Sports.

First of all, I think this is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful skirt. I LOVE all of the colors and am a fan of how I think it can go with a really, really wide variety of tops (my other skirts are best worn with pink…and there are just days when I don’t want to wear pink!). Before I headed out, I sent my best friend/fashion advisor the photo above to show her and gush that this might be a great outfit for the marathon. She approved!*

Second, it’s really comfy. The shorties felt just a bit looser than my other running skirts, which felt kind of nice (I didn’t realize that this was actually going to be a big problem). There’s an extra band of fabric at the waist on the Running Skirt, compared to a Skirt Sports skirt, which is actually kind of nice for a tummy buffer and for general “will it stay up?” issues – I really wish Skirt Sports would find a way to put a drawstring in their skirts for a little extra insurance and have thought about having one added to my skirts. (edit: apparently I'm not the only person with this problem & they're in the process of adding drawstrings to their line now!)

Alas, I had some serious problems on the run itself. The comfortably loose shorties rode up really badly when I was running and it got pretty painful from a chaffing standpoint (yes, I have chub rub; I’ll admit it). I had to stop pretty frequently to pull them down and/or apply more body glide (thank goodness I had it with me, just in cases). I found that the shorts would mostly stay in place if I pulled the whole skirt down so that it would sit low on my hips. I later discovered (in the shower, of course) that this led to a whole different area of painful chaffing (backside-ish). Ow! (If you’re wondering, I think there’s a distinct chance that these issues also contributed to making my 19 miler less fun than it could have been, otherwise. Also, yes - trying out a new outfit on a really long run was a total rookie mistake.)

So, I e-mailed the customer service on Monday to ask if there was some way I’d accidentally gotten the wrong size. And, awesomely, they e-mailed back to tell me to send it back for an exchange!!! I need to wash it first, but I’m very excited that I might still be able to wear my pretty, pretty skirt for the marathon (and that I’m not stuck with a skirt that I can’t run in)! Thank you, Running Skirts! WTG on the customer service!

So, stay tuned for review…part II!

*Although, I’m thinking about seeing if I can get a technical shirt custom printed, because Cancer Research sent me a cotton t-shirt as my running kit. Obviously, I’m not running the marathon in it, but I’d really like something in their colors/with their logo. With my name printed on it, too, of course!