The Piece of Running Gear No One Asked For

Lululemon, purveyors of yoga pants and strappy sports bras, recently introduced The Runsie. It's a running onesie, a.k.a. a romper, a.k.a. a sweaty runner's worst nightmare. Snarky blogs had a field day when when word got around that a fitness brand was selling a onesie (available in black or the floral print shown above) for a cool $98.

I give the Runsie points for its open back (ventilation!), adjustable straps (custom fit!), and zipper pocket (cash for post-run bagels!). And I do appreciate that you can wear it with your favorite sports bra because, let's be serious, shelf bras and running don't mix. But there's one problem.

When you run for long periods of time, a funny thing happens: You have to pee. Sometimes urgently. Sometimes when there are no bathrooms—or porta-potties—in sight. I've run three marathons and more than a dozen half-marathons and in my training for these races, I've had to go outside many, many times. Any woman who's tried to relieve herself in nature knows that this is no small feat.

Now imagine if I were wearing the Runsie when I needed to go. How would I get it off when time was of the essence? (Not to mention that I’d be half-naked during the process).

As one Runsie reviewer said: "If it had snaps or a button for the straps that would make it sooo much easier to get into!" Same goes for getting out of it. While that feature would certainly make this garment more user-friendly, she's basically asking for running overalls.

While I could see people wearing the Runsie for shorter jaunts (especially those immediately followed by brunch), I'll stick to my trusty Lululemon capris for long runs, thank you very much.

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