And by girls, I don’t mean daughters, friends or other women who run. I am referring to the “girls”, breasts, bosoms, or whatever anatomically correct or affectionate nickname you want to give them.
A few weeks ago, I was doing the “mom” thing: hanging out at the park with my friend, Susan, watching our boys run around with soccer balls. For some reason, and I can’t ever imagine why (heehee), our conversation turned to running.
“I wish I could run. You’re so lucky,” she commented. “It must be so nice to feel that freedom.”
Admittedly, I was surprised. Susan is a single mom of two boys who are involved with hockey, soccer and swimming. When she is not working, she is often chauffeuring them from one activity to another and, when she isn’t, you can be sure that it is because she is cooking, cleaning, and looking after them at home. I honestly didn’t think that she wasn’t interested in running or participating in other types of fitness for herself. Until now, the subject never really came up.
“You can run,” I said. “You just need to start slowly. I can help you get started.”
“I can’t. I need to find a bra that fits first. It’s too painful to run.”
Susan continued to describe one of her bras that she duct-taped together. “Both sides were duct taped so the underwire would poke me. Then the underwire started coming through the bottom.” The struggle was real.
Fortunately, finding a sports bra is something I have never had to worry about. I always wear Running Skirts strappy bra, which is comfortable, supportive and cute but, for my Double K friend, that just wouldn’t do. I started to picture previous covers of magazines with running success stories, photos of larger women who have lost inches and dropped sizes after they started to run. What did they wear? I have read about some ladies who double-barrel to give them the support that they need. We talked about designing a bra for her and finding a seamstress to make it. I was determined to find a solution. Someone must have an idea of what works. That’s when I turned to social media.
One of the groups I reached out to was Another Mother Runner on Facebook. I explained the problem my well-endowed friend was facing, and asked if they could reach out to their community. After a few days, I had dozens of responses and it became clear that Susan was not alone. Not only did we have a list of sports bras to select from, we had online sites (Break out Bras, Her Room, Bare Necessities) with great customer service that Susan could turn to for more advice.
Today, Susan headed to the Inside Story , known for its amazing customer service, for a fitting and decide on a purchase. She has narrowed it down to….
As bad luck would have it, the store doesn’t carry any sports bra that fits – period. The sales associate is going to do her best to find something that works. We are also looking at shopping online, a little easier but still a very frustrating process. The Juno bra by Moving Comfort, for example, was highly recommended for big-bosomed ladies, but we can’t find her size. Hopefully, we’ll find something that does the trick and keeps the girls under wraps before the end of the summer and Susan can “feel the freedom” that she is wanting so desperately.
