Question for road racers: do you shower in the morning before a road race?

Yeah, that's crazy.

I shower at night because I tend to work out in the evenings most of the time and I like to keep my sheets clean. But, even if you shower at night, you shouldn't be smelly the next morning. And you'll be smelly by the time the race is over.

None of this makes sense.

Showering at night is probably close enough. I was thinking about people who only shower in the morning. Those people will be pretty smelly at race time if they don’t shower beforehand.

Yes, usually. A quick shower helps wake me up, and since I like to be up a couple of hours before a race at least, there’s plenty of time for it. Plus, who wants to toe the starting line in their carefully selected racing shoes, singlet, split shorts, and have crazy bed head at the same time?!

Absolutely. I like to be as fresh as possible. The shower helps wake me and redirects the anxiety. Even if I showered the evening before I have to shower race morning also. Same for PM races. If race is at 6p, I'll shower at 4p.

Usually no. Not much time to get ready for a morning race and going to shower after, so why bother.

Nice to see someone who gets it! Also important is looking good for the official race photos.

Back when I was in shape I'd usually do a shakeout a few hours before any important race, even in the morning, and yeah I'd shower after that.

Being clean helps with confidence, and confidence helps with racing.

Bunch of women on this site. Just slap on some deodorant and you'll be fine. It's a road race, not a dinner party.

If it makes you feel better then by all means do it, but I don't see the point.

Found the musty incel.

Has to be one of the most stupidest questions I've ever read on here.

I prefer a warm bath. A good 10-minute soak in the tub warms up my muscles and relaxes me before the race. It also gets me in the right frame of mind for combat. As I'm in the tub, I visualize defeating all my opponents and sending them home devastated. I imagine the bath water is their collective tears. I am bathing in victory.

No way am I going to waste time showering, reading the news, and whatever else op is doing before races. Think about it, you are going to get smelly again in like an hour when you start warming up.

I shower every morning, because my wife likes the house warmer at night than I can handle without sweating. My fellow race participants probably prefer it that way.

I usually never shower in the morning.

You must be new here.

I often did this just because it is a part of my waking up routine.

Your position is unclear. Do you think it’s a stupid question because the answer is obviously yes, you should shower so as to not show up smelly to a race? Or do you think the answer is obviously no, you don’t care about being considerate to others?