why no caps on hot days?

My subjective feeling is that a hat just makes me feel hotter when it's already hot.

The only time I wear a hat for running is when it's raining hard - you're not as hot anyhow and it's nice to keep a bit of rain out of your face.

I disagree with that. I generally hate wearing head gear of any kind (including helmets for biking or snowboarding) and used to NEVER wear caps or beanies for running regardless of the conditions. But on a hot day a few years ago I wore a white mesh cap with a shade because I had a sunburn on my forehead. And I found that it felt much cooler to run that it would have otherwise. So since then I'll always wear a cap on long runs if it's hot and sunny. But in a race? No.

Dickie B wore a painter's cap at Boston for the duel in the sun

bald wrote:

I notice that most Boston runners were not wearing caps to shade their heads from the hot sun. Wouldn't a lightweight cap help hot-day race performance? (Is there any research on this?)

Huh? Since most of the body's heat dissipates at the head and shoulders why on Earth (other than to prevent sunburn) would you wear a hat?

nfbvrgnjuvrfv wrote:

Dickie B wore a painter's cap at Boston for the duel in the sun

It was a cold morning that day and the temperature never went about 70º.

Huh? Since most of the body's heat dissipates at the head and shoulders why on Earth (other than to prevent sunburn) would you wear a hat?

I believe this is a myth. Body heat dissipates through exposed skin and there is a lot more surface area below the neck than above.

I'm not arguing Malmo nor am I comparing it to 80 degree weather that was experienced on Monday, but on that day in 1982 it seemed a lot hotter than the temperature indicated. There was not a cloud in the sky and at noon, it was very warm.

Also, that winter was a tough cold and snowy winter that didn't subside. Going to Boston from the Midwest and running in that weather was a big change unlike this year where a lot of states had unusually mild weather and yes it makes a difference, even at 68 degrees.

Beardsley training in Atlanta was something that really helped him in that race. I spoke with him the following morning in the hotel as he stood reading the paper. He asked me how I did and then said boy was hot.

The morning may have been cool, but not at noon when the gun went off. I came home with a really bad sunburn.

kinda....with details wrote:

The morning may have been cool, but not at noon when the gun went off. I came home with a really bad sunburn.

It was cool and windy when the gun went off. I wore a down jacket that day and didn't take it off until AFTER the runners passed Wellesly (about 14 miles).

What made it appear hotter than reality was that the Sun was directly overhead, and the wind was coming from behind, not allowing the runners to cool off.

A lot of runners have difficulty understanding this heat thingy. They get too attached to a specific metric, either temperature, or humidity, or even dew point, but don't seem to grasp the concept of how the Sun's altitude can ultimately be the most important factor in a race. A 60 degree day with a bright Sun over head will fell hotter than a 90 degree day (low humidity) in the late evening or night (as it was a few years ago when they ran 12:50 in Doha)

Agreed and that's what I'm saying although I forgot to mention the breeze which may it worse.

It felt like an oven on warm with the air blowing on your back.

I certainly believe that as a spectator, you wore a jacket. But as a runner, I was baking at halfway and yes I mean baking.

What made it appear hotter is why it "felt" hotter and it truly did. Alberto came out of the church with light blue sweat pants, top and bottom, and took them off at the start. But as the race went on, the weather got worse and worse. Again, I was burned when I finished. They didn't call it the Duel in the Sun for nothing:)

How are you supposed to get TAN on the face with one of those? also, obligatory dave wottle comment

I know your post wasn't to me, but I had longer hair and I got fried. Dick was probably the only Minnesota native who wasn't burned to which he can thank Atlanta:)

Why should there be a limit to the number of hot days? What kind of control freak are you?

This thread brings to mind that big white painter's cap Joan Samuelson wore during the LA '84 marathon.

the point of a "breathable" light colored hat is that it does not prevent air from flowing over the head (or through the hair, i suppose) so it does not limit the convective cooling and evaporative cooling from the head. however, since it is white, it theoretically reflects more thermal radiation from the sun than a full head of dark hair would. darker colors tend to absorb radiation, and thermal radiation is not exception.

"most" of the heat lost from the body in cold climates is from the head and hands because those are generally the only exposed parts of the body (youre usually not out in a snowstorm without shoes and socks or something covering the netherlands). also, the body will make the biggest effort to keep the head (and head skin) at a high enough temperature as opposed to the skin and tissue in the feet, legs, arms, hands, etc, which the body will happily let go "cold". as a result, the head stays the hottest when it is cold, causing it to loose the most heat, because heat loss is roughly proportional to the bulk temperature differential between the surface and the fluid (air) flowing around it.

My first post could have been worded better: "sunny day" rather than "hot day."

My friends tell me that Boston was very sunny. I'm still surprised that more runners don't wear light, breathable caps on sunny days. I guess I'll be following Joanie's example.

bald wrote:I notice that most Boston runners were not wearing caps to shade their heads from the hot sun.

Most were not??? That was not what I observed @ the 10-mile mark in Natick.

Has there been any research done on benefits from wearing a cap? I've never seen any elites wear them. Although, Meb wore that blue thing during the Olympic Trials. Do we know why? Why blue and not white?

To Hat Or Not To Hat wrote:

Do we know why? Why blue and not white?

Money

To Hat Or Not To Hat wrote:

Has there been any research done on benefits from wearing a cap? I've never seen any elites wear them. Although, Meb wore that blue thing during the Olympic Trials. Do we know why? Why blue and not white?

Deena Kastor 04 Athens?! 100K Worlds last yr I'd say half the runners had lids on. It was in the low 80s, sunny and 100%humid in that 100. I prefer a lightweight buff -doesn't squeeze my head and I can keep wetting it with cold sponges on a hot day to keep cool. Lids are good to keep rain out of the eyes.

Baltic Babe wrote:

Deena Kastor 04 Athens?!

Women don't count as elite.