Hi. I am running in my first marathon on 8 Dec in Tucson. I have been reading that the weather in the mornings can be in the mid to upper 30s. I usually run in shorts, shirt, and cap but I know I will need to get some throwaway clothes to wear for at least the first few miles. I was thinking a beanie, gloves, and some kind of top to wear over my shirt? What would you recommend? Would a knit type beanie be ok to wear for a bit? Also, wear would I get them? I don't want to get brand new stuff because there is no guarantee that I will get them back. I have tried the thrift shops about town and have had no luck.  Thanks for any help.

I would not wear a hat under any circumstance while racing but I get extremely hot.  I will wear an ear wrap, but only when the temps are in the low 20's or below.

 

For my marathon last year it was 38 degrees at the start.  I waited in the corral for 45 minutes in Daisy Dukes shorts, arm sleeves, a throw-away jacket and gloves and was fine.

 

At around the mile 2 marker, I took the jacket off and threw it off to the side and into the air as high as I could and I never looked back.

Yes, but you a rough and rugged mid-westerner who is used to subarctic temperatures. I am a sissy from southern CA where if it gets below 63 people think the next ice age is coming.  Jokes aside, I see your point. I was also thinking of the ear wrap and I could just put it in a pocket when I warm up. Thanks, LRB.

I had to buy throwaway clothes for my half in Phoenix because it was in the 30s before the sun came up.  I had good luck with Goodwill  - I was decked out with a warm-up suit that would rival Sue Sylvester from Glee.

Take your oldest, rattiest sweatshirt and cut the neckline about halfway down to make it easier to pull over your head. Do the same thing with the cuffs so you can pull it off over your watch/Garmin/Road ID. Ditch it the minute the horn blows. You can also turn old tube socks (or new ones from the dollar store - if you want really fancy, get black men's dress socks) into throw-away arm warmers. No tears over dropping them and never seeing them again.

Just make sure you put something warm in your drop bag at the gear check for after the race.

Never underestimate the warming powers of a 33 gallon garbage bag either.

I'm running 26.2 on Sunday so I started thinking about throwaway clothes the other day. My wife went to some yard sales the other day, and before she left I told her to look for some throwaway stuff. I then found out that I have plenty of stuff to throw away already according to her. I bought an ear wrap a few years ago, but have never worn it so will keep that in mind.

You have plenty of time between now and December. If you see any yard sales, chances are you will find plenty of stuff you could wear. If you can't find something at a thrift shop, maybe you are being too picky. I won't be worrying about race photos before the start.

My first marathon had temps of 28 degrees at the gun.  Here's what I wore.

Shorts and sleeveless tech shirt with light gloves as the first layer.

Long sleeve tech shirt as second layer.

$1 knit cap from Wal-Mart

$5 sweat shirt and $5 sweat pants from Wal Mart

I wore everything during my warm up.  Just before the gun, I tossed the sweat pants and the sweat shirt.  Amazingly enough, because this was a small race, they were both still there when I finished.  I wore the knit cap until about Mile 2 when I warmed up and then tossed it.  I wore the long sleeve tech shirt until it got a bit warmer and I think I tossed it around Mile 17.  It was about 40 when I finished and I was comfortable in shorts, sleeveless shirt, and gloves.

Huh, strange that your local thrift shop has nothing.

I can always find a hoodie and marvelously out of style warmup pants for $5-6 dollars total.  How about garage sales?