Letters to the Editor
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Chase Him Until He Catches You
Well, you're right at least to admit it's all pretty harmless, and as far as being "immature," most outdoor fun is "immature" in some way or other. And, yeah, they are trying to promote a product, namely a skirt or "sport skirt," and so giving the event a name with "Skirt" in it only makes sense.
It seems like the concept is a good way to get (in particular) young male runners who might otherwise not bother to enter a race promoting a feminine garment to sign up and take part in the fun.
"Girls vs. Boys" as an angle has worked for Survivor, Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, and The Apprentice, not to mention I Love Lucy, so why not milk it to sell clothes; the battle of the sexes is just an eternal enticement.
For the last couple of years the famous 7.6 mile Bay-to-Breakers race in San Francisco has done the same thing in racing terms, starting off the elite women runners several minutes ahead of the elite males (it's called "the equalizer"), in order to give the women a chance to finish first--and in 2007 an African woman did just that, hanging on to finish the course a minute or so ahead of the elite male racers who were pounding after her.
The main use of this article for me, paradoxically, has been to alert me to the existence of this company and its Sport Skirt; I am already thinking of buying some.