Sports bra only: Yay or nay?

As I was driving to work the other morning, I nearly ran a red light as a girl jogging in a hot pink sports bra caught my attention. As I slammed on the breaks, composed myself, and kept driving to work, I wondered what people think of runners wearing sports bras as top (without a shirt).

I took a peek at Twitter to see what the Twitterverse was saying about running in a sports bra.

(View Running In A Sports Bra? on Storify)

Is running in a sports bra showing off? If you’re not in shape, is it offensive? Is it a personal thing or something to do with self-esteem?

I feel like this is definitely a debate that can go so many different ways. If guys can run with shirts off, why can’t girls? People don’t seem to give guys a second thought, yet a cute girl with a sports bra seems to be more of a shocker.

I personally wouldn’t run in just a sports bra in public despite the fact that I’m quite comfortable with my body. A sports bra is definitely far from scandalous, however, for some reason I just don’t think I would do it. I do hot yoga in just a sports bra and I also used to do cheerleading in only a sports bra, so I’m definitely comfortable in one.  But, running in public seems to be a whole different ball game. Would I be stared at? Frowned upon? Or would it just draw negative attention? Maybe I’m just a wimp.

My friend ran up to our deck one summer in just a sports bra, so I asked her what makes her comfortable running in a bra and shorts only.

“I was just hot,” she said. “Normally, I wouldn’t run in just a bra because I wouldn’t want any flab bouncing around and even if I didn’t have any, I wouldn’t want to be showing off.”

She said that she wouldn’t care about being in just a sports bra in front of friends, but in public she says she’s worried about what “normal people driving by” would think.

“Plus, a t-shirt is good to wipe the sweat off with!” she added.

Running alone in just a sports bra may seem daunting, but running in groups might be different. If I were to run in a group with other women who were wearing just a sports bra and shorts, I would be more likely to do the same. Maybe this is why I feel comfortable doing it in hot yoga. Aside from the heat and sweat, other girls in yoga class go shirtless. But, would you want to be the only woman? I think it would take a lot of confidence! But, what’s the etiquette here?

Self-esteem seems to play a big part in the choice to go sans shirt. Perhaps some runners fear of what people will think of you as you run down the street. But, I’m wondering what the running community thinks of sports bra joggers. Are they frowned upon, welcomed, or neutral? Should sports bra only running be strictly in marathons? Also, do men have the same issue when going shirtless?