I am a total, unequivocal comfort kind of woman in the clothing department.

Don’t get me wrong, though.  I love wearing super high-heeled shoes, mules, wedges, sandals, boots… if they’re comfortable.  (Yes, there is comfortable super high-heeled footwear out there.  I’ll invite you into my closet some day for proof!)

I love jeans, but they must sit on my hips or waist perfectly.  If not, I don’t buy them.

I love beautiful sweaters and blazers, but they must hit the exact point of my waist and hips.  This is because I’m short… like 5’2″ short, and things too long or too short make me look 3’2″.  I’m not kidding.

And this brings me to sports/exercise apparel.  You may call me comfort obsessed in this arena, because it’s true.  It’s been true my entire life. If I’m going to be bending, swinging, reaching, stretching, running… i.e. moving in any way at all… the gear must not only be comfortable, but perfect.

This is the reason I wore my 4all Tank Top for the long run… and I mean the 26.2 miles I ran in it during my first marathon on May 1st.

Training for my marathon was one thing.  It was sometimes grueling.  It was challenging.  It was winter during one of the snowiest winters in New England.  It was cold… and I only run outside.  I love running outside.  I layered and then layered some more.  If I got too hot and sweaty, I would circle back to my home and ditch my outer layer in my driveway.  I was never too cold.  I get cold in just about every situation but running.

(And, oh… I like to look good, too.  I want everything to fit comfortably, keep me dry AND look good.  Enter 4all by jofit.)

I worried about this too hot and sweaty scenario from the January 11th moment my finger pressed the key to register for my May 1st marathon.  I knew the marathon was in May, and a New England May day can be very 3-Bears-ish… too hot, too cold or just right.  I worried about all 3, but I mostly worried about being too hot.  I know I need comfort.  I need comfort… and too hot and too sweaty is as far from comfortable as I can get on a long run, never mind my first 26.2.

For this greatest athletic journey of my life, I knew my clothing would make all the difference.

As a member of Team 4all, I was given some gear to check out and try out.  I immediately fell in love with the 4all Tank Top.  I wore it under my long-sleeved 4all Thumbs Up Jacket while training… and the jacket turned out to be the most comfortable fitting jacket I’ve ever worn.  Both pieces are long enough to NOT ride up.  Both pieces kept me DRY with the JO-Dry absorption technology.  And both pieces looked beyond awesome.  (I can’t count the number of woman who’ve asked me where I got my gear!)

I knew I had to wear the tank and jacket on marathon day.

On May 1st, I was up with the sun and one of the first to arrive in downtown Providence for the Cox Providence Marathon Series.  I was excited, nervous, happy, ready…

I was cozy warm in my tank and jacket before the race, while stretching and warming up… but I knew the day was forecast to stay sunny and hit the upper 60’s.  I decided to race in my 4all Tank.  That’s it.  That’s all I needed.  I snapped my snack and gel pack around my waist and felt this is it.  I was ready.

Written on the tags of 4all gear are the words:

4 ALL athletic apparel.  Fit for women.
sweat, glow, glisten, grunt.
for guts.
for glory.
for fun.

Well, I did a little of each of these things during my 26.2 miles. Ah, heck… I did a lot of those things.  But mostly, I had FUN.  I didn’t worry about the sun, the wind, the heat or any apparel situations.  I was incredibly, beautifully, perfectly comfortable… each step of the way!

I did it… waving, hugging, fist-pumping, glistening … comfortable!

When I began running about 2 1/2 years ago, I never imagined building the endurance to run a marathon.  It seemed an elusive dream of a much younger woman… not a 58 year-old Grandma of 9!  But I trained hard.  I tried hard.  And I prepared carefully… right down to what I was wearing.   4all knows women… and I’m living proof!

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Disclosure: As a Team 4all member, I received the apparel pictured above, but all opinions are ours!