sportstyle

Running for Every Body Top brands catering to the running specialty market have heard the call for footwear, apparel, and accessories tailor made for a wider demographic of women, as well as nonbinary and gender nonconforming runners. is makes working with athletes of every shape and size essential. In particular, sports bra development requires a high level of real-world testing. "Many factors determine the correct size and style of a sports bra that is best suited for women, such as body volume, breast shape, tissue density, and the spacing of the breasts on her chest wall," explained Joy Haizen, managing director at Anita USA. "Our styles include sports bras in all cup and band sizes, which are fit on actual women of all shapes and ages to give our design and technical team the practical advantage of receiving real-time feedback from women aer they have done a wear-test during their activities." Brooks relies heavily on their Brooks Run Research and Runsights teams for invaluable data and feedback from women wear testers. "We've done a series of surveys and reports in the last year alone to understand what women's pain points are regarding their current bra selection so we can understand how to fit their needs and provide solutions to make their runs more enjoyable and successful," explained Rachel Davidson, brand marketing manager of apparel at Brooks. Indeed, brands aren't just designing for women's bodies, but specifically for women's bodies in movement. "e product needs to work with the movement of running and not disrupt cadence," said Greta Hambke, lead sportswear designer for Outdoor Research. Dave Spandorfer, CEO and co-founder of Janji, concurs. ey too work with both professional runners and running clubs from Washington to Arizona and beyond. "We also work with fit models from xx-small to xx-large to reach a variety of body types when it comes to fit. We want to make sure everyone feels comfortable regardless of body type," he said. Accessories oen require the same scrutiny and runner input. "We work with both female and male athletes and recognize they have different needs," said Jennifer Rust, senior product line manager for Nathan Sports. When it comes to research and design for running packs and vests in particular, wear testing is nearly as important as it is with sports bras. "When we are building a vest, we need to adapt that female vest by modifying sternum straps depending on breast size. at's why we make sure to work with all types of runners," added Rust. "We extended the binding on our sternum straps on the Pinnacle FeatherLite, for instance, so she can move straps higher." Anatomical Footwear Differences Just as with other aspects of anatomy, men's and women's feet display meaningful differences. "When we realized that running shoes are oen built around male anatomy, A behind the scenes look at the fit and design process at Oiselle. 12 • January/February 2024 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com DESIGN Soar Marathon Shorts ($190) and Race Vest singlet ($110). Outdoor Research Swift Lite Shorts, $69.

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