Running with Scapulars

The title of this post is shamelessly ripped off from Matthew Lickona, author Swimming with Scapulars, which isn’t about swimming at all, but about living as a Catholic in the modern world. Swimming is just one example Lickona raises about how trying to incorporate the Faith into every part of life raises questions and challenges, e.g., what to do you do with your scapular while in the ocean?

And that brings me to today’s question: What do you do with your scapular while running?

I’ve got to admit, for me, the scapular is one of running’s biggest nuisances. The jostling of a run tends to send it in every which direction inside my shirt. Sometimes it gets wrapped around my neck. Sometimes both ends wind up on my back. And others, it just kind of disappears: I know it’s there, but I can’t tell where it’s gone. The end result is I spend a fair amount of my time during runs with my hand stuck up my shirt trying to fish it out and put it back into place.

Gizmos make the situation even worse. I keep my headphone wires under my shirt so that they don’t get caught up in my arms during a run. Of course, that means the wires get entangled with the scapular instead. If they get tangled enough, both can become oppressively tight. To complicate matters further, I also wear a Garmin heart monitor around my chest, so that’s one more item to mix into the jumble.

Then there’s the problem of sweat: During a run, perspiration often causes the scapular to stick to whatever inconvenient place it’s flopped. Afterward, the scapular will be wet and gross when I want to put on nice, clean, dry clothes. And after enough runs, a sweated-in scapular starts to stink. (For a while, I used to keep two scapulars — a normal one to be worn with street clothes, and a stinky one to be worn on runs. The only problem is, the stinky one broke — during a run, of course — leading to its retirement. Now my non-stinky scapular is stinky, too.)

So what to do? I suppose I could simply not wear the scapular during runs, but that doesn’t seem right. The scapular, after all, is supposed to be an expression and reminder of the Faith and the Blessed Mother. Would I really cast that aside just for comfort? How could I prioritize my headphones over it?

Then again, stinking up a sacramental doesn’t seem wholly appropriate, either. Any suggestions on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Meanwhile, I’ll let the mild discomfort reinforce the scapular’s reminding role. Next time I’m sticking my hand up my shirt, feeling for that little piece of string cinching my neck, I’ll try to remember to offer a prayer!