December

[Sweder]

Can I ask a potentially dumb question: are there monkey suits designed for long-distance running (as opposed to the bog standard fancy dress type)? In other words, is there actually more than one way to skin an ape?

Seems to me there are quite a number of heavily-suited fancy dress runners at the London Marathon. They can't all be restricted to that degree; the last couple of FLMs have been extremely warm; wrapped up in that much gear you'd keel over after 10 miles. Perhaps there are ways to modify the traditional gorilla suit (shall we call it hair-suit? Shall we?) to allow some/ greater airflow on the run? Vents? Gore-tex hybrid?

Off on a slight tangent I re-read The Watchmen the other day. Amongst the illustrated chapters lies Under the Hood - the imagined diary of a retired masked vigilante. Fascinating rumination on design and production of practical superhero costumes (for actual crime fighting) in the late 1940's, early 1950's. Capes considered potentially dangerous (revolving doors, caught in turbines/ fast-spinning wheels etc - as beautifully parodied by Brad Bird in his masterpiece The Incredibles). Flexibility versus protection one of the main points to consider. Of course you don't need the protection as, unless you plan to combine hobbies, you won't be fighting crime on route. Sorry; I must stop drinking caffine in the afternoons.