Investigative Report: Forearm and Calf Sleeves

For one unfamiliar with the world of running, some things seem completely bizarre - from words seemingly designed to make 12-year-olds giggle (fartlek?), to completely strange apparel.  Take this woman:

I met this lady at Beat the Blerch, where she was running the full marathon. She seems to be dressed fairly typically - running shoes, a running skirt with built-in shorts, a tank top. But what the hell is up with the leg warmers and forearm sleeves?!

I've seen a number of runners wearing these one at a time or together both at races, and just out on runs around town. There are whole sections of these scrap pieces of fabric at running and athletic stores, and we are somehow supposed to believe that they are stand-alone items of clothing?! Clearly there is some kind of running insider secret to which I am not yet privy. It is time for an investigation...

Luckily, I happen to be friends with one of the managers of my local running store, Salt Lake Running Company. So, on one chilly, rainy, Sunday morning, I sent her this message on Facebook:

"Hey, I have a running question for you. I wondered - can you tell me what the point of those sleeves that only cover your forearms is? I see "serious" runners wearing them, and I have no idea why...same goes for the calf-only sleeve things... What are those, and why would one consider wearing them?"

As a serious runner herself, she of course knew what I meant right away. In fact, she was out for a run, and had only stopped to get a coffee before running home. It turns out that the forearm sleeves and the calf sleeves serve different purposes.

Forearm sleeves are meant as another way to modulate your temperature on a run. With the forearm sleeves, you can continue to wear shorter sleeved shirts when it gets chilly. This way, you can be warmer at the start of your run, but if you start to get too warm, you can just take them off mid-run.

Okay, one mystery down. But what about the calf ones? I don't know about you, but my legs are rarely cold while working that hard.

It turns out that the calf sleeves serve a more anatomical, bio-mechanical purpose. First of all, calf sleeves are a form of compression - that is, they're super, duper tight and squeeze your calves. This is supposed to be good for two reasons: 1) to increase blood flow, though the research on that isn't super good yet, and 2) to reduce muscle vibration, which is absolutely proven and supported by the science. The benefit is that this extra support causes you to feel less calf strain while you're running, and therefore less muscle soreness afterwards. That also explains why it is that I usually see them on runners doing longer distances.

So there you have it, mystery solved! Have you worn arm and/or calf sleeves? What did you think about them?