Coverage from Sun while Running

I mostly enjoy running in the morning (as I mentioned before). But sometimes it also happens that the only time I have to run is when the sun in full power, 80F+ and such. I wouldn't take Ohio for one of these burning sun states before we moved here, but it can burn here, hell, a lot.

No matter what sun conditions you have, if you run every day, you will most likely end up having a pretty strong runners' tan around the areas which are usually covered by the running gear by the end of the outdoors running season.

I am not different. And my tan stays on for pretty long time. For example, I am covered with all kinds of stripes and lines from the last year sun still, and it is already a time to get new ones.

Naturally if you don't want to be a "stripy raccoon" after the run there are two options: cover yourself with sticky sunscreen or cover up with long sleeve / long tight running gear.

I don't like sunscreens that much: they are messy to apply, feel weird on skin, leave markings on cloth. So I try to reduce their usage to bare minimum (face) and bare necessity (beach). This leaves me with a need to use high coverage cloth while running in hot weather. I've tried few options, and it was always a trade off between feeling comfortable with less coverage, or more covered but also more hot and wet. Thankfully I've recently discovered the Under Armor CoolSwitch running gear line.

Under Armor CoolSwitch Running Gear

CoolSwitch material is very lightweight, very breathable, said to be anti-microbial, has some kind of coating inside to pull heat and sweat away from the skin.

Tops and headbands are marked to have UPF 30+ sun protection, which isn't whole a lot, but is enough for my 1 hour runs. All pieces have a lot of ventilation in all the right places.

I have a long sleeve top with thumbholes (black), capris (black/purple) and a headband (see the picture on the left), this gives me pretty good coverage from the sun.

Running in sun is comfortable. I don't feel any additional weight comparing to running in shorts/tank-top combo, I actually can't even feel top on me, this is how light it is. Bottoms are made from different material than top, it is a bit more dense. Neither of materials does get soak in a sweat except for the bottom arm part where sleeve doesn't hug the arm too tightly, that one get a bit wet at some point.

Top vents allow all the air in and out, so even little breeze takes all heat away from the body.

I am still testing the set, but from what I've experienced so far, I have only positive impressions. I only wish UA had longer tights option to get more leg coverage.