Marathon T-Shirts: For Charity Runners and Their Supporters
By The Velocity Wear Team
Every spring, tens of thousands of people run a UK marathon for a charity close to their heart. And around each runner there's a support crew: family, friends and colleagues with a sign, a Bluetooth speaker and a lot of jelly babies. Matching t-shirts for that crew are one of the nicest ways to mark the day.
First: what should the runner wear?
Honestly, not a cotton t-shirt. Cotton holds sweat, gets heavy and can rub over 26.2 miles. Most charities with marathon places provide a technical running vest in their colours, and that's what the runner should wear. Personalising it with their name, often with iron-on letters or a printed patch, gets the crowd shouting it all the way round.
Our tees are soft combed cotton, which is perfect for everyone else.
Supporter t-shirts
A crew in matching bright shirts is easy for a tired runner to find in a wall of spectators. It's also lovely in photos and makes the whole day feel like a team effort.
- Bright colour, ideally the charity's colour.
- The runner's name huge on the back, like Team Sarah.
- The race, year and charity on the front.
- A short message that matters to the family, if there's a personal story.
Use the charity's branding properly
Ask the charity's events or fundraising team before using their logo. Most are delighted and can send proper logo files plus guidance on wording. It also means your shirts look official and trustworthy when you're rattling a collection bucket.
Order for the whole fundraising journey
Supporter shirts aren't just for race day. Wear them at the bake sale, the quiz night and the office dress-down day during months of fundraising. Some runners sell supporter shirts to friends with a donation included, which boosts the total.
Minimums and groups
Our minimum is 20 per design. That suits a big family, a workplace team supporting a colleague, a running club or a charity's cheer squad. For a small group of four or five, a local print shop will be a better fit.
Running clubs
Clubs often order supporter and post-race tees for members travelling to a big race together. A club name on the front and the race and year on the back makes a great keepsake. For training and racing kit, clubs usually use technical fabrics.
Timing
Production takes 10 to 15 working days after artwork approval, plus delivery. For spring marathons, sort shirts by February or early March so they're ready for fundraising events too.
A thank-you shirt after the race
Some runners order a finisher-style shirt for everyone who sponsored them generously or helped with training: the race, the year, the amount raised and a thank you on the back. It's a lovely way to close the fundraising, and it gets worn at parkrun for years.
Charity teams at big marathons
Charities with large marathon teams often run cheer points along the route. Cheer squad shirts in charity colours help runners spot their support and make great photos for the charity's social media.
Order timing
Allow 10 to 15 working days for production plus delivery, and order well before race week.
Get started
Mock up your crew shirt in the design studio, check the per-shirt cost on the calculator, and browse custom t-shirts.
