You know you are a runner when you take your running shoes on holiday, you know you are an obsessive runner when you buy new kit whilst on holiday! And that’s exactly what we did when we were in Germany a few months ago. With an eye for bright coloured running clothing we were fortunate to find a brand called thoni mara.
In case you are wondering thoni mara is a play on words; ‘Marathoni’ is a slang word for a marathon runner in German. We are always on the look out for ‘stylish’ running clothing but unfortunately that often comes at two costs; performance and price. So we were keen to see if thoni mara lived up to its cult following in Germany.
thoni mara offer a range of clothing for runners from sleeveless shirts to running skirts. We managed to get hold of a men’s and a women’s Long Sleeve T-Shirt. As you would expect from a German manufacturer the products function fantastically well, however they also look the part.
The shirts are made from a seamless material which is unlike any other fabric we have worn in the past. It’s extremely stretchy in all directions but doesn’t cling to you. It also consists of a double-layer construction. The inner layer has been designed to not absorb sweat but transfer it to the outler layer which in turn has been created to accelerate evaporation. The resulting effect is a wicking ability that is second to none. We were also glad to discover that the polypropylene fiber is also anti-bacterial which meant that the Shirts didn’t pick up distinctive smells after several months of use!
Another quality that you won’t find in any of the literature is that the thread doesn’t snag easily. When trail running we often catch ourselves on loose branches, which often results in pulled threads and tethered looking clothing. However the thoni mara shirts avoid a similar fate because the fabric is so stretchy.
One final thing, the Shirts also look good post run and get plenty of interest from fellow runners!
How much does it cost?
This is the third most common question we got asked asked, behind; where did you get that top? and how does it perform? As you would expect, thoni mara isn’t cheap. In fact we’d put it in the same bracket as The North Face or Salomon clothing. For example the Long Sleeve T-Shirts cost £40.00. Although, they have exceeded our expectations and will undoubtedly outlast rival products.
Where can you purchase thoni mara?
At the moment thoni mara is only available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. However we have spoken to thoni mara and there will be a UK distributor launching next month. So watch this space!
It’s extremely evident that the runner has been considered in every aspect of the design process. All to often we’ve found that either performance or style has been sacrificed, so its refreshing to see that a relatively small and new company (launched in 2007) that has been created by runners, can enter the market and show the big manufacturers how it is done. In our opinion the future looks extremely promising for thoni mara, just remember where you heard about them first!
Ransacker Rated: thoni mara T-Shirts
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If you would like to find out more about thoni mara then please take a look at their website: www.thonimara.de ,although it is only in German at present.
I need to get my hands on some of this kit. The colors are brilliant far better than the dull stuff produced by ASICS and they look far more functional than Nike tshirts.
Hi Jon
Delighted to say that we have become the exclusive distributors for the range in the UK so watch this space over the next few weeks for http://www.thonimara.co.uk where you will be able to buy the products and get more information on the brand!
All the best
Kate