Shaving Before a Race | Dartmouth Folklore Archive

General Information About Item:

Informant Data:

Samantha Locke is a Sophomore at Dartmouth College. She was a varsity track and field athlete in high school, and she is involved with the Dartmouth Running Team on campus. She lives in Marin County, California, near San Francisco in the bay area of California.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: This superstition was unique to Sam’s running team in her high school. Sam mentioned, however, that this superstition is probably common, adding that a lot of swimmers have similar practices.
Social Context: Sam mentions that there is not a particular moment that she learned of the folklore, noting that it was just something she picked up from the other girls on the team. She does note, however, that the practice was a social practice for the team, and it was discussed between team members, and socially encouraged.

Item:

The night before a major race or event, the girls from Sam’s running team would shave their legs to make themselves run faster.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

“In high school, all the girls and I, one thing we would always do is we would always shave our legs the night before, which, like, it doesn’t make a difference logically, it doesn’t mean anything, but you feel like it’s that much faster when you’re smooth.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant notes that there was not a moment she can point to when she learned of this superstition, but that it was a more gradual adoption.
The informant still carries out this practice on the night before a race

Collector’s Comments:

This superstition is an example of homeopathic magic following the law of similarity – smooth things move more swiftly through a fluid, so becoming smooth will allow one to move faster through the air. This is also an example of practical magic – swimmers and cyclists who move through more viscous fluids or at higher speeds often shave before big races, as this reduces their drag significantly. Therefore, this practice might increase speed, albeit minimally for a runner. My father is a triathlete, and he would often shave before big races as well.

Collector’s Name: Ted McManus

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