My mom’s dad ran track in high school and always took a very active interest in my running.* After he passed away, I remembered there was this awesome picture of him breaking the tape in a race, and thought it would be cool to have it put on a t-shirt to wear at my next marathon.
Cool picture, right?!
I had been thinking about using PKstrong to design shirts for the Trolley Run (which never happened), so I decided to use them. I liked their website and thought it was easy to use, and they had been very responsive in the past when I was asking questions.
Something was wrong with their site when I was trying to design my shirt, but once I contacted them, they replied (on a weekend) and said they would design the shirt for me and send me a proof, and get it to me in a week (my request). They were very responsive and helpful, and the proof looked exactly like what I wanted (click to see larger):
I showed it to my sister, and we both agreed that it looked good, but that the “g” in grandpa looked like a “c.” I ordered it and hoped that it would be more legible when printed.
It came within a week like they promised (and the price was not bad – $25 for the shirt and it is Badger brand – nice quality) but the text was even worse. You could not read a single word because there was no white space in the letters. I was upset. I contacted PKstrong to let them know how bad the text turned out, and asked that they advise other people not to use that font on that shirt. They actually told me they would take that font off their site (which they have) and offered me a 10% discount on future orders. Again, great service. But I was surprised in the first place that the shirt turned out so bad and they still sent it to me. I am the one who picked the font out of a few options, so it is my fault for picking it, but, yeah, I was surprised.
Luckily, I didn’t run the marathon that weekend. Ha. It was rainy and windy and a white shirt would not have been a good idea (maybe it’s not a good idea at all since I sweat so much?). I asked my sister what she thought I could do to fix the shirt. She recommended going over the letters in another color. But when she visited last weekend, she had an even better idea.
She filled in missing white space in the letters with white paint.
Now you can actually read it!
Of course, it’s getting too warm to run in a t-shirt so now I am not sure when I will wear it. Maybe at the New York City Marathon?
Have you ever made a custom shirt (or article of clothing) for racing or something else? Who do you like to use – either local or online?
Erin heard good reviews of My Race Ragz so I may have to try them someday.
*He and my grandma both did/do, when I ran in middle school, and in these past few years. It is interesting that they are so supportive and interested, because there is another family member who is so opposed to my running that he has to bring it up every time he sees me.
The *new* text on the shirt looks awesome! Nice work!
I have considered doing the custom shirt thing, but I always back out in the end and go with something I’ve had for a while. I think I just end up wanting to wear something I know is comfy. 🙂
I’m really impressed with your sister’s handiwork! Definitely more legible now!
Wow, that’s awesome – super smart of your sister! Such a nice way to remember your Grandfather. I’m sure he would love it!
That looks a lot better!
Customink.com has spectacular customer service, and great shirts, but you need to order at least 6. I use them for my running group t-shirts.
That is who I was originally going to order from, then I saw the at least 6 small print. They do have some shirts you can order just one of, but they were cotton. Yuck-o!
That is who I was originally going to order from, then I saw the at least 6 small print. They do have some shirts you can order just one of, but they were cotton. Yuck-o!
What a sweet way to remember him and your mutual love of running. Your sister came to the rescue so her touch on the shirt may also ring you more good luck.
I bet you are right!
The fix turned out really well!
I was to go-to shirt designer in high school and college. (in high school I even won a contest for a state wide conference, so I have polo shirts with the logo embroidered on it, ha!)
I find it’s hard to get rid of any of the ones that ‘I’ve designed’ but between high school teams, rowing in college, and bar tour shirts (we did a lot of those) I have probably 3 dozen shirts that i almost never wear but can’t get rid of!
I wouldn’t want to get rid of them either! You should do a post showing them all to us. Since you have so much free time 😛
I love it! Glad your sister was able to make it legible.
I’ve never had a custom shirt made before but I like the idea.
It’s awesome that your grandparents took/take an interest in your running. And it sucks about the relative that opposes it and has to bring it up all the time. Luckily I haven’t had to deal with that yet.
You probably won’t have to deal with it. You probably don’t have a family member as crazy as I do. At least, I hope you don’t.
Your sister is so creative! I never would have thought to do that. It looks much more legible now. Maybe she could help you turn it into a tank top next?
Glad you like it!! Now realizing the white space on the “n” is wayy too big. Oh-well. 🙂
I love that pic and what a cool idea to put in on a shirt! The white paint worked wonders! I’ve never done any custom shirts…just good old tacky duct tape for me. : )
It looks AMAZING now – I cant believe that was fixed by hand.
It looks great. I think the company should have redone it at no additional charge though.
That is what I was hoping for. Oh well. My sister came to the rescue!
In high school we made t-shirts for EVERYTHING! For Math Contest one year we bought $5 tie-dyed tshirts from Wal-Mart and wrote Mathlete across the chest in fabric marker. We were hot.
I agree the new text is much easier to read. That stinks it didn’t come out right when you ordered it. I love reading people’s shirts while I run!
That’s such a cool picture of your grandfather. Absolutely wonderful. I love old black & white photos.
I’ve been looking into getting some made but as far as I’ve gotten are iron on letters from Michael’s that I have to manage to find the time to do tomorrow night. It’s a great idea. I love in remembrance stuff!
Mom would be and Dad would have been so proud of you wearing it in the New York City marathon. Go for it!
This is the sweetest tribute ever. I love that you have this precious photo of your gramps and love that you can honor him by wearing this shirt. Glad you were able to fix it up too.