By Zach M., June 2006 (updated July 2008)
Running is the perfect excuse to wear short nylon running shorts. It took me years to take up running and make it a daily habit. I had long wanted to become a regular runner, but some problems kept getting in the way.
The main problem was that going out in public in short shorts was such an arousing experience that when I came back home, I had a very hard time controlling my urges. But acting on those urges would typically kill the libido that pushed me to get out the door in daringly short shorts.
So for years, taking up running was a frustrating experience because I knew that the renewed enthusiasm for running that I found each spring would fizzle out quickly.
But the passage of time helped. As the years passed, fashion made it more and more difficult for me to find the courage to walk around the neighborhood in short shorts. I decided to use that change to reorient myself towards running. I knew that if I was seen running instead of walking, few people would think anything of it. My prediction has been right so far. In my neighborhood, there is a bike path where runners in short shorts are often seen, so most people understand what is going on.
The fashion change does have a positive side: nowadays, when you're a guy outside in running shorts, you're better to keep on running instead of being lazy and take long walking breaks. This motivates me to run more consistently.
With my thirties, I became more able to channel the sexual arousal towards running, so my libido thus kept me going and made me persevere enough so that running has become a daily habit in my life. I have lost some weight and my thighs are becoming more muscled, which has given me even more confidence to be seen in shorts in public.
Another thing is that by running every day in the neighborhood, I am benefiting from the opportunity to see other runners in skimpy shorts. I am happy to see that some female runners have no problem wearing loose and short nylon shorts on the trail.
I even saw one woman who wore her thin and loose split shorts so high that her left butt cheek was completely visible. She was wearing some kind of belt that may have lifted up the left part of the shorts higher than normal. But I can't imagine that she didn't notice. I certainly can feel it when the air blows on my buttocks when I've "accidentally" pulled my loose shorts a bit too high. I could only conclude that this woman shared my kink for flimsy running shorts, and was even more daring about it than I usually am. I totally understand and admire her.
More recently, I saw a young woman in ample white nylon running shorts, and while she was standing and talking to someone, she was also gently scratching her right butt cheek, which had to effect of pushing up that part of the shorts high enough that I got to see almost half of her lovely buttocks. I wasn't running at that time and I wasn't in shorts, so this came as total surprise, and I was immediately aroused of course.
I also take care to notice what male runners wear. Enough of them wear skimpy shorts to make me secure in my choice. Several of them run shirtless, so if any guys will gather the most attention, it's going to be them. One of the guys I have seen several times running shirtless also came to a nearby grocery store, with a shirt on, but with very ample and short shorts. Instead of looking at him, I observed how other people looked at him. Obviously, I could see a few teenagers smirking. I'm sure the guy knows how people look at him. He must have had comments. But I admire his determination, and I assume that he also has a thing for running shorts that pushes him to do that. I have been in a (cold) supermarket myself in my running shorts years ago, and it's only because the sexy new navy blue shorts I had just bought completely overcame any shyness I had. This was in the nineties, so it was still borderline feasible. I prefer not to try this today...
One time, on a morning run, I happened to be running about 200 feet behind a small group of four runners. There were three women and one man. They were all wearing appropriately short shorts, but interestingly it was the man who was wearing the shortest shorts. Those women should be ashamed of being surpassed! ;)
On another morning run, I passed a man and a woman who were running in the opposite direction, but they were wearing mid-thigh running shorts. I was wearing a white T-shirt and dark blue nylon tricot shorts. I had rolled up the waist band once to make them shorter, and I had pulled the shorts high enough to slightly expose the bottom of my cheeks. I was able to hear the man say to the woman: "this is the runner's look." I was the only other person around, so it obviously referred to me. I was very satisfied by this.