2017 was another running year.

I ran more virtual events than ever before. I spent my 40th birthday run/jog/walking a half marathon at Disneyland.

I wore my fitbit, of course. But, I switched my focus from 10,000 steps a day to concentrating on the number of miles I ran.

My plantar fasciitis was still a bit of an annoyance. But, it was better than in 2016. My guess is this is due to the fact that I was training for a marathon in 2016. I didn’t do as many long runs in 2017 – which would then make sense that I didn’t log as many miles in 2017 as I did in 2016.

I completed the You vs Year challenge sponsored by MapMyRun & Under Armour. The goal was to run 1017k in the year 2017.

* RUNNING HIGHLIGHTS: MONTH BY MONTH *

January

• Due to snow & ice, many miles were done on the elliptical
• Total miles this month: 60.29

February

• Finished HRC’s Mad Eye Moody 5K
• Total miles this month: 58.99

March

• Finished Yo Ho Ho Virtual 5K
• Finished Shamrock Run 15K
• Total miles this month: 46.01

April

• Finished Race for the Roses 10K
• Finished HRC’s 10K and SPEW
• Finished HRC’s Unmasked 10 miler
• Total miles this month: 66.98

May

• Finished Hippie Chick Half Marathon
• Total miles this month: 49.27

June

• Finished Helvetia Half Marathon
• Total miles this month: 43.02

July

• Finished HRC’s Eternal Glory 4 Miler
• Total miles this month: 33.28

August

• Finished She Believed She Could Virtual 10K
• Total miles this month: 34.55

September

• Finished the 5K, 10K, & Half Marathon in Disneyland
• Finished the Quest for the Lost Scroll Virtual 10K
• Finished HRC’s Platform 9 3/4K
• Total miles this month: 68.32

October

• Finished HRC’s Sirius Half Marathon
• Total miles this month: 84.48

November

• Finished Wobble Before we Gobble 4 Miler
• Total miles this month: 61.89

December

• Finished Virtual Santa Hustle 5K
• Total miles this month: 49.41

I RUN FOR BLING

This year’s medal count: 19

2017 Stats

5K Events: 4
10K Events: 5
Half Marathon Events: 4
Other Events: 4
Total Miles Run/Jogged: 656.5

2015 Total Miles: 440 miles
2016 Total Miles: 761 miles

I have signed up for a couple events in 2018 already. So, apparently 2018 will be a running year also. I will complete a half marathon or two (or three), but I would like to focus on speed. I know I can accomplish the distance. Now, I would like to go the distance a tad more quickly.

Happy Running!

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I gave myself a goal at the beginning of 2017. The goal was to sign up & complete all the virtual events hosted by Hogwarts Running Club this year.

This was my first experience with HRC and I’m quite impressed with the organization.

They host six events in a year, plus have a seventh challenge medal. The registration fees this year were reasonable at $25 per race. HRC is non profit and the majority of the registration cost goes straight to a charity of their choosing. Because of this, most of the registration cost is tax deductible.

For your $25 you are donating to a charity, receiving a medal in the mail, and can download a digital bib. There is also the option to purchase shirts.

They are active on Facebook for those who like the social aspects. They have multiple groups including the Great Hall and common rooms for each house. I am part of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Charity Miles

Hogwarts Running Club uses the Charity Miles app to track mileage for special events like the House Cup. By using the app, not only are you helping your house, but you are earning 25¢ per mile to a charity of your choice.

* 2017 Events *

Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody Constant Vigilance 5k

Charity Partner: Limbs for Life Foundation

The first event of 2017 was the Mad Eye Moody 5k. The medal is fun – the eye spins around.

Whether during a run or on a stroll with the kids, I enjoy spotting Great Blue Herons. They make me happy, even though they aren’t terribly fond of people. When I see one while running, I consider it good luck. It seemed fitting that I saw one during my first HRC event.

I printed my bib and brought it with me to Universal Studios, then stamped the back of it at the Owl Post.

The 10K and Spew

Charity Partner: Harry Potter Alliance and their Granger Leadership Academy

It’s all in the details.
When your owl delivers your mail, the package comes with a quirky saying. Love that! Also, many of the medals come with a saying or decor on the back.

This bib was also printed and stamped in Hogsmeade at Universal Studios.

I bought a basic athletic shirt and used my silhouette and heat press to create my own Ravenclaw shirt to run in.

Unmasked 10 mile Run for your life

Charity Partner: To Write Love On Her Arms

Sportin’ my Ravenclaw pride socks.

Even though it’s on the dark side, I love this medal. And, the charity is for an important cause.

Sirius Half Marathon

Charity Partner: Mission K9 Rescue

An event dedicated to Sirius Black.

The medal has a bit of a stained glass effect. The back is engraved with one of my favorite quotes:

If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.
– Sirius Black

The Eternal Glory Four Miler!

Charity Partner: Back on My Feet

A four mile event highlighting the Goblet of Fire.

You get to pick the name and number that goes on your digital bib. My number is always 262 – for the 26.2 miles I completed during the Portland Marathon. I chose a different name for each event.

Platform 9 3/4 Year Four

Charity Partner: Antarctic & Southern Ocean Coalition

Another amazing medal. The light on the train really turns on and off.

The bib is designed to look like a train ticket.

Again, I love all the attention to detail.

* Time Turner *

The Time Turner happens in October. This is when HRC turns back the clock and reopens registration for previous events. You can also sign up for the Challenge medal and the Perfect Prefect pin.

Challenge Medal

The Challenge medal was available to HRC members who registered for at least three of the 2017 events.

The fun part about being in the Facebook groups are the added encouragement and challenges along the way. For instance, The Ravenclaw Common Room provided us an optional challenge for earning this medal. Our “position” during our “Quidditch match” was based on our monthly total miles.  I ended up being a beater because I ran between 50 & 99 miles. You can be as active or inactive in the optional challenges as you would like.

The Patronus 5k

I had already registered for all the 2017 events. So, instead I registered for 2015’s Patronus 5K during the time turner.

I registered for this event in October, but technically there was no race date. I hadn’t gotten around to completing it until the first week in 2018. I brought the medal with me on a girl’s trip to the Dominican Republic as motivation to run at least once on the trip. And, I did. I ran only the one time during that week.

Possible Fun Fact: Pottermore helped me discover that my patronus is a ragdoll cat.
A cat? That hardly seems correct. I don’t dislike cats, and ragdoll cats are beautiful. But, I’m more of a bird and aquatic animal person. Or, goat. I do love goats. We don’t even have a pet cat because we don’t want one in the house and the two we tried having outside both got eaten by coyotes. So, no cats for us. Yet, my patronus is a cat. Weird.

Perfect Prefect

I never thought it could be – but yet, it’s true. I am a Perfect Prefect. I highlighted my name on Ravenclaw’s Wall of Fame.

To be a Perfect Prefect you must register for all six events and the Challenge medal. The pin is free, as long as you tell them you want it.

HRC Cheer Squad

The Cheer Squad at this year’s Disneyland Half Marathon weekend. I don’t know these women personally, but I was more than happy to have their support during the 5K. The heat and humidity during the half marathon was brutal. The Cheer Squad had ice! I am not exaggerating when I say that it almost brought me to tears. I was miserable by this point in the race. I truly needed that ice to cool down. More than that, it just felt good knowing someone had my back. It was the encouragement I needed to finish.

Universal Studios Hollywood

To celebrate our son’s birthday, we surprised the kids with a quick trip to LA primarily to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I brought my Ravenclaw shirt to wear and created shirts for the rest of the family. All the boys, hubby included, are Hufflepuff and my daughter is Gryffindor.

We went early in the year, so I only had 2 event bibs to bring with me. I brought them for the sole purpose of stamping them with the Hogsmeade postmark.

I enjoyed these virtual events so much that I already preregistered for all 2018 events. So, yippy! I should be a Perfect Prefect in 2018, too. I can’t wait to see the themes for each event. The first event has already been announced – the Nargle 9K.

Because I’m a sucker for things I adore, and excuses to run, and themed events, I recently joined HRC’s sister group based on Gilmore Girls, the Chilton Running Club.

There is also the Whovian Running Club, if you are a Doctor Who fan.

Now to work on my 2018 Perfect Prefect status!
Happy Running!

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When I found out the Disneyland Half Marathon was being held the day of my 40th birthday, I knew I must go. And go, I did.

Thankfully, I have fabulous friends who didn’t mind going to Disneyland.

Packet Pick Up & Expo

Thursday afternoon we stopped by the expo, grabbed our race packets, spun wheels, won prizes, took photos…

On the way to the expo we stopped by La Brea Bakery for blackberry mojitos. They were dee-lish!

Our Costumes

I have been friends with these two since high school. We dressed in a group costume as the Main Street Electrical Parade. We were the Blue Fairy, Pete’s Dragon, and the Cheshire Cat lit up with LED lights. They are not runners and I so appreciate them coming to do this with me.

The Start

Walking through California Adventure

My fav is our pic on the trolley.

Walking through Disneyland

We didn’t stop for many pics in Disneyland, but we did get a mandatory castle shot.

Hogwarts Running Club

One of my favorite places during a RunDisney event is the section between the two parks. During this 5k, though, it was virtually spectator free – except for these two from the Hogwarts Running Club. I knew they were a good group to associate with.

The Finish

The anticipated finish line.

We did it!

Our bib, tshirt and medal for our accomplishment:

— More than Running —

Theme, theme, theme

I do love having fun with a theme. Since my friend dressed as the Blue Fairy, a pic with the fairy while on the Pinocchio ride was a must.

Dining at Disney

The night before, I ordered this citrus chicken plate from the Cocina Cucamonga in DCA’s Pacific Wharf. It was amazing. It was a little spendy – somewhere between $12-$15. But, I have paid that much to eat at Tortilla Jo’s in Downtown Disney.

The evening of the 10K we ate at the Plaza Inn. I had fried chicken and mashed potatoes, with green beans. It was also really good, but a bit more expensive than the chicken from DCA.

I don’t know if my friends loved waking up early to do a 5k, then spend the rest of the day at Disneyland. But, they were good sports and I’m so glad they came. One of them, though, is talking about doing a 10K – so that’s a good sign. Maybe I’m slowly converting her. Bahaha…

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Last minute I decided to sign up for the Worst Day of the Year Run in Troutdale. I also convinced Farm Kid1 to do it with me.

Running in February can often mean running in cold temperatures, wind and rain – thus the Worst Day. However, this particular day was great. It wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t freezing and the wind and rain stayed away. Score!

The Venue

The course was around McMenamins Edgefield, so it was beautiful.

Registraion & Vendor Area

Costumes

Farm Kid1 and I didn’t dress up, but many people did. I love when people get into it.

The Course

Holy guacamole! I wasn’t expecting hills. But, there were hills. A number of them. It was great training for my upcoming half marathons, which are hilly.

Bling & Swag

Farm Kid1 and I each received a beanie and earned our finisher’s medal. I also got an awesome cup for being an REI member.

I would definitely take part in this event again. It was a fun, low stress race. I wasn’t expecting hills, so my time was slower than my usual 5k. But, that didn’t matter. Farm Kid1 and I finished strong and enjoyed lunch together afterwards.

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I’ve spent the last few days at the Star Wars Half Marathon weekend in Disneyland. This was my second Run Disney event weekend. They sure know how to put on a good event. That has to be one of the reasons their events are so popular.

There was only one down side to the weekend. The only reason I signed up for this particular weekend was because I wanted to do a Run Disney event with my family. My kids enjoy doing 5K’s and I knew it would be a fun thing for us to do together. I thought my boys would really get into the Star Wars theme. However, that’s not how it worked out. I got to my computer 10 minutes after registration opened. The rebel challenge was already 85% sold out, the 5K was at 50%. So, I got to clicking as fast as I could and eventually got signed up for the rebel challenge. Then the mission was to get 5 of us signed up for the 5K. Ha! What a joke. After probably over an hour, I finally got into the registration system and signed myself up for the 5K. There was no option for signing kids up with me. I never got back into the system. Within 2 hours it was completely sold out. I’m not gonna lie. I had tears after that. Literally, the only reason I wanted to do the Star Wars event was so I could do it with my kids. I’m not even a Star Wars fan. I’ve never seen the original movies. And, it took me about 10 tries to get through episode I. I’ve seen most of episode II. And, I took the kids to see the newest movie one night when our power was out. I’ll admit Rey is a great character and I’m fond of BB8. But, still bummed not to be doing the race with the kids.

Costumes, or lack of

My lack of Star Wars mania resulted in not much in the way of costumes for any of the races. I found 2 Star Wars themed shirts at Kohl’s I thought were cute and a pair of galaxy printed running pants. That’s it. Between those items and stuff I had at home, I put together 3 themed outfits. They weren’t fancy, but it was a little somethin’ Star Wars related.

Just because I’m not a Star Wars fanatic doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time. I was still frustrated about not getting to do the 5K with my family, but it wasn’t going to help the race any by being grumpy about it. So, I enjoyed being at Disneyland, had fun seeing all the costumes other runners wore, started my morning with a workout, and earned new bling. I certainly can’t complain… too much.

Packet Pick Up & Expo

First thing we did after checking into our hotel was head to the expo. Just like during the Tinker Bell Weekend, packet pick up was super simple. The lines weren’t long and I quickly grabbed my goodies and moved on to the expo. We looked around for a bit, but we were antsy to get to the park. The line for the official Disney merchandise was 2 hours. Ummm. No. I had preordered the 10k, half, and rebel challenge pins. I received them at packet pick up. Unfortunately, the 5K pins were sold out or not available at the time, so I couldn’t order them ahead of time. I wasn’t waiting in a 2 hour line for one pin. I was just going to have to risk them selling out. They didn’t. I came the next day, waited in a 10 minute line and bought the pin.

The second day it was just Farm Kid2 & I at the Expo. We listened to a couple speakers and he made me a sign to encourage me during the next two runs. Love that kid.

Waiting to Start

The race started on a street near the Disneyland hotel. I knew the general direction and headed that way. Once I got closer it was easy to figure out where to go. The 5K is not a timed race and I didn’t need to submit a proof of time. I was placed in Corral B, but I’m not sure why. I got to the corral around 5:00, which seemed to work out perfectly. I didn’t have to stress about being late and it wasn’t a horribly long time to wait.

The Start

The wheelchair racers and Corral A started at 5:30. My corral started at 5:40. The announcer counted us down, confetti was flying, and we were off.

The First Mile

Since the run started on the street, we circled around a bit until entering Disneyland.

Character Sighting

At about 3/4 of a mile into the run was our first character sighting. It was Chewbacca. The line was 15 – 20 minutes. I waited.

Running Through Disneyland

I run Disney for the entire experience. I don’t do it to get a pr. It gives me incentive to train. I train, then I enjoy the event. For me, enjoying the event involves taking pictures. So… I stop a lot during the run. I never took walk breaks during the 5K. But, I took plenty of stop, enjoy the scenery, and snap a photo breaks.

It’s a Small World was gorgeous.

I waited in a short line for a photo op with characters from the the cartoon Star Wars Rebels. I’ve never seen it. But, I loved the ladies outfit and hair.

Storm Troopers were hangin’ at the train station.

Running Through California Adventure

I apparently dilly dallied in Disneyland too long because by the time I got to the droids the lines were closed, which meant you couldn’t get a pic with them. Boo.

There are so many beautiful sites in California Adventure including Hollywood Blvd, Cars Land and the Fun Wheel.

The Final Stretch

Somewhere around the 2.75 mile mark you enter Downtown Disney. Run passed the shops towards the Disneyland Hotel, veer right and you have reached the finish line. Woop! Woop! Race 1 of 3 complete.

Time wise, this was probably my slowest 5K ever. That’s ok. I had a good time and I completed the event – my two goals accomplished.

Snacks & Stuff

First up, the water and powerade tents. Then comes the little box of snacks and a banana. I had never heard of the 3 items on the right of the snack photo. I gotta say, all 3 were quite tasty.

Woo hoo! The medal to go with the matching tshirt and bib.

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I have previously posted about Love Rocks & the impact they have had on our neighboring community. The Love Rocks family hosted a 5k as a fundraiser to build a playground in the girls honor. I got up early yesterday and took part in the event.

ANNA & ABIGAIL’S TREES

THE RUN

I absolutely wanted to do this run. However, I was throwing up the night before and when I woke up the next morning I didn’t feel much better. I had very little energy to even get out of bed. But, I did… because I had to throw up again. Once I was up, though, I decided I’d at least drive to the event and decide once I was there if I would run it. I felt miserable, & much to my husband’s dismay, I went to the event. I got there, grabbed my packet, started pinning on my bib and the announcer started counting down the start. I decided to go for it. It was either that or go back home and be miserable. So, I ran. I was a minute or two late at the start, but I started. And, I finished. I even ended up with a decent time.

It was a lovely course through rural Forest Grove.

I didn’t take nearly as many photos as I usually do. I just didn’t feel like it. I wanted to finish the 5k and get back home. I also didn’t bother turning on Map My Walk or Nike+ apps. I ALWAYS log my runs. It just didn’t seem important that day. And, lastly, I didn’t even turn on the tracking feature on my new fitbit. That tracking feature is one of the reasons I wanted the Charge HR. Oh well, I’ll try it next time.

THE SWAG

As a participant, I got a tshirt. I love the Love Rocks Run logo. I love the colors. I love the design. I love it all. So, I’m thrilled to have a shirt with it.

As opposed to a finishers medal, I got a bag with 2 love rocks in it. One rock to keep & one rock to share.

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Last week I completed my first ever Run Disney event – the Neverland 5K. It was a great experience, even if it did rain.

I flew to California with two friends on Thursday & we spent the entire weekend enjoying Disneyland & California Adventure.

This post contains affiliate links.

COSTUME

A couple years ago, I made myself a Red Queen costume to go along with my kids Mad Hatter & Alice Halloween costumes. I cut off the long sleeves & shortened the skirt & voila a Red Queen costume fit for a 5K.

Crown: I made a crown using glittery gold craft foam and tied it to a headband. It worked splendidly. I wore it all day.
Dress: The pattern I used before my recent alterations, when I first made the dress, was McCall’s M5954.
Bra: Panache Underwire Sports Bra – I have a couple of these bras. They are absolutely my favorite while running.
Leggings: Nike

EARLY MORNING

The 5K started at 5:00am. So, so early. We left the hotel about 4:30 and headed towards the castle, which is where the race started. So, so awesome.

I, obviously, dressed as the Red Queen. One of my friends pulled off a fantastic Sully costume. And, my other friend wore the Neverland 5k shirt.

Fireworks & Tink flying over the castle were the signals that the race was about to begin! We were so excited, to say the least. It was an emotional moment for my friends. Two years prior, they completed this very same 5K. That was their  very first 5K. They’ve gone on to do over 40 5K’s in the 2 years since. I’m so proud of them. And, here we are in the most Magical Place ready to tackle another.

RAIN. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Southern California was in desperate need of rain. However, we are from Oregon & see plenty of rain. So we were not impressed. It started out just sprinkling, which was ok. But, then it got heavier and we realized there was no way we were going to finish this 5K before turning into wet rags. The Disney Cast Members wore ponchos while handing out the water. Smart people.

WALKING THROUGH THE PARKS

The course took us through Disneyland, California Adventure & the back lots. It was fun seeing the back lots & the items they had on display for us. While on the course, when you saw Peter’s shadow you were supposed to cock-a-doodle-doo. My friend with the dark hair was an awesome cock-a-doodle-doo-er. We tried to enjoy ourselves despite the rain.

CHARACTER PHOTO OPS

There were plenty of Neverland characters available for your photo taking pleasure. Hook & Smee were popular. As were Wendy & Peter near the end. We opted not to take photos with those characters. I’m thinking we just had no desire to stand in line while it was raining. We did, however, get a quick pic with these fun pirates.

THE FINISH & OUR MEDAL

One of the best things about this 5K was all the great costumes. Definitely one of my favorites were 3 ladies dressed as Flora, Fauna & Merryweather.

The Neverland 5K medal is made of a rubbery plastic material making it seem kind of chincy. However, it is super cute with the Lost Boys decorating it.

SWAG

At the finish we received a box of goodies. It had all sorts of things in it: goldfish, a clif bar, hummus, cashew roca, and a couple things I’ve never heard about. It was great stuff to snack on throughout our weekend at Disneyland.

HOW WE SPENT THE REST OF THE DAY

After resting for a bit, we headed back to the parks and spent the rest of the day enjoying Disneyland & California Adventure. We had a lunch reservation at the Blue Bayou. My friends raved about the Monte Cristo, so that’s what I ordered too. Oh! So good! It’s not the type of thing I usually eat. But, it was delicious.

My friend with the dark hair did our Red Queen & Sully hair earlier that morning for the 5K. She did such a good job that it stayed even through the rain. We chose to keep our hair dos throughout the day. I’ll admit, I felt a wee bit silly walking around with a crown all day.

Two days later, I ran my first half marathon. Check that post out here.

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Previously I had done 2 color fun runs & my boys were wanting to do one, so we did the Color Vibe.

The nice thing was that kids 12 and under could do the event for free. Of course they didn’t get any swag, but no biggie, I just bought extra color packets for them to throw. Buying color packets isn’t necessary to do the event, but one of the best parts is getting to throw color at your friends & family. To me, it’s worth paying for extras.

They loved it. They wore moustaches and sunglasses & totally embraced getting colorful.

THE FUN RUN

The event is a fun run, basically meaning you do not receive an official time. You can run, jog, walk or stroll. Just have fun & make it to the finish line. That’s exactly what we did. There was 10 of us in our group. We got colorful and had fun.

Top Left: This is my sister’s father in law. What a fun guy, huh.
Middle: This is the fun part – running through the color zones. Of course my kids loved it.

THE FINISH

Bottom: These color runs typically have music and an announcer on stage at the end. At certain times everyone throws their color and it creates a beautiful powdery mess.

If you’ve never done a 5K and would like to, but are nervous about how to go about it, a fun run is the perfect place to start. There is absolutely no pressure. Some people run them, many people walk, everybody has fun. It’s about getting out there and being active at your own pace.

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Almost exactly one year ago I signed my hubby, John, & I up for the Warrior Dash. It was much cheaper if we committed so far in advance. So, I signed us up. Then waited.

I have friends who have done it and this muddy, obstacle filled race was on my bucket list of 5k’s. This weekend was finally our time to give our all at the Warrior Dash.

It was all I thought it would be. Challenging, yet loads of fun… except the never ending steep hills. Those sucked.

THE MUDDY OBSTACLE TRAIL RUN

Of course, what makes this event different from other 5K’s are the obstacles. It’s not a race to get your PR, but a race to challenge you in a different way.

Top Left: 3, 2, 1, Go – complete with fire!
Top Right: Alcatraz. This was our first obstacle, so I was actually excited to hop in and get wet. I wasn’t real graceful climbing onto the island, but I did it. Totally doable. And, a great obstacle to start the event. However… when I was trying to be silly waving at my husband I jabbed & scraped my leg on a stick standing up in the pond. That’s what I get for trying to be silly… Funny, that’s exactly what I tell my kids when they get hurt while messing around. It really didn’t hurt too bad when I did it. But today, it looks horrible. It’s big & red and purple.
Bottom Left: The pipeline. A long net tunnel. Definitely doable, but a bit awkward.
Middle Right: Mud Mounds. Slippery, muddy mounds to crawl up & slide down with soupy mud in between. Farmer John jumped across each of the soupy sections. I, however, sloshed my way through them.
Bottom Right: Muddy feet & legs within the first mile. Bahaha. I thought I was muddy.

Top Left: When I got to this climbing wall obstacle I was nervous. It was steep and tall and intimidating. I did it, though, with no problem.
Bottom Left: Goliath. Climbing ropes to the top, then sliding very quickly into a pit of muddy water.
Right: Black, stinky, thick mud goo is what this was. It was horrible. The mud was deep & extremely thick making it incredibly difficult to move through. Even Farmer John had a hard time with this one & he flew through all the other obstacles. It was impossible to move more than a teeny tiny inch at a time. I imagine someone could easily have a panic attack in there. This was not your everyday common mud. I think we’re  smiling in this pic because we’re glad we made it out alive.

WE FINISHED!

Oh man, was I glad to be done. Those hills, the heat & that black mud obstacle at the end had wore me out. We earned our medals that day.

GETTING CLEANED UP

There was a pond available to scrape that weird sticky black mud off before getting in your car.

This was not just any ol’ typical 5k. It was a challenge. I was worried about the obstacles, but they really weren’t much of a problem. A couple of them had me nervous, but I completed them just fine. There was nothing I felt I could not do. The most challenging part was going up all the hills. There was hill after hill with obstacles in between.

On my slower running days, I will run a 5k in about 45 minutes. So, I gave us the goal of finishing this obstacle filled race in an hour. We didn’t. It took us about an hour and a half. Some time was wasted while waiting in line to get through the obstacles and also I hadn’t counted on all those hills. We walked more than I planned. I wasn’t going for time anyway. I just thought we would do it quicker.

I’m so glad we did it. I think my hubby even had fun.

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Over the weekend my sister, a couple friends, niece, & daughter took part in the Color Me Rad 5K. We walked the 3.1 miles beginning at the event center, on to the road, through 4 color stations & back to the event center.

This is a fun run, so it’s not timed. We just walked & had a good time.

Last October I did the Color Vibe & this 5K was very similar. The Color Vibe seemed to have more people & was louder, but the focus of the event – which is color – was pretty much the same.

WE’RE HERE & READY TO GET COLORFUL

BEING RAD

Top Left: Color stations along the route have volunteers throwing color at you as you go by. The first color was pink.
Middle Left: Rad tattoo that came with our race packet. We also got a tshirt, sunglasses, rad sticker & 1 color bomb.
Bottom Right: My niece & Princess K are both 6, so they did the race for free. Score! And, they loved it.

THE FINISH

Top: Party full of people throwing color bombs at the same time. I love this part, although it does get quite dusty as all that colored corn starch fills the air.
Middle Left: Probably my least favorite part. I love all the color & I don’t mind being messy. But, having an ear full of powdered color is just weird.
Bottom Left: My sister & I. You know, ’cause we’re each “One Rad Mama!”
Bottom Right: Us colorful “adults” at the end of the race. It’s nice to be silly once in a while.

This event was low key & fun. There was no pressure to race hard. I simply enjoyed a walk with my daughter, conversation with friends & lots of color.

Although it appears to be quite a crazy time, it really wasn’t overly crowded or too loud. It was very family friendly.

If you are looking for a PR, this probably isn’t the best race option. But, if you’re looking to get off the couch & do something fun with family & friends this 5K is perfect.

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