This year, I was really planning to race the Run for the Pies. Not because I was going to get a pie (only the top 200 finishers do), but because everyone says it’s such a fun event.
However, little man saw an ad for the NTF Family 5K and Superhero Fun Run through Ultimate Racing, and desperately wanted to participate. As chance would have it, it was scheduled for the same day as Run for the Pies, so choices had to be made. We went with little man’s choice.
I was pretty sure that he could actually participate in the 5K, but the one mile fun run yielded the same benefits as the 5K (t-shirt and medal), and since the weather had been so humid, we opted for the shorter distance. I thought it would be cute to focus on participating as a family, especially for such great cause.
The Neighbor To Family organization is dedicated to helping keep siblings together, when children are taken from unstable or abusive homes and placed in foster care.
The run was located at one of the local running stores. The fun run would be held first, looping around the shopping center parking lot, while the 5K would be an out and back down the main road.
Did I mention that costumes were strongly encouraged?
It’s been a while since I donned a tutu or similar for a run, so I was really into the idea.
At first little man wanted to be Iron Man, but then changed his mind to Captain America. Mr PugRunner wanted to be the Flash, and I? Well, I would have loved to kept up with the Marvel theme, and gone as Black Widow, but the thought of being out in the Florida sun in a black bodysuit was less than appealing, so I weighed my options and decided on She-Ra: Princess of Power.
They did cartoons right in the 80s.
I enlisted the help of my mother with some of the details. She helped stitch the “helmets” for the guys, and then took care of the emblem on my shirt, as well as the cape. I (half) joked that she could open an easy shop for running costumes. She’s that good.
We picked up our bibs and t-shirts on Friday and got ready for the run.
Saturday morning was overeats, and it looked like rain was going to be a factor. Fortunately, the weather held, even if it was pretty humid. There was a little crowd at the start line, but it looked to be a pretty small field, which surprised me.
The set up was really cute, too, with some vendors and cute backdrops.
We checked out some of the costumes and milled about, having a last little bit of water.
Little man was super excited to get started and took off when the signal sounded.
The shield didn’t last long: he ended up handing it off to me as we ran. He races in sprint/walk intervals, but he did a great job. In fact, we finished in 9:18, which is the fastest mile I’ve done in quite some time.
The 5K started almost immediately afterwards, and I have to admit that I regret not signing up for that as well. I would have placed in my age group and that’s a pretty motivating realization for me.
We grabbed breakfast at Panera, right near the start line, keeping an eye on the finish line. I loved how they waited until the very last runner crossed the line before getting on with the awards. They also had face painting and a balloon artist for the kids, as well as snacks and water.
I found the event very well organized and nicely done. We will definitely register for more Ultimate Racing events in the future.
And as a special surprise, the next day, we found our picture on the front page of our newspaper’s Metro section.
Pretty neat.
What’s the most fun race you’ve ever run?
How are you spending the week?
loved your outfits! I haven’t done a fun run in quite some time, the first race I did was a local school 8km colour run with coloured powder stations manned by kids along the route which was alot of fun for a first time runner like myself.
megan recently posted…Monday Motivation
Color runs are a lot of fun. I got kind of burned out on them this year (three in less than two months), but they are a blast, especially when introducing friends to the sport of running.
How fun. You are so creative.
Darlene recently posted…Adirondack Distance Run recap
I had some help! It was awesome, though!
That seems like a lot of family fun!!
Lisa recently posted…Update
It really was!
This is adorable! I love that the three of you run together. So nice to spend quality time together while also being healthy and having FUN!
I haven’t done too many fun runs, though I did do the ugly sweater run this winter which was a great time! It was luckily fairly warm out for the season, and they had great blow ups and lots of hot cocoa. The outfits were fantastic too! I recapped it here: http://amateuratlarge.blogspot.com/2013/12/holidays-are-time-for-running.html
Stacie Seidman recently posted…A Little Whining and Some Weekend Recapping
I would love to do an ugly sweater run! That sounds like an absolute blast!
I love that we run together too. It’s nice to have an activity we all enjoy.
Totally love the outfits, and how awesome on the front page of the newspaper, win, I’d be keeping that paper for sure.
I’ve never done a run in a costume, I should one day.
Matilda recently posted…The long run before SCTM
A bunch of friends posted it to my Facebook page, and so I took myself directly to the grocery store to buy a hard copy. The family is going to have its own press clippings book lol! It was fun to dress up. I’m a big geek, though, so that might be a part of it 🙂
Your costumes are great! And what a great organization that is!
Meranda@fairytalesandfitness recently posted…3 Shady Places to Run this Summer
The organization is absolutely great. In the face of the instabilities some of these kids are facing, it would be healthy and helpful to have a sibling with them for support and familiarity.
Oh my gosh!! This is so cute!! You guys looked ADORABLE and your costume was fabulous. I love seeing pictures of Little Man..he’s so stinking cute!!
Rachel @ Undercover Diva: A Sitcom recently posted…The Great Adventure: Blue John Mines and Chatsworth House
Thank you! Little man is a character, that’s for sure!
That looks like so much fun & your costumes are perfect! Love the newspaper pic too. You’re practically famous now! Glad you were able to have such a fun family run.
jan recently posted…The Best Cake
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Hahaha oh my gosh that’s awesome that you made the front of the Metro section! Those really are great costumes. How cool that you could have done so well in your age group, that IS darn motivating!
Anne @ CandyCrazedrun.wordpress.com recently posted…Dear Gym
I know! I’m going to keep an eye on some of the smaller races around here. I mean, yes, it would be nice if I was faster, but if I’m the fastest in a certain field, I see no reason not to capitalize on it!