Monster Dash 5K


Last Saturday while Lacey was running Wicked, my mom and I ran the Monster Dash. This was a local new to me 5K race.



1. Packet pick up was available the night before, which I was glad it was, because this prevented us from having to be there an hour earlier on race morning.  I think everyone else had the same idea to come on Friday evening because the lines were long.

This was the t-shirt we were given.
I did not know that our race registration included a race T-shirt (because few local races do), but when I got to the counter the nice lady informed me that I did not mark a size for the shirt so they took the liberty of ordering one for me which was nice, but they ordered me a LARGE!  They did not know me so I guess how were they supposed to know.  My mom also missed the shirt part on her registration as well but they ordered her a medium. We switched shirts when we left packet pick up.

Race morning.


2. Yes, I too am disappointed in my race day outfit! Me of all people who loves making race costumes did not have an actual “costume” for this race. Making a costume was the main reason I wanted to do this race!  I literally threw this outfit together Friday night.  I don’t mean to make excuses because it’s not like I didn’t know about this race for over a month now, but I do think all my energy was consumed with Baltimore, which was run just the previous weekend.  I knew as soon as I laid this outfit out that I was going to be dressed too warmly, and I was!

3. When we got to the race, it was such a festive atmosphere.  There were festive decorations and they even had Halloween music playing from their sound system.  There were a lot of people dressed up. Some were in costumes and some had on just festive attire like myself. I saw a lot of orange pumpkin shirts.


4. Home base for the race was at a local elementary school and that is where the start and finish lines were.  The route left the school and looped through a neighborhood with many rolling hills.  The course itself was even festive. It was marked clearly with orange signs that had monsters painted on them. And at most of the intersections there were costumed volunteers to make sure you stayed on track.  This was the first race I ever ran that was marked in Kilometers instead of miles (which obviously makes sense since it is a 5K) but was still new to me.  Every few kilometers they had obstacles, like jumping through hoops and such. We did not stop to do any of the obstacles but I did read that if you did, you time would be adjusted to reflect that.   Since my mom had been suffering from planter fasciitis, we decided to just do a run walk and not worry about our time anyway.

 
This was the finish line for the kids race. The adults had just a regular blow up arch..
As we ran in towards the finish there was a slight down hill and the path leading to the finish line was lined in pumpkins which I thought was cute! 



5. A lot of people stuck around at the finish area. The Halloween music was still playing and they had snacks and drinks. We hung out for a little bit and talked to a yellow lab puppy and her owner. The lab ran the race dressed in a soccer jersey!

It was sunny this morning and really a great day for a race.  My mom and I both enjoyed running it and will consider running it again next year. Perhaps we will bring my dad along next time.  Oh, and I will try to actually come up with a costume next time too. Hmm, maybe a group costume???  -M





36 comments:

  1. How fun! It's great that your mom runs with you! And, hey at least you made an attempt at dressing festively...I can't believe the number of people who show up for a themed event and don't even bother LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There definitely were quite a few runners who didn't bother dressing festive!

      Delete
  2. Looks like a fun race! Love that your mom did it too. I think they should have let everyone run through the kids blow up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha yea, that was definitely a nice touch for the kids!

      Delete
  3. Looks like a gorgeous day for a race! You girls are lucky they had shirts left for you. I've been in races where i forgot to put size down and ended up getting either XL or a shirt from the previous year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did not even know we were getting shirts. I must have missed that on the registration but the funny thing is that my mom missed it too and we both registered at different times!

      Delete
  4. Cute shirts and I love that your mom ran with you, too! I never wear costumes but that seemed like the right day for it! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess if you were to ever wear one a Halloween race would be the best place!

      Delete
  5. Sounds like a fun race! That's cute that they had obstacles and Halloween decor along the way.

    ReplyDelete
  6. How much fun! Your outfit was pretty cute for last minute! Love that green skirt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I wore that skirt for the tinkerbell race in disneyland so i'm glad I could use it again!

      Delete
  7. Looks like a great day for a race! I love the Halloween theme because it looks like it was so much fun

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the small holiday races! I missed the Halloween one this year bc we were away

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the holiday races too! Looking forward to doing a winter one now!

      Delete
  9. I loved your outfit! It looks very festive and the sparkly skirt is so perfect!

    Congrats on the awesome 5k!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The obstacles look like fun, but probably not when I'm doing a 5k. I like that they were festive with Halloween all over the place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There were quite a few people who stopped to do the obstacles. Unless I was planning to walk the entire thing, I wouldn't have stopped either (and I didn't)!

      Delete
  11. I cant believe you didnt get a pic of the yellow lab :)
    That's a pleasant surprise to get a cute shirt... even if the size is so off ;) haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, I did take a picture. Of the dog, but it was with the owners camera...haha. He wanted a picture of him and his child and his dog and asked if I would take it!

      Delete
  12. This looks like such a fun race! They had a lot of great extra touches!

    ReplyDelete
  13. A group costume would be cool! Can't wait to see what you come up with (not that I'll remember you're supposed to).

    Sounds like a really fun race -- and sunny skies always help!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha I hope I remember that I wrote that about the group costume!

      Delete
  14. I think you put your race outfit together nicely! I'm like you I've been so busy I didn't really have time to plan a Halloween outfit and I didn't race in a themed race this year either. Boo.
    Congratulations to the both of you! Yes a group costume! You have plenty of time to think about it! lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have plenty of time but I bet I'll still wait till the last minute...haha

      Delete
  15. A lab running in a soccer jersey? That's too adorable. Glad you had fun during the race.

    Have a great weekend!
    The Fitness Bro

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! There were actually a couple dogs running the race!

      Delete
  16. I'm glad you and your mom had a great race! I love when races start/finish at a school... REAL BATHROOMS!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you Karen! I thought I at least tried to be festive in my candy corn headband and my witch shirt...haha. It was a great day for a race and i'm glad I got to spend it with my mom.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Jealous of your gorgeous weather for your race. Love that your mom runs with you. I think I've mentioned that before? :-)

    ReplyDelete

Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.