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Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Batman Ran For His Grandpa

As I've mentioned before, running is hard.  What I forgot to mention is that running in Boulder is not the same thing as running the same loop, day after day through my neighborhood.  Boulder, see, has a tendency to bring out the crazies and ups the entertainment factor by a mile (or SIX POINT TWO MILES as the case may be).  Don't get me wrong, running still sucks, but there's something about an Elvis impersonator singing "I'm All Shook Up" along the sidelines that encourages one to press on.

Monday was the day - our family set the alarm for 5am, caught the bus at 6am, pulled over on the freeway 1/2 hour later so a woman who took her pre-race hydrating routine very seriously could relieve a little pressure on her bladder, then arrived about an hour later at the starting line.  After a little stretching and a potty break we joined our heat and headed off.  Yay us!  That was the last time I saw my family until we reached the finish.  Samantha ran ahead, Drew and Cory stayed together, and I pulled up the rear.  I had to, so I could take pictures of Elvis - while he was asking me to love him tender I asked him to "say cheese!" 



 Since the race is run through a community the streets have to shut down for several hours.  In other words, if you happen to live along the track you'd better not make plans before 2pm.  The homeowners are all very supportive - I passed up three offers for free beer, had jumbo marshmallows thrown my way, and welcomed the squirting of water guns aimed my direction.  I passed on the invitation to indulge a slip-n-slide run in another's front yard, but stopped to take a picture of this kiddie pool that several runners took advantage of:
Have I mentioned that some people run in costume?  I tried to get Cory to wear his Obi Wan Kenobi getup but he declined.  I think he regretted it once he saw the 7 college boys in gold sequined leotards, but by then it was too late.  Since the race is run on Memorial Day many people run in honor of someone they love, many of whom served in the military.  They wear an extra bib on their back with that person's name - I kept a steady pace behind Bat Man:

As I got a little more awesome and went to pass him (which, hellooo, passing a superhero?  let's have a little moment of silence for THAT, alrighty?) I noticed what it said on his bib:

Then I kinda felt sorry for Bat Man.  Since I wanted to remain supportive I did a fist pump as I passed him and said, "Go Grandpa!"  Then two things crossed my mind:  1) Does this poor kid think I'm patronizing him and calling him a Grandpa? and, 2) Hey, you're Bat Man, couldn't you have saved him?  Oh well, I guess I'll never know.  In the meantime, when is the last time you saw belly dancers?  'Cuz they make an appearance at about mile 3:

It's quite an experience, the Bolder Boulder.  I highly recommend it, but that's probably just because it's over.  The kids want to do it again next year - I'm not making any promises, but you never know.  I might get a hankerin' for some bad Elvis impressions.

14 comments:

roxanne said...

Way to go! That sounds like such a fun race! So glad you toted your camera along so we could all see the sights without having to actually RUN 6.2 miles.

Lani Wendt Young said...

Congratulations for doing it! And yes, Im also glad you took photos! ( i cant believe you werent too exhasuted to take pictures. Whenever i do a race...I can barely move let alone hold a camera. And always regret it later on.)
Your family is an inspiration. Now - how can i con/blackmail/threaten/bribe my own family to do the same sort of thing?

Lorie said...

That was hilarious! Thanks for the run down and for taking your camera.... I can picture the batman incident perfectly. Just glad you didn't run past while talking about your womanly problems out loud. Makes me want to run that again. There really is nothing like that race. Way to go!!

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

You are so awesome for running it!
Looks like it was a total riot.

I don't think I could have gotten any running done because I would have been so busy taking pictures.

ganelle said...

What cracks me up is that you were taking all these pictures in the middle of a race. Although, kinda justifies the walking/occasional stopping. So actually, this is a clever idea.

anitamombanita said...

First off, so proud of you. Second, who takes photos while running a race?! Not even, I, die-hard photographer, but clearly I've been missing out. It seems that it makes the run MUCH more enjoyable. Third, you crack me up, as always. And finally, I love the photo of you and your man at the end... you look adorable! Way to go, Vern!!

Kelly said...

Sounds like fun... except for the running part. I laughed out loud at the part where you passed Batman. You are super!!!

Bakeshow said...

You ran the BB! *and* lived to tell about it. My metaphirical hat is off to you.

Anonymous said...

You are awesome! I did a Halloween 5K once and was AMAZED that people could run in costumes. One guy ran it in a wet suit and flippers. Flippers? Yes, flippers.

I love that you took your camera!

Sherise said...

I miss the Bolder Boulder! I'm glad you had such a good time.

JourneyBeyondSurvival said...

I'm proud of both you and Batman. Good job. Yeah, and toting a camera along? BONUS POINTS for life.

Vern said...

I'm glad you are all so impressed with me taking a camera, but really you shouldn't be. It was just my iPhone, and I was only toting that so I could listen to my iTunes!

iWin.

[Stacia] said...

Go you! But now I'm kind of bummed... when we ran our half last year, not one person is in costume. That SO would have pumped me up. Possibly more than the shotblocks. :)

[Stacia] said...

*was