Costuming

One of the happiest discoveries I had when first getting into road races is the costumes! Ok, so most road races aren't themed with costuming in mind. And I seriously doubt anyone running Boston is going to jeopardize their aerodynamic flow by running in a tutu and Mickey Mouse ears. But not only are some races encouraging of costumes (like the Twilight Retro Race I'll be running tonight), but I've noticed a trend (both in races I've run and in the running blogosphere) that more and more runners are taking the chance at their races to don a colorful tutu and maybe some colorful knee socks.

Costumes I've seen at non-themed races usually involve colorful tulle skirts and sometimes themed hair accessories. And of course, for themed races, the costumes can get really awesome! Virtually all of the Run Disney races encourage runners to don their best Disney costumes, ranging from the classic princesses to animated icons of the 21st century. The cleverest Run Disney costume I've seen was a pair of girls dressed as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from Alice and Wonderland. I signed up for the 2013 Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon on the day registration opened, and I'm already hard at work deciding who to dress as. Of course, going as a Disney princess is always a popular choice, but right now I'm leaning towards Minnie Mouse, or maybe even my favorite Disney furry friend, Meeko from Pocahontas. Ideas and suggestions are greatly welcome!

And lest anyone think that runners who are into costumes aren't "serious" runners, I've seen a number of costumed runners smoke the competition in road races. Most memorably was my very first 5k, which was on St. Patrick's Day 2012. Most people were donning green to some degree, but one man in particular was wearing a leprechaun costume and had dyed his hair bright red and painted a red beard on his face. He even ran the race carrying a box of Lucky Charms! I'm not sure if he placed or not, but he certainly smoked most of us on the road, even with that cereal box! 

Tonight at 6 o'clock is the annual Twilight Retro Run, where runners are encouraged to don their tackiest clothes from the 60s, 70s, or 80s. There's even a costume contest, where the best costume (which has to actually be run in!) wins $100. After mulling over loads of ideas, I've decided to run the race dressed as one of my childhood favorite cartoon characters, Rainbow Bright! My sweet BF surprised me the other day with a brand new digital camera ("Just because!"), so I'll be sure to take some pics to upload here.

Happy running!!