Howl `n Scream Scram

We did a Halloween 5k today! Road races are one of my favorite Saturday activities, especially when they have a fun theme. Like run in your costume!

Before we left, we got our game faces on. Fearsome highlanders ready to CHARGE.

  

Off to get our race numbers. I like how you can see all those lovely pleats flaring out on the kilts from behind. Dear Steph came to watch Jay and Rose. She is such a good auntie.

 

Jay’s first race number. Sniff.  The number was almost too big for his shirt!

For some reason we kept doing our growly faces for pictures. Here we are, all ready to go, go, go (as Jay would say).

Jeff “ran” the Kooky Caper kids 1/4 miler with Jay. Jay is invisible in this picture behind Daddy. Isn’t that the best start line you’ve ever seen? Before each race started, they had everyone do a howl and a scream at the starting line. I kind of did a mixture between the two. It was a fun little detail.

Annnnnd they’re off! Jay held Jeff’s hand and kind of trot-walked for most of the race. I think he was overwhelmed by all the crowds, costumes, and commotion. About 2/3 of the way through, Jeff picked Jay up and carried him for a little while. When Jay gets worried, he asks for a hug/pick-up. But on the homestretch, Jay got down and trotted on in. It was so cute. I think he got second to last in the 4 and under race. He got his participation ribbon and clutched it proudly the rest of the morning.

The finish!

Can you hear the guy on the speaker saying “nice kilt!”

Next race: the 5k/10k. We did the 5k, and good thing too, because it was ULTRA windy, and our kilts were like big, flappy sails pushing us back. It was intense. But nobody ever said running in a kilt would be all fun and games. Just mostly.

Jeff was at least a minute or more ahead of the field when he reached the finish line. The only problem was he approached it from the back—there was nobody to direct runners at a critical FORK in the path, so poor Jeff didn’t know he had to turn. He would’ve won. We’re counting it. He is super at knowing his pace/distance, so he’s pretty sure he ran a 5k even going the wrong way, and his time was 17:08. Go husband, go!

As for me, I didn’t make any wrong turns, but I did make a potentially wrong choice. I decided to go full-throttle from the gun and see how long I could hold on.  The answer to that remains unknown because I ran with the wind for the first half and against it in that billowing kilt for the second half. But I think it’s safe to say that my full throttle only lasts about a mile  right now. The good news is I ran my fastest mile in 4 years during this race! I did the first mile in 6:15 (8 seconds faster than my current best). Then I ran 6:54 and 7:33 for the last 2 miles—talk about major drop off! The so-called last tenth of the 3.1 mile race was closer to a quarter mile or more, so my time ended up being 22:57. But the surprise was I WON! Top girl. Don’t worry, I won’t let it go to my head. They nearly strangled me trying to lasso the medal around my neck when I crossed the line.

Our friends the Shafers were there too! They live in the Tri Cities area (we knew them back in our College Place/Walla Walla days). I was Luke’s primary teacher back then. Luke won the age 5-8 kids half miler. We were both champions together. The Shafers are one of my favorite families. It was great to see them again.

 

For the record, here’s Jay with his ribbon. And here’s what even all that wind didn’t manage to reveal. My lucky pink shorts remained hidden thanks to my massive well-wrapped and belted kilt.

The race shirts are giant and crazy, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from any race called the Howl n Scream Scram and Kooky Caper.