Run or Dye











Whenever I see a new race and it sounds interesting, I'll mention it to Bernie and Nick to see if just maybe they would like to run with me.  Bernie sighs, particularly if the race is longer than a 5k or has an entry fee of more than $1 (he wonders why anyone would actually pay to run), and Nick rolls his eyes at me. Once in awhile they will decide to participate but they always tell me it is under duress. Jack loves to run, so I am hoping he will want to do races with me someday; and it is just to early to tell with Vivian.

 My nephew, Colin, ran cross country this past year in school and plans to run again in the fall.  I finally found someone who gets excited about races! We had planned to run other races together and those plans did not work out.  I found a Groupon for the Hartford Run or Dye event around Easter and I immediately signed us up.  Run or Dye is really just a celebration.  It is not a timed event, there is no pressure to do anything but have fun. This worked out well because the weather was extremely hot and humid, and it turns out Colin's races at the middle school level are 2.1 miles as opposed to the 3.1 miles in a 5k.  I don't know how many people participated in the Hartford event, but it was a lot. There were so many people, it probably took us about thirty minutes for our group to get to the starting line.  Bernie waited at the start/finish line for us along with Jack, Vivian, my sister Gayle, my nephew Tyler (Colin's twin), and my niece Kerrigan.  I felt bad for them because they baked in the heat and humidity waiting for us. I was hoping Jack would get into the color, but he was afraid to get dirty so he just hung out in the stroller.  Vivian bonded with her Aunt Gayle.

 

Colin did awesome.  His natural stride is faster than mine with little effort. I fully expect that in the near future, he will be a force to be reckoned with where running is concerned. The race had various color zones in which volunteers threw a specific dye color on you as you ran through. At the end was the "dye zone" where every twenty minutes or so, the crowd gets doused in Holi dye.  Kerrigan and Tyler participated in that part with us.  This is Tyler trying to get a packet of dye.

 

 

 

Bernie got this shot as they released the colors in the dye zone.

 

 

The four of us after the dye was released.

 

From left to right - Colin, me, Kerrigan, Tyler

 If I am around, I am usually the person that Vivian chooses first.  When I went to get her after the race, she clung to Aunt Gayle for dear life.  She didn't recognize me with all that dye on me.  LOL. 

 

 

 I sat in the back seat with Vivian on the way home and she kept looking at me, trying to figure out whether I was really her mommy. The dye easily came out of my hair, I still have traces of it on my skin, I can't figure out how to get it off the seat in the car (yikes) and my running shoes (no big deal). All in all, it was a great morning.

 

I am trying to figure out what race to do next with Colin.  Kerrigan wants to run next time and Gayle said she would walk.  Bernie even said he would run a 5k, but we all know that its only because Kerrigan can get Uncle Bernie to do just about anything. A zombie race would be fun but the kids are not old enough to participate in the ones in our area.  Bernie said next time we definitely have to wear something that stands out so he can find us easier in the crowd to take pictures.  Colin suggested tutus and head boppers.  I'll be on the lookout for those items as Halloween costumes begin to show up in stores. I think that is a great idea!

 



"Run when you can, walk if you have to,

crawl if you must; just never give up"

- Dean Karnazes