we got there pretty early, so we hung out and did some peoplewatching at the start line.
i'd busted out my newest pair of running shoes - on, a newish brand from sweden that i'd heard good things about. they're my first pair of basic black running kicks, and the cute little timing chip added a fun pop of color.
taking off once the gun went off was the usual craziness of weaving through the crowd. fun runs always bring out all sorts of folks, and for a lot of them it's their first race ever. this is great, because attracting new folks to the sport is always a good thing...but it also means a huge lack of running etiquette. generally, if you're walking, you stay to the right and allow the runners to pass on the left. and you don't walk side by side more than two deep. but everyone looked like they were having fun, and it didn't take too tremendously long to get through and pick up a decent pace. and before long i hit the first mile marker.
as usual, the hub and i had gotten separated as we crossed the start line. i found him ahead of me as we turned the corner and started heading in towards the fairgrounds.
although it was wonderfully overcast, it was still fairly warm and pretty humid down there. the thought of scurrying in and rolling around on the ice skating rink was pretty tempting. ha!
the hub continued to maintain a good pace and stayed ahead of me as i struggled to keep up.
a bunch of other folks stopped to get a photo with the fair mascots, but i was satisfied with a quick run-by selfie.
and then the hub finally shook me off for good as he bypassed the first "detour to fun" and i scampered off to play a couple of carnival games.
i'm so sad to report that for the first time ever, i missed both games and scurried away with no prize in hand to bring home to the bean. i'm actually still really bummed about breaking my winning streak.
2 down, 1 to go.
selfie time with my horsey friends in the background.
time for the next detour of fun - the super slide!
by then, some of the food vendors were already hard at work prepping for the day. the smell reminded my tummy that it was empty and the rumbling began.
although this was rather a debbie downer moment.
the final detour of fun was at the amphitheater, but from previous experience i knew that involved scampering down all of those stairs and then an icky incline after the photo op onstage. no, thanks.
at last, mile 3:
as i crossed the finish line, i heard a "team superhero" shoutout from rudy novotny, race announcer extraordinaire. and then when he said my name and i smiled and waved up at him in the booth, i turned my head and spied the hub snapping photos. it was kind of fun to have him at the finish waiting for me, since i'm used to doing these solo.
and when the official photos were posted on the race website, i was even more grateful that the was there, since there was a 10-second gap in finish line photos...and of course, my time was right in the middle of it. no official photos for me. so sad.
but that's okay. i had a great time and got this fantastic photo with my husband.
and swag. i love post-race swag.
and of course, our usual in-the-car bling shot.
see ya next year, OC fair. i mean, i can't miss it now, right?
That actually looked (dare I say it?) pretty fun. Lol
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