Hell-o-ween Race Recap

I had a goal of racing a 10K this year and trying to get a sub 40min time. Typically I run the Turkey Trot 10K down in Detroit. Often I run with a family member or more, but I was thinking of racing it this year. Unfortunately, the Redhead and I will be out of town and therefore I'm unable to race the TT 10K.

Now the Redhead had been planning on running the one-time-only Run Thru Hell on Halloween 5K & 10K for a month or so. And she, Sun Runner, and the Engineer made a plan to do this race in Halloween get-up. Meanwhile I had been looking around for a local 10K sometime after Grand Rapids. It was only earlier on this week that I decided to join them for this particular 10K; that is, I had originally wanted to avoid this race because of the many vicious hills.

Now, because everyone in the group would be dressing up, I needed a costume. Fortunately for me, the Universe conspired and I found the greatest shirt in the world.

Aptly named "The Duel." This shirt represents everything that is awesome in this world. I mean, it has two dueling dragons and two heroic warriors riding said dragons...all engaged in a fantastic battle of good and evil. I saw that shirt, and I knew I had to have it.



My costume was set; I was a poorly adjusted adult male living in his mother's basement and who spends all of his time playing WoW. Aside from his extreme social awkwardness, he has an estimated Second Life worth of about $2,000. He is only running because his mother insisted he get some fresh air and make friend IRL. If he didn't finish the 10K, he would have to start paying for the family Internet. (It is important to note that once in character, I maintained said character for the duration of the event.)

With just over 3,000 runners, I left the crew and made my way up near the starting line. The first mile was a crazy jumble of running around a crowded dirt country road. I noticed my watch beeped before I had crossed the first mile marker. At that point I thought, best to just not look at my Garmin this race.

After the 5K and 10K split, I just focused on trying to pick off as many runners as I could. I dug deep and surged on the up-hills while pushing on the down-hills. After the turn-around, I began to look for the Redhead. Not long afterwards I saw the lovely Daphne running towards me.

After mile 4 I realized I hated my glasses, and they weren't even real. However, I was glad I was close to done, and I simply tried to focus on finishing the race. When I finished, I was surprised--but quite happy--to notice I had managed a sub 40min race.

Most importantly, my mom won't force me to pay for my basement internet.