Ugly Sweater Run

Earlier this morning I pulled on my warmest running clothes and a Christmas t-shirt. Why? For my latest race: The Ugly Sweater Run!  This morning Seattle's Ugly Sweater Run was powered by the Human Movement and held at Magunson Park.

I had picked up my packet yesterday at Sports Authority and had received a cute new beanie, temporary mustache tattoo and my bib number. With some encouraging words from the volunteers I was all ready to go and excited for race day.

The hat says Ugly Sweater Run

I arrived early as I always do and walked about a mile from the parking lot to the start of the race. Along the way I passed a few friendly faces that helped to get everyone into the spirit. The first mile aid station that was along the trail next to the parking lot offered both water and hot chocolate. Giant, inflatable reindeer stood guard at the half mile mark next to where snow blowers were set up during the race.

Large candy cane arches marked the 1st mile aid station next to the parking lot

Once I arrived at the main race area I was able to see where the start and finish lines were set up as well as the beer garden sponsored by Samuel Adams and the Toys for Tots donation center was next to a massive, blow up tree and a couple marines in their dress blues who kept an eye on the donations.

People lined up at will and that became a problem when I discovered that while there were corrals they were not set up by time but simply who showed up first. This became a problem when there were nearly 4000 runners lining up to get going. I was lucky enough to get into the first corral but was stuck in the very back, far behind hundreds of walkers, strollers, and dogs. There was not enough attention payed to the actual race as much as there were to the "extras". A beer garden and after party are nice but not if the race itself is problematic, then you just have a bunch of cranky runners.

And let me tell you, there were some incredibly cranky runners today. The course was advertised as a 5K but when we crossed the finish line we discovered we had only run 2.28 miles. This is like those people who ask you how long your marathon is because they think it's a type of race that's "just a long distance" rather than an exact distance of 26.2. The conditions had been perfect except for the mud where the snow blowers had melted the dirt paths into mud. The race should have been perfect but the administrators failed the runners and cut the race short. I've run several other races at this same park and they've never had any trouble plotting a course that is long enough. The park even holds half marathons a couple times a year so there is no excuse for not being able to fit in a 5K. By the time I had finished there were still hundreds of people waiting in the starting corrals to get going. I even had to walk back through the course to get to my car because the parking lot directly next to the start/finish had been blocked up.

Over all this race did not stand up to my expectations which was sorely disappointing. While I will still continue to run races that are held at the park I doubt I will continue to participate in races put on by The Human Movement. On another note, my view of the lake from the starting corral was stunning!

Long sleeve shirt: Adidas
T-shirt: Target
Tights: C9 By Champion for Target
Shoes: Nike
Watch: Garmin
Headwarmer: C9 By Champion for Target
Gloves: Nike