Glow Run

My Glow Posse. Don't mess with these ladies, or it's Glow Time!

Amy, Lexie, Britten, me, and Madeline (Nicole took the photo)

FYI: 5,600 runners + spectators = too many for River Market:

Party on, Glow People!

And we're off!

Halfway through the race, a black light tent, so you could really appreciate all the crazy costumes!

The big finish:

The after-party DJ and dancers:

And our group photo: Britten, Lexie, Amy, Madeline, me, and Nicole:

   Although the pictures make is obvious how FUN the event was, this was also the worst-organized race in which I've ever participated. No one could tell where to line up for the starting line, which side of the gate you needed to be on, and when the race actually started. The DJ was playing to the stage crowd, but made no announcements. Even worse, there were several legitimate safety concerns:

   They needed a lane for runners vs. walkers/strollers. The streets are narrow, and runners spent a lot of extra energy dodging slower entrants—and it didn't seem smart to be doing so in the dark. When it's 90 degrees, water should be free & plentiful. We paid $2/bottle before the race, then waited 20 min in the crowd after crossing the finish line to get a bottle of water. (No recycling bins to be seen, either.) People were vomiting as they finished the race, and couldn't get out of the dense crowd due to the shoe-tag-removers (should reclaiming the timing chips take priority over water?). It was also frustrating to finish, only to find out that the food was gone. I hope the KC Running Company takes all of this feedback into account for the runners in Omaha & Wichita, and hopefully for KC again in 2013.
   I finished 96th in my age group, 1333 overall, with a time of 30:52. Not good, but I have to be happy with that since I haven't been training... other than the races themselves that I've run, in the last two months! Too hot.

   Photos are from my iPhone, as well as from KC Running Company's Flickr page, the Glow Run 5k Facebook page, and Action Sports Images. Thanks, guys!!! EVEN MORE PHOTOS HERE: page 2!