My legs can keep no pace with my desire…

Last night I ran the 15K at A Midsummer Night’s Run in Toronto.  Like the name implies, it is an evening race, themed around A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Those who know me know that I don’t do well at evening running.  Add to that the fact that [heat + humidity = my Kryptonite], I knew even as I signed my waiver back in March, I wasn’t doing this race for anything more than the fun of it.  That being the case, I decided to try something new: running in a costume.

Now, I haven’t read A Midsummer Night’s Dream since high school, so I didn’t remember much about the story.  I remembered that all of the mortal characters start out in love with the wrong people, and that unlike in Macbeth where everyone dies, everyone in this play ends up sleeping with everyone else (the subtle difference between Shakespeare’s tragedies and comedies).   So upon reviewing some online notes on it, I determined there were a few choices: lords and ladies, fairies, or a donkey.  I went with fairy – along with probably 95% of all of the costumed-runners – how creative.

I conscripted my mother with her sewing machine, and we armed ourselves with some old curtains, coat hangers, pantyhose, spray paint, and a few bits and bobs from the dollar store.  I thought the result was pretty good, and as I added a few final touches (feathered eyelashes and a ton of glitter hairspray), I toyed with the idea that I might actually be a contender in the costume contest.  Alas, it was not to be – there were so many great costumes!

As I was building my costume, I contemplated whether I would actually be able to run in it.  I had horrifying visions of chafed armpits from the straps that held my wings.  But in the end I decided to go for it, and it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I tossed my headpiece off within 100m of the start – I knew it just wasn’t going to stay.  I also lost my feathered eyelashes – the left came off before the first kilometre was over, the right lasted until I was doused with water by a volunteer around 12K.  The rest, however, went very well.  My biggest issue was continually bonking wings with my co-fairy, Tanya, and finding that my arms were very hot – old curtains may look light and airy, but they’re really not great technical gear.  The best part: no wing-chafing!

A few notes on the event:

I loved it! The theme was threaded through the entire event with great attention to detail – from the ever-so-slightly edited quote from the play on the t-shirts, to the “Lords” and “Ladies” change tents, to the volunteer t-shirts that said “Mortal” instead of “Volunteer.”  The atmosphere was light hearted, owing partially to all of the costumed folk milling around.  At the end of the race, volunteers handed out prefilled stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic, and the medals were big and beautiful.  Of course, the on-site BBQ by Dangerous Dan’s and beer garden by Steam Whistle were a nice touch.

The 15K course was almost completely flat, with a lovely view of the Toronto skyline at dusk.  I wasn’t thrilled with the gravel portion of the trail, but it wasn’t for very long.  It was really interesting to run as night was falling.

The whole day was very well organized.  We parked at the recommended event parking lot for a $10 donation to Sick Kids, and didn’t have to wait for the shuttle bus at the beginning or the end.  The volunteers – mostly youth – were positively fantastic; they were enthusiastic, friendly, and tireless.

Overall, I was very impressed.  I highly recommend it if you are looking for a fun event, or if you want to torture yourself with an evening run in the heat.