My Calgary Stampede 1/2 Marathon and the costume (Read 423 times)

So about 3.5 weeks ago I came back to running after a 3 week vacation and hurt myself... coming out too hard, yadda yadda yadda. Already registered in the Calgary Stampede half marathon (Canada) I was a little bummed out that I wouldn't be able to race, but decided that I would help pace my father-in-law who was running his first half-marathon. Because his pace is slower than mine I decided I would have some fun and dress up for the event. For those who don't about the Calgary stampede, its a big 10 day event where the City embraces its western roots with a giant rodeo, etc. At the halfway point: Galloping through the finishing corral: I succesfully paced my father-in-law to a 1:57:20 finish. His goal was >2hours. It was really fun to dress up for this race and to help liven and entertain racers and spectators. It was also a great change to be running in a race where there's low pressure on oneself to perform. Because our pace was so much slower than what I would have run by myself, I found I actually noticed and enjoyed the spirit, scenery, people, and race environment a lot more than I would have if I was trying to set a PR. I would highly reccomend dressing up for a race to anyone who is considering it. Half the fun is making the costume!