This was our 4th Gleaux Run and although turnout was a bit less than previous years, we still had an amazing race and a great time! I love volunteering with the American Cancer Society and events like this make all the extra time and energy worth it! Check out previous year's recaps here, here and here.
For starters, it rained almost all day long on event day. We kept praying it would pass through by evening time and although it seriously looked ominous with lighting off in the distance, we had a local meteorologist out there on our team and he reassured us that all would be ok (and it was)!
Setup began around 3 p.m. and having plenty of hands out there to help made the process a breeze!
One major change we made this year was the registration table - we moved it closer to our stage to keep everything and everyone centrally located. This helped a ton with the crowd at the stage for opening ceremonies. In previous years, we've had registration a bit further off from the stage and runners missed a lot of the announcements and parts of opening ceremonies.
Another major change we made this year had to do with the mile marker signs. In the past, runners told me that the signs were not visible at all. With this being a night time race, this route can be dark and although I've used glow in the dark paint for the mile marker numbers, they still weren't seen once the sun completely set.
We've also used glow sticks inside of balloons in the past which didn't work at all either.
So, imagine my surprise when I saw a pack of balloons at Walgreens (of all places) that were MEANT to glow. Each balloon had a tab inside and once pulled, the light was activated. These balloons glowed for hours (as a matter of fact, they were still glowing the next day) and runners said the balloons were highly visible on the route! It felt great to finally have a victory with these signs after the third year of trying! I also used white lettering on top of a black background which also made a world of difference.
Our group of volunteers were amazing this year, including our local university softball team. When I say they are some of the best volunteers I've ever worked with, I mean it!!
So grateful for them!
Our children's pastor led the prayer before the race and he prayed for no rain and no potholes! Both prayers were answered! :)
When I saw these dedicated Mickey glow ears at Target this summer, I knew I had to snag a pack for the race! So fun!
We were advised that starting the race 10 minutes early would be wise because of the weather and the Marshal ok'd it. Most people had already picked up their race packets, so we made a last minute decision to be safe and kick the race off early.
Runners lined up beneath our arch with luminaria bags lining the way. Each bag was created in honor of a loved one battling cancer or in memory of a loved one who has lost their battle with cancer. It was a really neat visual to see them all lit up at the start and finish line.
My friends all completed the race together and said they had a great time out there!
Although we didn't have medals for every runner this year, we did have medals for our first, second, and third place male and female!
Our major hiccup this year had to do with the arch. This is only the second time I've used it and wasn't responsible for it last year, so I wasn't even thinking about extension cords. This was a total face palm moment for me because...hello, Karen..duh. Thankfully, our local running store owner was out there and came to my rescue. He was so kind and let me borrow two of his extension cords which seriously saved the day! I was so thankful for him.
...and that's a wrap for the 2018 Gleaux Run! I am ready and excited for next year's event! Bring on 2019!!
It's the Tuesdays On The Run Linkup with Erika, Marcia and Patty.
