How We Beat the Blerch (Virtually)

So this past weekend, there was a highly anticipated race: the Inaugural Beat the Blerch Marathon, Half Marathon, & 10K in Carnation, Washington.  Originally planned to be a marathon, the interest was such that a half and a 10K event were added in the planning stages.  Then, the race sold out in record time - faster than a runDisney event - kind of record time, so a second day was added.  And that sold out in record time.  And a virtual race option was added - and that allowed Blerch fans far and wide to participate. 

Disney race events are, of course inspired by cartoon characters.  Similarly, the inspiration behind the Beat the Blerch event is a character from an online comic.  The Oatmeal is a popular digital comic by Matthew Inman.  One of the cartoonist's recurring themes is endurance running, based in part on his own experience taking up the sport.  A central character in the comic is "The Blerch" - a fat little cherub that follows you when you run. The Blerch "represents all forms of gluttony, apathy, and indifference".  For the whole story, you can find Inman's epic comic here.

The impish Blerch has been embraced by the running community. This is due in no small part to the hilarious nature of the comics themselves, but also to what the Blerch represents - the little devil on your shoulder:  tempting you with fatty, salty, sugary snacks, and encouraging laziness.

We were unable to get to Carnation, Washington for the Beat the Blerch race.  But we were thrilled when a virtual run option became available. This allowed us to Beat the Blerch, right in our backyard.  We were not the only ones in Tallahassee to sign up. We found a Facebook event for a locally organized Blerch run. It would be run on Sept 20th - the same day as the actual race in Carnation, Washington.

Race day approached and our packets arrived: tech shirt, stickers, magnets, a 'squeezeball' Blerch, a bib, and a really adorable Blerch medal.  Because we would be missing out on the cake, Nutella, and other snacks at the Inaugural event, they even included gummi bears and cupcake lipbalm - so we wouldn't feel completely left out.  As far as virtual runs go, this was excellent swag.

Race day arrived and we set out to meet our fellow Beat the Blerch runners.  As we arrived at the designated trail, a child's birthday party was being set up in the adjacent playground.  You know birthday parties mean one thing:  Birthday Cake!    The Blerch was hard at work here: encouraging us to do a run by and snag the cake. But in the end we decided against it.  But only because we brought our own!

mmmm CAKE!

The organizers laid out three courses: a 5K, 10K and a 12K.  There were no other takers on running a half (or full)  so I decided to run the 12K. The routes were all well marked on one of our favorite trails: Lafayette Heritage Trail at Tom Brown Park.  

   

Before the start, (in true Blerch fashion) they told us cookies would be available at the finish.  DisneyBride and I had brought some Blerch-approved fuel/recovery snacks to share.  I didn't fuel with one, but I did have a Zinger at the finish later, and it was delicious.  

Our puppy, Magnus the TrailDog made his race debut!  He ran with DisneyBride and she said he had fun.  Perhaps a bit too much as he was extremely excited to run with a bigger group than usual.

The organizers were kind enough to have a timer at the start/finish area. They also provided a water station at the 2.5K mark. Having course support like this was fantastic! 

Super awesome Blerchy touch from the organizers: at the turnaround for the 5K, they kept telling everyone they had run enough and we should just stop running.  They also notified us that they would be happy to give everyone a ride back to the cookies at the finish line.  Why run when cookies are waiting to be eaten?

Magnus enjoys the aid station

DisneyBride ran with our friend Michelle.  They covered 4.5 miles of the trail.  Since I am in the middle of training for the 2015 Dopey Challenge (48.6 miles of runDisney awesomeness), I had planned back to back training runs this weekend.  Of the three distances offered I decided to run the 12K, which would pair nicely with the 13 mile run the following day.  This Beat the Blerch virtual was a great way to get in some back to back runs.  I had some blistering from my shoes, but other than that, I crossed the finish line feeling pretty good, and of course - hungry for cookies and cake.



More Snacks! More Snacks! More Snacks. 
Who is that on my shoulder?

This is most of the group from Saturday, a few of the 5K runners finished early and are not pictured here.

Beat the Blerch - Tallahassee Edition

After we finished up at the park, we headed to lunch with a friend.  

Blerch Bling was proudly worn.  Cold beverages were enjoyed.

 And yes, DB even got me my very own  magical purple drink. 

We have heard that Beat the Blerch is expanding next year to the East Coast, so we are keeping an eye out for that.  If not, it would be great to run with the group again next year.  I may even come up with a Blerch suit to wear.

See you on the trails!
~ DisneyGroom

Are you a fan of The Oatmeal?

What is your favorite post-race snack?

Have you ever run a virtual race?

 

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Earning My Glass Slipper

These past two weeks have been full-on Princess Half Marathon, Enchanted 10K, and Glass Slipper Challenge (Half +10K) frenzy, with the early registration, general registration, and the unfortunate #PrincessGate2014. (This was the name given to the events surrounding the leaked active.com link that made the rounds, resulting in several sign-ups even before the official early registration.) But things are settling down a bit now.  The Glass Slipper Challenge predictably sold out.  Spots are still left in the new 10K and the Princess Half as I am posting this, but not for long.

The Princess Half is really precious to us.  In the first place, as newlyweds it gave us both a common goal to strive for.  The first year of our marriage was an extended runDisney-fueled Disneymoon (a trend that seems to be continuing...).   It was a race that we planned for, worked for, and in the process of preparing for, introduced us to the runDisney community we adore.  

I have tentatively reserved a spot in the runDisney Glass Slipper Challenge. I say tentatively because we have several other events happening in February that may conflict with Princess weekend.  So I can't make a big exciting announcement at the moment that I am definitely running.  I should know more in the next few weeks. (crossing fingers)

Unfortunately, DisneyGroom will not be running Princess next year as he has a 200 mile relay for charity he will be organizing next February,  in addition to the running and fundraising for the same event.  He will be be putting up more info about this in the weeks to come, as he works out the details and assembles his team.  So no, I would not be running with my Prince/Space Ranger.  However, I wouldn't be alone as I have many friends running PHM and also GSC.

One of these friends, a fellow Princess, Amanda from the Never On Your Own blog, is running the Glass Slipper Challenge through a charity.  Princess Amanda is really on the ball, because her fundraising has already begun!  She is hosting a fantastic virtual run with a wonderful Cinderella theme.  

Here are the deets:

Name:  Earning My Glass Slipper

Benefits:  Give Kids the World

Distance: run 1.93 miles OR run 19.3 miles (Yay for options - and the 19.3 can be spread out over several days)

Fee: $19.30

Bling: the only difference in the two medals is your mileage engraving on top of the clock

Whether you are a bling collector, adore the Cinderella story, or want to support a children's charity - this virtual run is too good to pass up!

Also, I will add that Amanda is not a newbie to organizing virtual runs for a cause.  DG and I were both among the many to recently run the very sweet 'Dino Day 5K'.  We earned ourselves a T-Rex medal (yes, I said a T-rex medal), and helped out a family with a sick child in the process.   So she is a reputable organizer: facebook event page, regular updates and reminders, medals were delivered on time as promised, all that good stuff. 

I've already signed up and joined the Facebook event page.  Here is the link for more info and I do hope you check it out - AND leave a comment to let me know if you register!

http://neveronyourown.weebly.com/1/post/2013/06/earning-my-glass-slipper-training-run.html and
facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/519515618096739

~DisneyBride

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Virtual Bacon Challenge 5K recap

How does one write a race recap on a virtual challenge?  With a great deal of humor. The History A little history is needed.  It all started last year as we were training for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  DB and I had joined a group of Disney-loving foodie runners: Run Disney So I Can Eat Disney.  The leaders of this group organized the now famous infamous The Three Little Pigs Challenge for the Disney Marathon.  This event was a huge success, so they decided to open it up to runner that weren't able to participate that first time. Thus, the Virtual Bacon Challenge was born.  Like most 5Ks, this is a fundraising event, this one benefits the New England Aquarium Outreach Program. The Rules The challenge was simple, and set up to be accessible to all levels of runners and walkers.  The only rules were: (1) Eat three strips of bacon (or bacon substitutes), and (2) complete 3.1 miles between March 8 and March 17, 2013.  The Packet Pick-up The virtual challenge had a nice small town, very personal feel.  After hearing so many great things about the custom bibs, I was looking forward to packet pick-up.  Packet pick-up was super convenient, a beautiful volunteer (in order to avoid any confusion, it was DB) woke me up, to personally give me my bib and wish me a great race.  This was a very nice touch.  And I didn't even have to leave the house and stand in line with a bunch of sweaty dudes at my local running store.  The race bibs had been personalized to each runner, many  with all manner of clever and funny names.  Best of all, the bibs prominently feature the most amazing salted cured meat ever!  These must have taken forever to complete for all 300+ runners. Undoubtedly the coolest bibs in existence.  They were emailed to us as a .pdf, then DB laminated them.  The Bacon I gave up bacon during Lent.  So this was pretty challenging.  However, the challenge did allow for substitutes.  I went with turkey bacon.  Turkey bacon is a lie perpetuated by turkey farmers as a way to get you to buy turkey outside of November.  Sorry, but bacon comes from a pig, not a fat lazy bird.  However, I swallowed my pride and ate the liar bacon.  Easter can’t come quick enough. DB is not a meat-eater, so she ate some kind of soy bacon biscuit.  She said it was good.  I have my doubts. The Run(s) This turned out to be the hardest part.  Running this virtual race took far more planning than I imagined.  It actually took us several attempts to get in the mileage.  Had we been unable to run the mileage over several days, we wouldn't have made it.  Don’t get me wrong, DB and I both have trained for a half marathon and can run 3.1 miles. However,  if it’s not a race, I am not running in unfavorable conditions. And even then... The first attempt was a Sunday evening, we donned our bibs and headed to a park to run our mileage.  However, after about 1.5 miles it got creepy-movie-dark.  We both had visions of some driver not paying attention and mowing us down, so we called it a night. Monday we attempted to run again.  On Mondays we run with our local running club. However, this week the rain was horrendous and we both passed.  Tuesday is our Galloway Group run.  But we didn't have a run scheduled that day - it was a track session.  We both ran a magic mile and a few extra laps for finish out our time.  We added another 1.5 miles to the tally.  Wednesday through Friday I did hit the gym at lunch for a run on the treadmill, but DB was not with me, and I didn't count it for the race.  Since Monday and Tuesday failed to get us to our 3.1, we decided to sign up for a local 5K.  (BTW the packet pick up was nowhere near as fun... Yep, it was standing in line with sweaty dudes at my local running store.) We get up Saturday and once again put on our bacon apparel.  This time we have two bibs: the amazing bacon bib and the very boring track club bib. We head out, but are foiled once again.  On the way to the race, I stop to help a motorist in need.  By the time it is all over, we have missed the race.  The Bacon Gods were not with us it seems.   Later that day, we head to Torreya State Park to enjoy a beautiful hike. (If you are ever in North Florida, check the park out.  Very beautiful trails).  We managed probably 2.5 miles that afternoon.  Finally, we made the total mileage even if it wasn't in one attempt.  The Summary Great race!  Was cool to see other runners posting race recaps with photos of themselves running, wearing their bibs, and of course enjoying delicious bacon - both plain and prepared into tasty looking dishes.  I look forward to competing in future bacon challenges.    An e-book is forthcoming to document the Bacon Challenge and highlight the runners and their recipes.   Makes you want to sign up right?  Well, then check out the group, and stay tuned for future bacon events.   Here is an image of the medal we will each receive for completing the challenge. I KNOW, RIGHT?  Without a doubt, the coolest medal EVER.  It is a combination of metal and stained glass, with metallic paint accents.  Awesome! However, I do hope that weather and other forces do not spoil an amazing experience next time.  One more “Thank You” to that beautiful packet pick-up volunteer.  And a super big thanks to the very awesome Endurance Sports Connection (parent group of Run Disney So I Can Eat Disney) for holding the Virtual Bacon Challenge, especially Linda Bachand, group founder and admin; Greg Itahara, designer of the awesome medals and artwork for both groups; Ron Fraser for painstakingly creating the personalized bibs; and Cheri Fraser for tireless admin work as well.  Can't wait for my first Bacon Challenge On the Road event!  Hope to see you all at the Space Coast Marathon! ~DG

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