Dressing Up For The Costume Run

The San Francisco Bay to Breakers is one of the oldest races in history that celebrates the human spirit. Since January 1, 1912, it had been one of the oldest running events where not only the serious runner participates. Each year thousands of costumed participants join with families, and weekend runners and walkers. As they make their way through the heart of San Francisco, energized by continuous bursts of live music, they are cheered on by thousands of spectators lining the route.

Since the inaugural Bay to Breakers, a number of costume-themed runs have popped up around the world. The London Marathon, has produced some of the best costumes as has runDisney events such as the Walt Disney World Marathon, Tinker Bell Half Marathon, and the Disney Princess Half. Other running events seem to evoke costumes simply based on the event date like many local Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, Christmas runs, and Halloween runs.

If running in an outrageous costume is on your bucket list, you don't want to miss out on the Costume Party Run. On July 7, runners will be coming out of San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium and running a half marathon or 5K in the whackiest costumes they can think of. Along with some crazy course entertainment, you will not want to miss this inaugural event!

Did I mention the medal?  Rumor has it that it will be one of the LARGEST medals in the country!

The Costume Party Run has chosen Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego and San Diego Youth Services. So get your costumes on because it's all for a good cause.

Here are some of running's WHACKIEST costumes. Can you top them? BuyCostumes.com is a great source for inexpensive costumes if you are looking for some inspiration!

Cruella and her Dalmations

Something's fishy!

Lady Lobsters

Snap, Crackle, and Pop!

Faces

Toothbrush and Toothpaste

Nesquick will give you some speed!

Roadkill Rita

Inspired? REGISTER NOW!

10...9...8...Countdown to Win a Free Jacket!

The Hollywood Half Marathon is now ten days away. Well,  maybe nine if you don't count race day.  At any rate, it is close and there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes!  The goal for this second year was to reach 8,000 runners.  We are over 7,000 and well on our way!

How can you say no to this bling?

This week we will be giving one lucky registrant a Hollywood Half Marathon jacket every day. Every person that registers will have a chance to win!  If you haven't signed up yet, now is the time!  Have friends that are on the fence about running with you?  Maybe this will help!

Register for the half marathon today (or tomorrow, or the next day...) and you could not only run away like a movie star, but you could run away with a new jacket!  Register now!

Know of someone who wants to get involved but doesn't want to run? We still need volunteers are cheer groups to come out on race day and lend a hand!  For more information you can contact kelley@superheroevents.com or check out our page for volunteers!

Be sure to keep your eyes glued to this blog for information about the Hollywood Half After Party, featured runners and running groups, and the latest on celeb sightings!

Two Weeks To Go: Time to Taper

With the Hollywood Half Marathon being just under two weeks away, it is time to start tapering your training runs. Some people have their own schedule that they follow religiously before a half marathon and, if that works for you, now is not the time to change it.

If this is your first half event or if you still haven’t found the perfect tapering schedule, here are some tips to try.

Your last long run (somewhere between 10 and 13 miles) should have already been completed in the past week.  This is to ensure that your body has enough time to fully recover and reap the fitness gains from the long-run trainings.

At this stage, your runs should gradually become easier and less in volume as your prepare to run the red carpet on April 6^th. There is no need to cut back on the frequency at which you’ve been running because your body is used to it but you do want to decrease your mileage.

A general rule of thumb is to decrease your mileage by 25-50% by the week prior to the race. Any easier way to go (without any calculations) is to run 30-40 minutes from here on out, each time you run.

While you are out on your runs these last two weeks, you can focus on running mechanics and form, take your running apparel out for a test run if you are wearing something new (or a costume), and simply take it easy.  If you want to play around with speed at this point, don’t run any further than a 5K distance each time you run.

Be sure to get your rest days in between your runs and don’t be afraid to take an extra day off if you are battling an injury. It’s countdown time so treat your body well and mentally prepare!  You are about to become a star!