Party in Boulder!

The Bolder Boulder is a major event. I read somewhere that this year there were 50,000 participants and 30,000 spectators, all happening in a city of about 100,000. With us only being in Boulder for a year, I almost felt like participating in this race was mandatory for me. It is a huge race, but it was awesome! The start line was just up the street from where we live, and it ended in a stadium a couple of blocks away from our apartment. So, we didn't have to deal with race-day traffic, which probably added a lot to our enjoyment of the event. Also, I never, ever felt boxed in during the race because of the fabulous wave system they have going on. The race was very well organized - my wave was scheduled to start at 7:13:30, and that is exactly what the clock said as the gun went off for us.

Since I don't have photos of a lot of this, I'll just place them randomly throughout this post. :) 

The stadium that we ended in. I'm not in this, but I thought it was a good picture of the general feel.

Jake fell and hit his lip on the bleachers. He's still got a good mark from that.

 The race itself was really fun. I ran it with my friend Amy and she was such a champ. She totally kept me smiling and on pace the whole time. There were bands playing every half mile or so throughout the course, super enthusiastic spectators, lots of crazy costumes, slip-n-slides along the way, people handing bacon out to passing runners, kids with water guns, and of course, the really fun finish in the stadium. Overall, it was a really great experience.

Joseph was really excited to see that I got the pi bib and added a decimal point before I left in the morning.

After the race the kids ate all of the food in the little bagged lunch I picked up at the finish, and we headed out to the booths for free popsicles, stickers, bracelets, Chick-fil-A gift certificates, and other random stuff. The kids were really excited about it all. I was pushing the double stroller and it parted those crowds like magic, even when I didn't have helpful strangers yelling "Make a hole! Make it wide! Lady with a stroller coming through!" (which actually did happen, and which actually was very helpful.)

The pro wave was at 11am, and parachuters were scheduled to land in the stadium at noon, and as much as Joseph and I wanted to stay and watch all that, we just didn't think the kids would make it. It was still a really fun race though, and I would love to come back and do it again one day.