Date: September 30, 2017
Location: Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY
Weather: 61 degrees, cloudy
Jennie enjoying all of the bubbles!
The credit for finding this race goes to Jennie, who texted me excitedly upon finding it online asking if I was interested in running it with her. I am always down for a fun run, and this one was only $20 so we both signed up. In the coming weeks my younger cousin Hallie and Dennis' sister Rachel decided to join us as well, and on race morning we were all decked out in our bubble run t-shirts and head bands and ready to have some fun.
Rachel and I were excited to get going at the start
We were scheduled to start in the 9 a.m. wave, so we left my house around 8 since Jones Beach is near by. We hit a little traffic trying to get into the field 5 parking lot where the race was starting, but they weren't charging for parking so that was nice at least. We pinned our bibs on as we walked to the start line and took a few minutes to stretch out. There were still plenty of people signing up for the race at the start and picking up bibs, but luckily I had been able to pick up everyone's bibs and shirts the day before.
When we headed to the starting area there was a queue of people waiting ahead of us. They were releasing groups of people every few minutes as a rolling start, so we wound up beginning our race around 8:50. While we waited to begin we saw plenty of families with little kids all decked out in tutus and capes, which was adorable. We could see a giant pile of bubbles forming next to the start area, and every few minutes some even floated our way.
Soon enough it was our turn to start and we ran through the first collection of bubbles, which were really more like foam. We grabbed some bubbles as we went through, and they clang to our legs and shoes as we took off.
About a half mile in we hit the second bubble station, and all of the bubbles were pink. We slowed to a walk and headed into the pit of foam, and quickly learned that the pink bubbles were going to dye our skin and clothes. The bubbles just kept flowing as we waded our way through them and out to the other side and onto the next station. While the bubbles didn't stick to our clothes, they did build up around our shoes so we always made sure to stop and shuffle our feet for a moment before heading to the next station.
Hallie and I approaching the pink bubble station
There was one more stop before the turning point, which Hallie correctly predicted the color of: blue! After going through the bubble stop we ran to the water stop that they had stationed at the half way point, then turned down the road that would take us to the finish line. At the turn around point a lot of people were looking for bathrooms, but the volunteers were saying that the only bathrooms were at the start/finish area. Now, for a 5k that most people are racing I wouldn't have a issue with this, but there were a lot of families with young kids at this race. For the sake of these families it probably would have been a good move to have a porter potty available at the turn around.
After slowing to a walk at the water station we picked our speed back up as we headed to the next bubble stop, which had green bubbles. At each station they had a set up that looked like a medal rig, at the center of which had a big machine endlessly spewing out bubbles. As we went through this one we got caught in a particularly dense bit of bubble creation, and were momentarily blinded as we made our way through the stop, which reduced us to laughter as we fought to get out of the bubbles!
We ran out and towards the final bubble stop, which was full of yellow foam. This was probably the most crouded stop so far, and the finish line was in sight. Our little group somehow manages to get completely separated in the area, and Hallie and I ran out and found Rachel and Jennie on a bridge ahead of us. Once we were all together, we went full force for the finish line.
After the race we hung out near the stage they had set up for a little bit, dancing and playing in the foam that they were shooting from cannons. Eventually we made our way to the car, happy with how the event had gone.
We all had a lot of fun at this event, and I would do it again if the opportunity presented itself. While I love racing, it can also be fun to slow down and enjoy fun runs like this one with friends and family.
Jennie and Rachel at the finish