Midnight Sun Run

I heard of a "Midnight Sun Run" and found out it's a 10km run at 10pm. Entry fee just $20 and you get a t-shirt. I've never done an official run before, so I figured if I'm going to do any ever, this would be a fun one to do!

At the beginning, since there are a few thousand people (highest bib number I saw was 3610), they have some people with signs to suggest where in the crowd you should start, based on how fast you are. So, I started where I thought I should, around the "10 minute/mile", which was fairly near the back. Unfortunately, found that I should have started much further forward, cause there were many very slow people or even people just walking who had decided to start in the middle of the group instead of the back. So, the first few minutes actually were just walking, because it was too crowded to run. Then once there was space to run, I was passing so many people... Literally probably passed about 1500 people during the run. Which feels pretty good. I kept passing people straight through to the finish. I only noticed one person pass me, which annoyed me. It was near the end, he was pushing a baby stroller. But, overall felt pretty good. And my time was much lower (over 15%) than i expected. Maybe because of all the people, and because of passing people, I felt more energy and went faster. I don't seem competitive, and generally don't feel competitive, but actually below the surface I think I am a bit.

In the afternoon the air had been a bit smokey from nearby forest fires. But actually during the run the air smelled pretty clean, which was great, I was worried I'd feel sick from the smoke. Some parts though were along major roads which had a big line of cars idling... nothing like sucking carbon monoxide to give you that extra burst of energy! Most of it went through residential communities, and many people were at the side of the streets sometimes cheering, sometimes with a hose or water gun and asking if you want to get wet to cool down.

Some people were wearing costumes, as they were encouraged to do (this wasn't a particularly formal event, and was really just a 'run' not a 'race'. One group were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that was awesome. A family were "The Incredibles" and actually it really fit them, the man was beefy, the woman was curvy, the daughter tall and skinny and the son smaller...

After finishing, there was some water and fruit. I ate so many pieces of orange, they tasted soo good! (maybe I've been vit.C deprived lately?) Then just hung around for around 30-40 minutes, then got picked up by the coworkers who had finished their flight and were going from the airport to the hotel.

Feel a bit sad though. A coworker said "You weren't staying for the after party? That's where you meet all the hot athletic running girls!" Well, he's right in a way, I had been thinking something like that. Not necessarily just girls, but it would be nice in general to hang out in the festive atmosphere and chat with some people and share some laughs etc. But instead, it's just me, walking around alone and watching other people having that experience. So, I feel a bit lonely. I pushed myself hard and talked to a pretty girl. But it didn't go anywhere, just a couple brief answers. Most people were already with people, and that always makes it harder to talk to them. I really envy people who are able to meet people and hang out with strangers.