Ugly Sweater Run

My one pitiful photo before my phone died

Sunday I volunteered at the Ugly Sweater Run in Indianapolis.  Those of you reading this who know me in real life know that I enjoy volunteering at various events.  There are so many fun races & events that I could never afford to participate in all of them, so volunteering allows me to still be a part of some without the entry fee.  Plus I still usually get some fun free stuff, and since I'm busy the whole time I don't feel like a dope for showing up by myself.

Photo by Megan Fetter

I'm glad I volunteered at this one instead of running it, because it definitely was the kind of race that would be more fun in a group.  And while I did have 2 co-workers participating, the sheer size meant that I probably wouldn't find them.  Especially since my phone quit working, because it was 14 degrees.  I didn't know before but I do now - that's actually a common issue with the iPhones.  I only managed to get one picture and it wasn't very good.  Luckily, my co-workers got a few more that they agreed to share.  Otherwise, this would be a pretty dull blog post.

Photo by Megan Fetter

When I first got there, they had me checking IDs and giving out wristbands for the post race beer garden.  Two problems:

1. The wristbands weren't sticking because it was so cold.  Did I mention it was 14?
2. People were so bundled up against the cold, and most were wearing their fake mustache tattoos, that no one looked like their ID picture.  

Photo by Deanna DeLong

Thankfully, the hired security arrived soon to take over checking IDs and I was moved to the hot chocolate station.  We were very popular, as you can imagine.  It really was pretty genius - they had two big turkey fryers set up, only instead of heating oil we were using them to boil water.  Once the water boiled we dumped it into a huge Gatorade cooler, added an entire can of hot chocolate mix, and stirred it all up. 

Photo by Deanna DeLong

The run was untimed, and went along the White River Greenway, first north on the east side of the river, then back along the west side and finishing at the end of the pedestrian bridge.  Since the Greenway is so narrow, they were starting people in waves to keep the path from getting too congested.  A good idea, but those people at the end of the line had to wait a long time in the cold.  There were still two more waves started after people from the beginning were already finished.  It's a great place to run, though, and was an absolutely gorgeous day.

Photo by Deanna DeLong

Photo by Deanna DeLong

We continued serving hot chocolate, and also served cold water to the few people who asked for it post-run, until the Lawn was empty save for the beer garden, then cleaned up our station & we were done.  I really had a great time, I only wish I could've taken pictures of some of the gorgeous, amazing, hideous, and/or hilarious Christmas sweaters and costumes.  Next year....
 
My 2014 New Year's Resolution is to find my real camera and replace the lost USB cable so I can download pics from it, and stop relying on my phone to be my camera.