Last weekend, we packed up the kids and headed off for a family adventure! The Great Eastern Bubble Dash Run 2016. I didn’t think that it was impossible to have fun at a race because I’ve had fun at lots of races. I just didn’t think it was possible to run a race with the sole purpose of having fun without worrying about time and pace…..and so I challenged myself and I decided to run (Hmmm….walk) the Great Eastern Bubble Dash 5 KM Run…..for fun!
In order to prepare for the fun, I registered my three children to run with me! If I am really determined to have fun, trust me, that’s the way to do it! Run with your kids (oooohhhh…and it’s healthy fun too, bonus!)
The Great Eastern Bubble Dash Run had all sorts of deals on Facebook and it was one of those races that was the right price and looked like fun! We arrived about 45 minutes early and found ourselves a spot in line, at the front. As soon as we got near the stage, we could hear the music and feel the excitement. We instantly joined the crowd. The race started in waves and it took awhile for all the 11K participants to be flagged off.
If you are a serious runner, this probably isn’t the race for you. If you are up for fun and just want to take your time, this one is for you. We took our time, we walked, we ran, we jumped, we skipped, we danced almost all of it, it was to congested and crowded to run. I just let the kids enjoy every moment! We stopped at all the bubble stops to make sure that we got blasted with as much bubbles as possible! There were only 4 bubble stops in total. ( The emcee mentioned 7 bubble stops- many were out of order) the starting line, pink, green, blue & yellow. The amount of bubbles you encountered was up to you: walk on the outside and you’d get less of the bubbles or stay towards the middle and you could walk right under the bubble machines. However, for a crowd of 11K participants- the bubble stops were to small.
When we arrived at the finish line, we were dissapointed! The last bubble machine was not functioning- out of order! What a bummer! The children and I were hoping for a grand finale blast of bubbles…..only to be let down..(Burst our bubbles….)
After crossing the finish line..there were no volunteers to guide our directions – to get our goodies, Food and beverages and medals?? We ended up walking endlessly until we noticed a long, long, long, long queue. We were the first 2000K batch that arrived, therefore we were early. After standing in the queue for quite a while, we were given a banana, energy drink and our medals. (For the price that we paid-totally not worth it) The volunteers used scissors to cut our bibs (safety should be considered for the children)
OVERALL:-
- RPC venue was not a very good location/ not a strategic location. Traffic jam and no parking facilities.
- Medals- So flimsy/ medal with plain lanyard (Quality of medal) A medal means a lot to a participant, a runner, as an accomplishment and satisfaction to be a finisher)
- No finisher T- Shirt for 21 KM runners, it was hard to even differentiate the 12 KM and 21 KM runners.
- Medal collection – It was a horrendous experience for lots of participants. The 5 KM Bubble Dash Run participants were pushing, shoving, arguing etc- congestion at the medal collection tent.
It is all about mistakes and learning from them. I happen to believe that there is no such thing as a bad run or race, as long as we learn from it. Yes, we all will experience runs and races we’d define as terrible. Chin up, they happen! But if you learn something- be it the management, the organising, logistics, pacing, mental focus, what to wear, eat, whatever- those lessons prepare you for better runs and races in the future!
I think, we accomplished our goal for the day…….FUN RUN!
chrisywong.com 