It’s very rare that I ever take part in ‘fun runs’. This by no means says that the events I take part in are not ‘fun’, because they are amazing, but in terms of simple distance, no chip timing and just hitting the road without focusing on smashing a PB. In the spirit of Halloween, I was asked to take part in the Trick or Treat Run in Southwark park and this was the meaning of a fun run.
The Event
There were 2 distances for this event-2.5km and 5km. You had the choice to run in the afternoon (from 1:30pm) for the more family friendly time or the evening scare run (5:30pm) for a more adult orientated event. As I wanted to run through the south London park in the dark, I opted for the evening run. It was a shame that it was probably one of the nicest autumn days we have seen this year as it was still light come 6pm. Kinda took away the scare factor but the crowd were still buzzing and waiting to go.
The event village had the usual food and drink tents but most importantly a face paint tent for those who wanted to up their costume game. Queues were short and there wasn’t any waiting around for things like bag drop. Everyone running were pulled together 15 mins before the run for a fun (yet slightly embarrassing) rendition of thriller! It got us moving and warm so it worked out, even if my coordination was terrible! The group of costume wearing trail blazers moved towards the start line and we were off!
The Run
From the off,everyone knew that the run would consist of 2 laps of Southwark Park. The Runners opened up pretty quickly and that gave everyone the space to run their own race. The route was splint into various zones along the way which were divided to show the various types of monsters of Halloween along the way. These were clear as each section had a volunteer to who was dressed up as either a Witch, Reaper or the scariest of them all, Zombies (on both laps I got scared by a Zombie who jumped out at me). This was my favourite part of the run, as I actually jumped when the zombie lady came from around the corner! Love a scare!
The route was well sign posted and well decorated. It definitely gave you the feeling of Halloween along the way, even though you were in the middle of Southwark park in the daylight. There was 1 water stop which doubled up as 2 in the second lap which was fine for 5k. The actors along the way made you feel encouraged and added to the sense of fun and they all looked great. You could tell that everyone was enjoying themselves, which is what it’s all about. The finish line gave you the choice of Trick or Treat. They mentioned at the beginning that if you chose treat you would get a nice easy ride to your medal, so obviously I went for Trick; I prefer a challenge. The challenge was to grab a coin from bucket of gunk! Easy for me but great for the youngsters. All runners receive a great glow in the dark medal which looks pretty cool.
My Thoughts
You need to look at the event for what it is; that’s a fun run for families of all ages to enjoy and get stuck in too. The idea is to act a fool, get dressed up and go as fast or as slow as you want. Take in the atmosphere, the scares and let out your inner kid. I can imagine that with a family this would be a perfect way to spend your Halloween and if you are just running it for fun, it’s a great way to let down your hair and have fun!
Did you take part in the Trick Or Treat Run? What did you think? Would you go again? Let me know in the comments.
Michael Adeniran
The Urban Challenger
Instagram: @theurbanchallenger
Twitter: @urbn_challenger
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