Chuck Norris 5K Race Recap!

Short recap:  We didn't go.

OK, we would have gone, even with me not being able to participate, but that was the day we were planning on leaving for North Carolina, and the race day weather was iffy with possible thunderstorms predicted, plus it wasn't supposed to start until 9:00 am, which meant that we wouldn't have gotten on the road until nearly noon, and with such a long drive ahead of us, Jeff decided to not run the race.  That worked out well for our drive, as we left at 5:00 am, which gave us seven additional hours that we would have lost had we gone to the race.

But I did want to give a little recap, because this was such a crazy race for our town.  You see, the organizers of this race were trying to get a Guinness World Record for having the most runners dressed like Chuck Norris at a 5K.  That's a pretty specific goal, but seeing as Chuck Norris has a ranch south of town, which is where his brand of water - CForce - comes from, and he has provided water for some local races recently, it made sense.  Plus, Chuck Norris himself was going to be at the finish line, giving high fives to everyone who crossed the line.

Side note:  If you miss the turn to Karen and Jimmymeow's house, the best place to turn around is at Chuck's water facility.  Ask me how I know this...LOL.

When we were planning on going to the race, Diane helped me devise a plan to get my high five from Chuck even though I couldn't even walk the race.  I was going to hang back just before the finisher's chute and when Diane was close to finishing, I'd walk to the finish line with her.  I was officially registered for the race; it's not my fault my dumb spine decided to blow out a disc!  But as it turned out, Diane wasn't able to do the race either, so that's when Jeff and I decided to skip it and leave town earlier.

This race was wild - there were 5,000 registrants and it sold out in just a few days after registration opened last January.  People from all over the country were coming and most of them were not runners; they were Chuck Norris fans.  Which would have made for a hard race to actually run considering the vast majority of participants were walkers who most likely had no clue about race etiquette when it comes to walking vs. running.  But I'm sure the atmosphere was fun, and that's why I wanted to go - for the event.

The race organizers wanted everyone to dress like Chuck Norris, so when you picked up your bib, you also received a shirt, fake beard, and real belt buckle for your very own Chuck Norris costume.  Or, you were welcome to come in your own Chuck costume, which a lot of people did.  They had a group picture scheduled for about 30 minutes before the race began:

This is what 5,000 people dressed as Chuck Norris looks like.

photo credit:  Larry Field Photography

And here's the race shirt:

A denim shirt with the sleeves cut off, with the sleeves and chest showing Chuck's tan.  I was impressed at how much it looks like a real denim shirt.

Full costume with fake beard (still in the package - saving it because you never know when you might need a fake beard) and belt buckle.  You were supposed to use your own belt for the buckle.  I have never done that, put a buckle on a belt...I think that is a Texas thing because they seem to give belt buckles as prizes at a lot of events.

Close up - and seriously, doesn't that shirt look real?  The button in this picture looks 3D to me, but it's flat as a pancake, printed on the shirt like the rest of the design.

A ribbon was also included in the race packet so you could turn the belt buckle into a medal, which I thought was pretty cool.

Diane says she needs to run her own 5K to earn this medal, but I say she and I have earned it with all of the medical crap we've both had to deal with recently.  And I think Chuck would be good with that.

If they hold this race again next year I will probably sign up again.  Hopefully by that time I'll at least be able to walk a 5K...and give an actual race recap!