Boulder Pumpkin Run

Have any of you heard of the Boulder Pumpkin Run? It’s a Halloween run held in the beautiful city of Boulder every year. Much like the Denver Gorilla Run that I’m participating in you must wear a costume to run the Boulder Pumpkin Run, but not just any old costume, it has to be your birthday suit. Yes, the Boulder Pumpkin run is a naked run, which makes it the perfect Friday topic here at Half-Fast. Just to be clear though, the runners aren’t entirely naked because they do wear jack-o-lanterns on their heads. We wouldn’t want their ears to get cold or anything.

No, I’m not going to participate in the Boulder Pumpkin Run because it would be a total waste of my awesome Gorilla costume. Also, the average temperature at 10PM on October 31 is not conducive to showcasing your male reproductive organ and I can do without all the laughing and pointing thankyouverymuch. However, I will gladly volunteer to be the official photographer, I’ll even wear my Gorilla costume.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Boulder Pumpkin Run you can visit their website at nakedpumpkinrun.org. Fear not, that link is safe for work but where you go from there is at your own discretion, particularly if you decide to click on the Gallery or view the videos.

I really don’t get why this sort of thing would be enticing. I mean sure, I get that you want to see other people naked, but doesn’t it hurt to run naked? I mean, isn’t everything kind of bouncing around in an uncomfortable manner? If it was really cold enough then I suppose your junk might shrink enough to reduce the flopping around to a manageable amount, but then you get back into that undesirable area of the laughing and the pointing. No thank you. Perhaps some of you readers who have participated in naked runs can enlighten me as to what the lure is. Be sure to include pictures* with your e-mail... you know... to prove that you’ve actually done a naked run.

*Does not apply to male readers.

Editorial note: Please accept my apologies for the recent lack of posts. I’m a banker and I’ve been extremely busy these past few weeks, what with the market deciding to take a dump and my insistence on continuing to work banker’s hours. It’s going to be OK though. My company is planning a luxurious retreat at a 5 star resort so that I can recharge my batteries and I’ve been meaning to thank all you taxpayers out there for making that possible. Without your help we probably wouldn’t be able to spend a cool half a mil on golf and fun in the sun, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

New Running Shoe Technology

I admit that I’m always skeptical when I hear that, but in this case I think it’s valid. Today I came across Newton Running and was very impressed by their website, apparently they’re located right here in Boulder, Colorado so you see, good things do come out of Boulder.

They have engineered a line of shoes that are designed to make your feet feel like you’re running barefoot which causes you to land on your forefoot, which in turn reduces injury risk and is a more efficient way to run. Essentially, your feet are suspended on a hammock over the sole of the shoe, but you should check out their website for a more technical description of how it works.

When I hear ‘hammock’, I’m thinking about relaxing, not running and I’m biting my tongue to suppress the childish ‘banana hammock’ joke that must be in there somewhere.

I will say that I’m genuinely intrigued by these shoes and I’m seriously thinking about giving them a try but I’ll have to wait until they come down in price because I’m not going to pay $155 for shoes that look like they’re straight out of the 80s. So if you’re going to buy some, be sure to wear them with your matching slap bracelets and dig up the old leg warmers to complete the look. And remember, if you’re planning on running early in the morning: Wake me up before you go go.

Tip of the hat to The Goat for finding this first (or before I did at least).

How I Became A Runner

I live right outside of that thriving metropolis of hippies and college students that is Boulder, CO. I love Boulder, it’s great, it smells like patchouli and everyone is so environmentally friendly that the majority of their air pollution probably comes from secondhand pot smoke.

Anyway, I had been telling myself for a number of years that it would be good for me to train for a year and then run the Bolder Boulder, a 10K race that is held annually on Memorial Day, but if there’s one thing you should know about me it’s that I procrastinate like a death-row inmate eating his last meal. In 2005, I signed up and paid for an entry in the Bolder Boulder 2 months prior to the race and without any prior training. Turns out that fear is a pretty good motivator. I began running almost daily (which I don’t recommend) and it wasn’t so bad. I’ve been a runner ever since.