It all began one fateful evening (the same evening Loki was lost) at Cantina Agave in the French Concession after multiple margaritas and shots of tequila quickly downed to dull the pain and celebrate a post Brazilian wax. Shannon and I signed up for the 8K and I signed up Djorf, unbeknownst to him of course. Shortly thereafter the race was forgotten until the week before the event.
Mustached and ready to run |
The cost was a killer deal for 300 RMB. It included payment for the race, donation to some charity, a t-shirt with Team Taco on it, and a Mexican food buffet after the race with....more margaritas...but of course!
Shannon and Me |
The crackle of a firework (surprise surprise, we are in China) started the race. The masses surged forward. No one was running yet, just a jerky jaunt. As we filtered out the bottle-neck and made the first right onto the blocked off road which was our racecourse, the crowd thinned slightly and the race was on!
Senor Djorf |
As we rounded another bend, the first water station was in sight. If only I was so lucky. Unfortunately instead of the water I needed desperately, they were handing out bottles of sickeningly sweet and syrupy Vitamin Water. Nasty! To make matters worse, people were taking a few sips and throwing the majority of the liquid and bottle onto the grass by the side of the road. A complete waste and tons of trash. It's probably a good thing there was no water, because after the coffee and two bottles of water I drank before the race, I had to pee like a race horse, LOL.
The kilometers went by quickly and it wasn't long before the end was in sight. Thank goodness for songs like Stronger by Kelly Clarkson, Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO and Someone I Used to Know by Gotye which played over and over again kept me going.
Instead of counting off by kilometers, the signs being held up were counting down in meters, 780, 640, 530, 370, and then the finish line. I picked up my speed and made it just as the numbers on the clock switched from 52:99 to 53:00. Success!
And then, off to margaritas and Mexican Buffet!
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Location:Jinqiao, Shanghai