The Edmonton Gorilla Run was yesterday.
I had a friend who insisted that she get a picture of a gorilla in a tutu. I didn’t protest much (or at all) so I went and picked up a tutu from the halloween section of Value Village. It was a women’s size (as opposed to what?) so it was a little tight. But I could still get it on over the suit.
The biggest problem with the outfit initially was that it shed. Little tufts of gorilla hair are now roaming my condo. (I haven’t done an analysis of the car yet.) But once it was on, it was very enjoyable to wear. Probably more than the law allows. (Don’t judge me!) I decided to wear my foot gloves instead of regular running shoes; they looked more like gorilla feet. (Although I’m debating going to buy a pair of gorilla feet to make it a complete costume.)
I was actually hoping to run into neighbours when I left my place, but the hallways were completely empty. No one to freak out.
At the event there were probably about 200 gorillas milling around. It is probably good that I was wearing a tutu, because I can’t see how you would be able to tell people apart. Honestly though, girls are very sexy when they are in gorilla costumes. I don’t think I’m a furry. The story that I’m stinking to is that because so much is covered, you have to leave a lot to the imagination. And the imagination is always better than the real thing.
The gorilla suits were fairly good for the event. Or cheap? Either way, they let the breeze go right through them. Which was important, considering how hot it was.
When the run started, I kept my mask on. That lasted about a kilometre and a half and I’m surprised it was that long. My peripheral vision was shot, so I had to call out to anyone trying to pass me to make themselves known. After that, I only put it on when I saw a course photographer. And even then, putting a mask on, while running, with poor vision was not the safest course of action.
I did my best to keep the pace-banana in sight. I could have been faster, but the initial route was over a rocky path. And through my foot gloves, I felt everything. It didn’t take long for me to feel water pooling in my rubber gorilla gloves.
A cute girl I had been talking to, also wearing foot gloves, caught up with me. She hadn’t run in a year due to an injury, so I made it a mission to get her to the end. Encouraging words, keep pace, stop with her for water. I think she placed in the top three for women on the race. Some photographers from the newspapers came up afterwards asking for our names; I haven’t seen my picture in either paper, but I haven’t looked online yet.
At the end, they were handing out bananas. The lemonade was more needed. We hung out for awhile, watching the other gorillas come in. There were some really good costumes out there. One had a belt that held up a pole with a little plane flailing about. He had broken chains and a barbie doll to complete the imagery. There was a fashion faux pas where I found someone wearing the same costume.
All in all, it was a great run. I would recommend it to people. Even if they only walk it.