The first inaugural Beat the Blerch race series was held last September in Carnation, WA. This is a small town outside of Seattle where Matthew Inman, the creator of The Oatmeal, lives. Matthew is the author of many hilarious comics and is probably most notable for his comic about "The Blerch", a fat creature that follows him around on his runs asking him to go home to eat Nutella and lay on the sofa watching Netflix. So many people identify with his feelings about The Blerch, myself included, and his fans were so happy to find that he was bringing his vision to life in a real live race!

Registration: For the inaugural event, all 3 races (10k, half, and full) sold out in 20 minutes! There was also a virtual option that opened up at a later time. I was extremely lucky to get in! The race was so popular that he ended up opening a second set of events that weekend so that double the amount of people would get to run. I ran the half marathon on Saturday, but he held a second half marathon on Sunday. For 2015 he has opened the race to 2 new locations (CA and NJ as well as Carnation) and I heard that the registration process was so much easier - but be prepared just in case.

Packet Pick-up: This was held at the Road Runner Sports in Seattle and it was kind of chaotic honestly. Parking was tough, and then I waited in a very long line to get my bib and swag. The swag included a magnet, a sticker, and a really nice long sleeved zip up running shirt. There was also an area selling his merchandise (and his new book which hadn't been released to the public yet!) and since it was in a running store you could get anything you needed for the race. The craziest part was that he was there in person signing items for runners, and I wasn't going to miss my chance to meet the creator of The Blerch! I waited about 1 hour for my packet and 2 hours to meet him. He was extremely nice and drew me a picture of a bear because I live in Alaska. Getting a personalized drawing from him meant a lot to me and so many other runners. I even got him to sign my race bib! Be prepared to stand for a very long amount of time the day before running if you want to meet him.

Race course: The race was in the Tolt-MacDonald Park in Carnation. It was a beautiful course through the woods and had farm and creekside views. It was really flat! The one thing I was not prepared for was the fact that it was not a paved course and instead took place on gravel. I was also not prepared for the race day heat and humidity, but you can't predict weather!

Race logistics: There were plenty of designated parking lots outside the park that were easy enough to walk to before and after the race. At the race start there was Disney music playing and a really fun, relaxed vibe. Matthew even race the race with us and sent us off with a speech asking us why we were here and not at home watching Netflix! After the race there was a spread of amazing Blerchy food options like cake, Nutella sandwiches, potato chips, purple drank, and some bananas if you were taking it easy. There were also fun Blerch signs everywhere and a place where you could pose in front of an "I beat the Blerch!" poster with giant tubs of Nutella for free photos. It was so much fun! The post race medals were different for each race and featured the Blerch.

Aid stations: This was hands down the best part of the course. The aid stations had typical water...and then they also had cake and Nutella sandwiches and actual couches for you to sit on! They also had people dressed up as the Blerch chasing you slowly telling you that you should probably sit and rest for a while. I didn't rest or eat cake but it was such a fun touch. They also had Sasquatch at one of the aid stations just hanging out.

Overall Experience: If you are a fan of the Blerch and are looking for a relaxed and fun race with tons of like-minded runners, this race is for you! You get the chance to not only meet, but also run with the creator of The Oatmeal and the Blerch. The race food was awesome and the course was really easy. The runners were all super supportive and fun to be around. I'm hoping I get to run another one of his races soon!