Ran this fun (untimed) 5k this past weekend along with fellow BibRave Pro Cynthia. It was part of a series of 5k events held in several cities around the country with the central theme being the DC Superheroes of Wonderwoman, Superman, and Batman. As a participant, you get to choose the swag you get from one of those 3 superheroes you'd prefer. The swag is a technical short-sleeve shirt, a medal, and a set of wristbands.

The race was held inside the park at Six Flags Over Texas in San Antonio. Packet pickup was also there on race morning (Sunday), so we arrived about 45 minutes prior to start time. It was super easy to park, and the tents with the bibs and packets were directly adjacent to the parking lot and easy to find. There was no line when we got there, so we got our packets immediately and headed back to the car to stay warm for a bit. We were dealing with unseasonably lower temps for us in the low 30s, still had some time before the start, and the start line was just a few steps away.

Once we got to the start line and did our pre-run warmups, organizers called any participants who had dressed up with superhero costumes to go up on the stage for a costume contest. I estimate that approximately 60-70% of participants were wearing a superhero costume and many of them went up on the stage for the contest. It was both fun and interesting to see all the different variations of superhero costumes.

Almost immediately after the contest ended, we lined up at the start line and started the 5k. After circling the parking lot, the course entered the park and went around it following its outer boundaries. It was all pretty neat and entertaining to me; I had never been inside of it before. At some point after mile 2, the course went left and started going up on a pretty steep hill incline that went on for a bit. It was then when I got confused by the course markings (orange cones and an arrow on the ground pointing left), where I followed the arrow and turned around. I suspected something was wrong a few minutes later when I reached the finish line much earlier than I expected at about the 2.5 mile point. I learned afterwards that at the point where I followed that arrow, I was supposed to keep going straight and up the next hill for about another 1/4 mile and then turnaround. At the finish line, there were plenty of cheering volunteers handing out the medals and congratulating all the finishers, several neat banners and props with the superheroes theme for fun photo opps, and post-race refreshments were bananas, granola bars, other assorted snacks, and water.

With the exception of getting confused and not following the complete course correctly, I enjoyed this event and got a kick out of watching all the people who dressed up in costumes. Now I kind of wish I had done that as well!