Run Your Cupcakes Off - The Cupcake Race 5k 2021

Oh, you guys... I think this has to be Two and a Half Strikes, You're Out for this Race Director. At least for me... 

Back in 2018, I ran a local race called The Cupcake Race. It was bad, all the way around, from Packet Pickup to Final Results. But I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, you know! So a few years later, now in 2021, I signed up for Run Your Buns Off 5k in April. It would run along the Trail, a place I'm familiar with, and a similar route to the Cupcake Race from 2018. Okay, cool, let's do this!

And then the issues began.

First, they moved the race from where it originally started, at the local park, to a different park along the Trail - that was 30 minutes away from my house. Usually not a big deal, but I needed extra time now to take Hubby to work and make it on time to the race.  

Then, when I went to Packet Pickup the day before, I was told that they had no shirts available in my size (requested an XXL when I registered for this event), but they would be available the next day at the race... all I got was my bib. Okay, that kind of sucks. Being a Bigger Gal, I'm used to never getting a shirt in my size anyway, but I hate when I spend so much on a race and don't get any kind of swag!

And then Mother Nature herself decided to just shit all over the race. 

So the race was cancelled. 

People who showed up before the storm got their shirts AND a cinnamon bun!

Now absolutely, don't get me wrong here, cancelled a race with dangerous weather like this in the area absolutely was the correct way to go. I don't fault them one bit for this decision! 

Out of curiosity, I emailed them a few days later (to give them time to recover) and I asked about whether or not there would be a way for me to get my shirt, since I didn't get it at early packet pickup. I never got an answer back at all. Okay, fine. I'll just take the loss and move on. 

A week or so after that, we all got an email telling us that we could either defer to 2022, or transfer to The Cupcake Race in November 2021. I would also like to point out that they gave away all 200 cinnamon buns to St. Francis House, a local homeless shelter in the area, so that was heartwarming. 

I went back and forth for a while, trying to figure out what I wanted to do... I'd already run a Cupcake Race, and it was shitty. Would this one be better? They had a few years to work out kinks, right? Or should I wait for 2022? I decided to sign up for the Cupcake Race, because it would at least be cool (as opposed to an April race)! 

So, here we are in November, and boy, this was just slightly better than 2018, but not by much. On the Friday before the race, I went over to early Packet-Pickup at a nearby gym, and it was worse than 2018, I think. They had tables outside, but no organization at all. It took about 30 minutes for me to go from where I was standing in this photo to actually getting my bib and shirt. 

Now, you can see, again, that I requested an XXXL tank when I registered. And are we at all surprised that, when I got my packet, there were no XXXL shirts available. They didn't even order any XXXL shirts from the distributor. Like, if you aren't going to order them, don't have that size as an option! She ended up giving me an XL and muttering that I might be able to swap for a men's tank at the race tomorrow. Yeah, cuz that'll fit well... I'm not hopeful, folks, not at all. 

Two sizes too small, horrible color, juvenile MS Paint logo...

So, Saturday morning dawned a little overcast but temperate, so I wore one of my SparkleSkirts and headed to the race site. Parking was relatively easy, since I was able to get there so early. I was thankful that I hoard warm clothes in my car, because as I waited around, I could feel the air getting chillier... I think it must have dropped 10 degrees! I was regretting my skirt, I can tell you that! 

Looking toward the starting area

Alright, let's go!

We were told that the race started at 8am, so everyone started heading to the Start Line around 7:50am. 

We're all just waiting and shivering here!

And we waited. And waited. I ran into a friend of mine and we chatted for a while. Again - just like at the Cupcake Race - they were going to send the runners off in waves, even though we had not been told beforehand that this was going to happen. So, the half runners were sent off first, but a lot of them had no idea, because they were in the back of the line with us. Then they sent the 10k people. And finally, the 5k people. 

Nothing really eventful happened during the race, which was nice, so I don't have many photos. The only surprise on this course was the ass-destroying hill climb right around the halfway point. I'd never done this portion of the Trail before, so it was not something I knew about going in. 

The photos can't capture how steep this grade is!

But beautiful, and I'll run here again soon!

Luckily, a brutal hill climb like this on an out-and-back course means a beautiful hill descent on the way back, which it was! The rest of the race was smooth sailing after that. I finished in just over 57 minutes, which absolutely sucked, but whatever... Covid fucks everything up. 

I got my cute little medal and looked around for the damn cupcakes. 

Aww, it's so tiny

Cupcakes this time around came from Gigi's, and included varieties such as Cookies 'n' Cream, Wedding Cake, Affogato, Red Velvet, and Toffee Crunch. I defaulted to Wedding Cake ("Perfectly simple vanilla cake topped with signature homemade buttercream") because everything else seemed too over the top for me at the time. 

It was... alright. Nothing spectacular to write home about. Certainly not a $5 cupcake. But it was full of sugar and carbs, which always comes in handy after a 5k. 

So... Yeah. I'm done with Craig Levan (the RD). He and his team are just not good at this. I don't want to keep spending $35-40 on a race that sucks. Sorry, buddy.