Boston Run TEAM

Last week, the Boston Run LUNA Chix Team hosted our inaugural Walk or Run for Fun event in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA - and let me just tell you, it was a fantastic success! I hope the women that participated thought so too, but from the energy and excitement I saw radiating from the area, I believe that they did

Well, this was honestly such a cool experience to be a part of, the women were strong, energetic, and smiling the whole time! Unfortunately we had to turn down some on-site registrations, as this was a woman only event, but I am sure those guys understood

I got over to Cambridge Commons (right next to the center of Harvard Sq.) around 5:15ish, only to find there wasn’t much more to set up, just time to get the party started! You could see the LUNA tents and flags a couple of blocks away, (the bright turquoise/blue/yellows are hard to miss) and my excitement startled to really bubble. You see, I have been injured and this was the first time I was seeing a lot of these gals in almost a full month! It was also the first active event I was taking part in, in the past 3 or 4 weeks…so, as you could imagine, I was a little stoked.

There were two big tents for tasting and registration, a DJ from Mix 104.1 and a few “water” stations to mingle, and some changing tents (for the women to change into their Luna shirts - such a cool idea for a race/event) set up inside a large blue Luna fence.  The Clifbar mobile was parked just off to the side and there were two porta potties right near (100 or so women for 2 1/2 hours? Necessities!).  I quickly changed into my Team shirt and took a spot at the registration table, handing out shirts to all the participants (everyone was asked to wear theirs for the duration of the event, so we could tell who was with us) and helping check in everyone.

About an hour later, the 100 or so women were all gathered into the Luna lounge and led in a group stretch to warm up their muscles…this wasn’t a race, but it was an active event, so stretching was pertinent!  Once the stretch was done, the first group was told they were ready to head out! Guess who got to lead the first group?! Oh yeah, I was the 15-minute mile pace group leader for the “Power Walkers”.  I think my teammates new how bummed I was about not being able to run, and honestly, I had a kick ass group and we got to chat the whole time!  There were two walking groups and 4 run groups that headed out, all at different paces (the fastest being a sub-9 minute/mile run).

An exhilarating 1.5 miles (I always forget how tiring power walking can be!) and a few, errr, wrong turns later, we made it safely back to the Luna Lounge to enjoy some of Rob’s Swirl electrolyte enhanced water (same company that makes Pirates Booty…swoon), a cool down Yoga session, Luna bar sample bars, and a sweeeet goodie bag (many women won prizes, like a $30 gift certificate to Marathon Sports!).  Since it is feeling a lot like fall, the darkness came a little early, and so the party wrapped up around 8:00 - but let me tell you, it was a goood time!

The Boston Run team hung around for some more dancing and team photos, before heading out to some dinner (it was 8:30 and I was hungry-pants).  All in all a fantastic event - there were learning points for next year’s event, such as having a leader at the front of the running groups and a Luna chick at the back, to make sure no one gets off path or lost…but other than that, it was an impressive turnout and all of the women really seemed to enjoy themselves and the event!