First #vancouver Sun Run

It’s a party.

Think of Lollapalooza, crammed into the Pritzker Pavilion. I think the final count was 48,000 and some people. Party indeed.

So let me back up a step.

The Sun Run (misnomer) is a 10K race through Vancouver. One of the biggest races worldwide, I was told. OK. Sure. Whatever. I’m from Chicago. I know big, and if my experiences so far are any indication, “big” in Vancouver is not like “big” in Chicago. At all. So I didn’t think much of it. There were too many other, more pressing, matters.

Race Day. Chicago big. Sweet!

And it was a party. There were live bands along the starting line, which got progressively better the close you got to the starting line. Live bands and music all along the course. People in funny hats, wigs and crazy hair. People were having a good time walking and talking. Racing around, kids playing tag. Quite the fun party atmosphere.

I’ve said before how Vancouver is not hilly. Hills imply gentle rolling slopes. Vancouver is jagged. So Vancouver has inclines. And there is no escaping inclines on the route. At all. I was on pace to beat my 5K time from a race last year, until the incline leading up to Pacific and the Burrard bridge.

Another thing I noticed is how the streets are not conducive to running. Granted there weren’t tracker-trailor tire sized pot holes, but they weren’t smooth roads either. Guess I’m more used to grass and trail running.

By my watch, I finished in 1:29 and some seconds. Not bad for a first 10K with no training. And I was still able to walk the two miles or so back to my apartment.

All in all, it was a fun time.

Maybe they should call it the Fun Run instead. You can still have fun even if there’s no sun.