The Results Are In.....The Winner of the Hallowe'en 5K Costume Run Crowdsourcing Challenge is......

ZOMBIE SQUIRREL!!!

Just me and my nuts

Yes, thank you Daniel and Loopy – you were right.  It would have been totally nuts to have run as anything else in the Wicked Woods! http://www.sfmaddash.com  As you can see, Zombie Squirrel came with the World’s Largest Inflatable tail that I almost gave myself a stroke with trying to blow it up, before I remembered my bike pump in the cupboard.  Durr.  The costume also came with its own nuts (steady) as well as squirrel paws, for that full-on woodland mammal look.  

The deathly pallor of Zombie Squirrel was also enhanced by the less-than-vibrant glow I had about me, as a result of having had Lori and her folks round the night before for a big dinner party.   A very good time was had by all but – as the alarm went off at 7am – my body was not happy about being dragged out of bed to go trudge round Golden Gate Park.  It was still busily digesting beef cobbler and strawberry pavlova and pinot noir.

Now, I have to say that Zombie Squirrel was a little snug around the..err… nether regions when I tried it on for the first time. I seemed to have inadvertently bought the Teenager Zombie Squirrel costume by mistake – the one where the crotch is down by your knees and you wonder how anyone can walk.  But, I thought gamely, I gotta give the crowd what they want, so I’ll figure something out.   But, with the tail fully inflated and my tummy also fully inflated, there was even less room than there had been when I’d tried it on before.
Hmm…..  This might be a very slow 5K.

Action Squirrel

And then I sat down to put on my sneakers.

“RRRIIIIIIPPPPPP!!!”

Ah.  Ok.  Right then.  Yep, as I sat on the bed and bent over to tie up my running shoes, I think a critical mass was reached, several laws of physics took effect, and the entire crotch gave out with a loud RIP!

Great.  Now I was Teenage Zombie Flasher Squirrel and, you know, that just wasn't going to be a good look for me. 

So, it is with sadness that I have to report that Zombie Squirrel was DOA for the 5K.  At least I got a couple of pictures before Crotch Gate, so you can see just how awesome I would have looked (notice I’m not wearing any shoes in the pictures!).

So, now what?

Well… as you might suspect, I had several options up my sleeve for Plan B.  I should probably be concerned by that, but there you have it.   That's just life as a Strategic Planner for you.  Always prepared.  (or maybe that's the Scouts).   Anyhoo.  Obviously Drunken Gecko was out, having succumbed to the Washing Machine of Doom after last year’s Tomato Battle.  I couldn't turn up as the traffic cone again – wearing the same costume two years in a row, dahlink?  Nevah.  I wasn't inspired by Spooky Nun (too pedestrian), so, instead, I decided to follow Lori’s lead and break into the costumes that we had bought for the next Penguins and Pyjamas…..

GO Team Tillamook!

BOOM!  Penguintastic!

Yep.  We went as penguins.

And, you know what?  Plan B turned out to be a pretty good plan after all.  It may even have qualified as a Mouse Plan.

It was a lot colder than last year, so a nice fleecy penguin suit turned out to be just the ticket, to keep your flippers warm and toasty. (actually, do penguins have flippers?).  I could actually move in it, so it was a lot easier to get round the 5K course than it would have been with a dropped squirrel crotch (hmm..not a phrase you hear often).  And – seeing as we did the whole course this year, instead of “accidentally” shaving off a mile – it took a lot longer than we remembered!  Maybe eating and drinking too much the night before isn’t the optimal way to train for a race.  Or maybe it is.   It made our penguin waddle a damn sight more authentic.  

SOOOOO jealous!!  Next year, I'm going to dress
up as the Tardis or a Dalek!!!

There didn't seem to be quite as many people as the year before, but it was still great fun and there were some very cool costumes, especially some of the kids who were sooooo cute.   They changed the order of events though after the “race” (I dont think our shuffle round really deserves that moniker!), so that the raffle (win $1000!) and costume contest (fame and glory!) wasn't scheduled to happen until after the band.   The band were very good, but very loud and played for what seemed like an eternity.  Or an hour.  Which, when you are hungover, is about the same amount of time when you are having to listen to loud rock blasting out of speakers about 20 feet from your head.   We stayed for the costume contest (I didn't win) but gave up when they announced the raffle wouldn't be for another 30 mins.  Sod that, we thought.  By that stage, the thought of going back home and having a quick nap was just too irresistible.

So, off we went, heading home and – of course – I needed to stop and to get gas on the way.  So, if you were walking past the Texaco garage at 3^rd and Folsom at around midday last Sunday – you weren’t hallucinating.  You’re OK.  There really was a hungover penguin pumping gas into a Chevy Equinox. 

Just another day in San Francisco.

Enjoy the pictures from the day!

Pre-race penguin stretching routine.  

Just a regular Sunday morning stroll in the Park in SF

The Scene.

Hmm.. 5K doesn't seem as long as I thought it would be...

I thought these guys were dressed as crayons.
Apparently not.

An approximation of how I felt the
Morning After Cobblers and Pav...

Unbelievably, some people were actually here to run! 

Not a happy flower.  Quite possibly because the child
was actually called Dahlia as well as being dressed as one.

Penguin woodland obstacle course, of course

Going, going.......

Are we there yet?

The real deal. 

Hightailing it out of there.....

And who said penguins were flightless creatures?
Piff. 

The famous Penguin Log Hop stop. 

Waddling home....

Every day, I'm shufflin'...

Another team Tillamooooook?

The crowd goes wild, dancing to the VERY LOUD BAND.

Ugh.  Not this morning, thanks.

Even penguins have to eat. 

Unicorn and adult beverage in perfect harmony.

This was actually pretty creepy.  Laffin' Sal.
Not surprisingly, this costume won the adult costume contest

Yikes.  

This guy seemed waaaay too happy just
 dancing with his two bananas

Can we hear a collective "Ahhhhh!!"?

Another ridiculously cute kid.  SSTTPOI.

Thats one determined little turtle

Xander!!!