NiteLite Run 2015: We glowed (and then we sweated)

Mostly, I looked forward to the anonymity of a night run as we race-day registered for the Fox Cities Nitelite Run Friday.

I pictured myself cruising quietly along, obscured by darkness and neon streaks of passing glow sticks, lost in my own end-of-the-week thoughts.

“Hey, Laura! Is that you??”

Startled, I looked up and saw a group of Appleton North friends.

“Oh, hey!”

As the race started, I found my pace and settled in.

“Laura!”

A friend from my morning boot camp class waved from the sidewalk.

“Hi there!” I huffed as I headed up a hill.

I’m no celebrity, but the NiteLite run traced the same route I run nearly every morning. I found myself pageant waving as I chugged along, greeting friends and neighbors and second guessing my outfit choice.

My face shined a sherberty shade of orange and pink owing both to the glow sticks around my neck and my own sweaty flush. My circa 1990 yoga pants required a good yank up every 100 yards or so, and I paused at one point to tie my neon green sweat shirt around my waist.

A mom pushing a stroller full of children zipped past.

I hate when that happens.

Still, I had a great time with plenty of music to pump (clap!) me up, and lots of inspiration, too. I saw a man lift his disabled running partner from his wheelchair, grab his hand and, together, the two men made their way 100 yards down the chute to the finish line.

Tiny children sat on curbs cheering wildly, and a man in a neon thong (yikes) won the whole thing.

I didn’t glow, I sweated. Profusely.

But I thoroughly enjoyed my first nighttime fun run.

Hope y’all did too.

warmups
Look closely at this mirror shot of people warming up and you’ll see the eventual winner of the race. Note: He’s got his hands in the air, perhaps practicing his tape break.
Starting line
A colorful bunch gathered at the starting line.
The starting
You can also spot the winner here. Look for the neon pink leggings.
Glow run
The course included switchbacks so we could see glow sticks coming at us as we ran. The moon rose and it all looked cool.
Heartbreak Hill
This hill is soooooooo much steeper in person!
Inspiration
I found this scene extremely inspiring, The man in the gray sweatshirt lifted his running buddy out of the wheelchair and, together, they walked 100 yards to the finish.
Wheel chair
That empty chair spoke volumes.
Vince and me
We’re still working on our selfie game. Neither one of us is sure where we’re supposed to be looking. But, here we are at the start of the NiteLite Run. It was a great way to kick off the weekend!

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