Cosmic Run Washington DC 5K - Race Recap

As I mentioned yesterday, Raisin Bread and I registered at the last minute for the Cosmic Run 5K. Thanks, Desi from A Northern Girl for the awesome giveaway! 

Although this race was advertised as the "Washington, DC" race, it was actually an hour away in Waldorf, Maryland. It had been raining all week long, and I was worried that it would be raining during the race. The drive over to the Regency Furniture Stadium was pretty scary because it was raining, Maryland drivers are terrible, and we passed at least four car accidents. Luckily, we made it to the stadium in one piece. 

The Cosmic Run is pretty similar to the Color Me Rad race that I did in September except for a couple of key points. First, it is at night. Second, there are lighting set-ups along the route and dance music is a big part of the experience. This was the first time I had ever run a night race, so it was pretty exciting. By the time we arrived, the rain had turned into mist, which actually felt really nice! 

During packet pick-up, we were given two glow sticks and black Cosmic Run t-shirts, which we decided to wear since the color was supposed to show up well on black. When we went to put on our glow sticks, they turned out to be duds or maybe we are too old to remember how glow sticks work! 

We arrived with enough time to park and visit the restroom before we went over to the start line. We waited for only about 10 or 15 minutes before the first wave was off. 

We also got these awesome glow-in-the-dark temporary tattoos. We managed to wander into the second wave, so we didn't have long to wait before we were off. At the starting line, they were handing out more glow sticks. This time someone else activated them and they magically worked! We no longer felt like glow stick less losers. 

At each kilometer throughout the race, there were different lighting set-ups blasting dance music. I only managed to get blurry pictures, but they definitely added energy to the experience.  

We encountered four different color stations. Like Color Me Rad, the color was made of colored corn starch. I got an entire ear full of pink color, which was really hard to get out! 

The finish line led us through these multi-colored gates and onto the field, where there was an after-party with a live music. 

 

We stayed long enough to take some after pictures before we headed back home. 

  

Finish Line After Party

This race was super fun and went by so fast. The course was almost completely flat and there were things to look at all along the way. It definitely made the 3.1 miles seem short. The race wasn't timed and I didn't time myself because I just wanted to have the experience.  I definitely think this race is geared more to the college-age and under 30-year-old crowd, but we still had a good time.

Disclosure: I received two complimentary race entries through a giveaway on A Northern Girl. All opinions are my own.