One of the fun things about running in big events is crafting unique outfits to wear on the course. This year, there was a little bit of a wrench thrown into the mix for many runners when runDisney announced new costumes rules just two days before marathon weekend in Orlando. That race weekend preceded the Star Wars event by a week. So, runners who like to costume got to see a sampling of what did and didn't make it through security for the Orlando weekend before we headed to Anaheim for Star Wars fun.
I usually try to pare down my outfits to make sure I'll be comfortable anyway, so I wasn't too concerned. My only real fear was that my gloves for my Ackbar 5k outfit might have to go, and I was prepared to ditch them if I needed to.
My ensemble was reviewed at security, but ultimately got the OK. This outfit was fun, and pretty easy -- I had the hat and gloves from last year, so I just used black pants and faux boots I had on hand, and bought a cream turtleneck at the thrift store. The only new piece I made was the vest, which was simple and made from gold sweatshirt fleece that I overdyed with apple green to get that unique greenish mustard tone. The admiral's insignia is an applique with satin stitched details.
My 10k outfit was put together at the VERY LAST MINUTE. I literally wrapped it up just a couple of hours before we left for the airport. (And even so, I needed to pack paint with me to finish the hat.)
I was pretty happy with how the dress turned out, especially considering its last-minute nature. It's just a basic spandex dress that I whipped together and detailed with appliques to mimic Chopper's body design. I decided to add a little back interest with some iron-on letters in Chop's actual droid letter/number name:
The hat is just poster board taped together and then covered with fleece and a final orange knit layer. Then I glued the details on. The antenna is made from a medicine syringe I had on hand from one of the cats' vet adventures. I just painted it pale silver and poked it up through the center from the inside and hot glued it in place.
Both the hat and the dress got some weathering with paint and a sponge brush.
I had a blast running in this costume, though I was surprised at how many people didn't seem to know who Chopper is! I got called C-3PO three times. Oh, well! I had fun just the same!
My outfit for the half marathon was pretty basic. I had already made my Salacious Crumb cap a while back as part of a blog project for StarWars.com. The dress started out as a pile of white Lycra which I dyed -- using just RIT dye in Tan -- to a nice golden tone. Then I whipped it into a dress, and pinned a strip of fur along the neckline. (I didn't sew it on because I knew I'd need to be able to just toss the stinky running dress in the wash.)
This was a REALLY fun outfit to wear for a race. It was comfy, and it made people laugh. A word to the wise, though: If you're not interested in talking to lots of strangers, don't wear a kooky outfit. I love meeting new people and am especially friendly when I run, so for me it's fun!
Now, it's time to turn my thoughts to princess running outfits for next month's Glass Slipper Challenge, and the Dark Side Challenge after that. Some of that may be recycled ensembles. But for now, it's just time to launder these and rest!