I’d like to preface this race report by saying that I should hardly be calling it a “race report”.

This past Saturday, I participated in the newly trending fun run called the Electric Run in Brooklyn, New York. It’s a 5K evening race that took place at Floyd Bennett Field at the Aviator Sports & Events Center at 8PM on both Friday night and Saturday night.

I signed up for this race several months ago after being convinced by someone that I met from Nike Run Club to join with her group. I didn’t know what to expect and I always like to try something new, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I’ve never ran a race without being competitive or training before, so this was definitely an experience for me. At first, I couldn’t even comprehend the idea of running “for fun” To me, every race that I’ve ever signed up for, I was aiming to set a PR (personal record).

When I picked up my race packet at the Sports Authority on Third Avenue on Wednesday, the line wrapped around the entire store. I went during my lunch break at work because I figured it would be easier to get it over with earlier on in the day. Apparently, everyone had the same idea as me. Once I was on line to pick up my race packet, I finally started getting excited as I saw the herds of people coming in. This seemed like a pretty big deal. Up until a week before the event, I had completely forgotten that I was even signed up for the Electric Run; although, I don’t know how I possibly could because it was the most expensive 5K that I’ve ever signed up for.

The total cost was around $65 and that was only because I signed up with a group. The cost to sign up as an individual was approximately $5 more ($70 total). I had anticipated that it would be worth what I paid for and just hoped for the best.

On Saturday afternoon, I headed to Brooklyn from Manhattan to meet up with my group at the Buffalo Wild Wings near the Barclays Center. I wasn’t quite sure why we were were meeting at Buffalo Wild Wings before a race. Typically, I’m very conscious of what I eat or drink before running. Once I got there, everyone ordered beers and baskets full of fried wings. I was in absolute shock. Everyone kept reassuring me that it wasn’t a big deal to drink and eat unhealthy prior to a race like this. I still didn’t understand. In my mind, I was still thinking that I was going to run the entire thing.

Three beers and many wings later, we finally left Buffalo Wild Wings around 7:30PM. The event started at 8:00PM and I was starting to get anxious. Another thing that I’ve never done before was be late to a race. As we were in the cab, I was panicking, thinking that we were going to miss the start of it.

Once we finally arrived at Floyd Bennett Field, it was a few minutes past 8:00PM and we still had to find the rest of our group because they took a separate cab. At this point, my nerves were spinning out of control. I looked around and saw crowds of people who were still mosey-ing their way through the parking lot. Once our group was reunited, we walked over to the start line. No one seemed to be in any immediate rush. I, then, remembered that this wasn’t a timed race.

This was single-handedly one of the weirdest experiences of my life.

We walked almost the entire course which took upwards of about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. The entire time, we just admired the flashing lights, elaborate costumes, and glowing golf cart that was driving around blasting electronic music. We stopped about every 5 minutes to take pictures.The only reason for running was to get it over with quicker.

As an experienced and competitive runner, this was not an ideal situation for me. I must admit that I did have fun, but the cost and reward that I felt I received after participating, I’d like to inform people who are contemplating doing this, that it is definitely more of an experience to enjoy and not take seriously at all, instead of a “race”.

If you have the same mindset that I have, it would also be difficult for you to comprehend the meaning of a “fun run”.

Although it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I’m glad to say that I tried it for myself. After all, if you never try, you never know.