Morning of the race, I woke up and started baking breakfast (my oh-so-famous sour dough stratta with tomatoes and greens). I wrangled Dana out of bed and Kelley showed up. We hung out for a while, had some mimosas and a a great breakfast. Then around 10:00 a.m. we headed downtown to Boston. When we arrived, we checked into the bar and entered the sea of bodies in speedos singing Christmas carols and getting merry. We mingled, ooed and awed at the costumes, and made a game plan to be one of the first ones out of the bar this year.
Last year, we pre-gamed in the basement of the Lir. The race started and there were so many people in the bar that we were one of the last ones out and the race had already started quite some time prior. The BEST part of the race is the beginning of the race when everyone piles onto Bolyston street and jumps up and down in the cold singing Christmas carols before the gun goes off.
So this year, at 10 minutes prior to the race start time, we (Erin, Dana and I) headed to the entrance of the Lir. While waiting there, we met a lovely gentleman named Steve who asked to join us during the run. The more the merrier! At 5 minutes to the race time, they hadn't started sending people out into the street yet so we decided to just do it. As we walked out of the Lir, the typical shock of cold did not overwhelm me. It was chilly, but not COLD like usual. I believe it was 43 degrees that day. Which is not bad at all. Being the first ones out, the media went crazy. We were being photographed by a swarm of "paparazzi." They were more thrilled that it was a bunch of girls hanging outside (sorry Steve!) in their bikinis and went crazy taking photos of us. At the start time, a few more people came outside (5 or so) and we hung out in a circle dancing and singing Christmas carols. I believe this went on for another 20 minutes. The race hadn't even started yet! There were some problems with the police arriving late and blocking off the streets. All the while- we hung around outside having a ball and egging on the crowd. Finally, after a police officer arrived, a few more people started piling out of the bar- and we decided to take the initiative and start the race without the gun. There wasn't an official start or anything set-up it seemed. So off we went! At the red lights, we'd stop and do push ups or jumping jacks. We high fived the crowds that lined the street as we went by. We chanted Christmas carols to the people in the crowd and the shoppers on Newbury Street. Along the route Kelley and Courtney waited. The caught some photos of us and I gave Courtney a full bodied bikini jump hug. And then we finished the race.
Unfortunately, I lost Steve somewhere on the run but later connected with him over e-mail. We will have a new addition to our group next year!
It's such a blast and we had so much fun. Then we all went to lunch afterwards. Here are some photos from the run. We were also featured on the main page of Boston.com for 2 days straight! I'm telling you, the cameras loved us! :)
Delicia
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