Insane Inflatable 5k 2016

September 3, 2016
After the debacle that was the Samurai Sprint (not the race's fault, but rather my injuring my shoulders and not feeling good enough as a racer), I decided to focus a little more on "fun" races.

This race was the "Insane Inflatable 5k", a 5k race where the obstacles were all inflatable "bouncy house" type obstacles. I didn't think that my 5-year-old son would be up for the distance, and that coupled with the price made me decide to so only with my 7-year-old daughter. That turned out to be a good decision.

The race was only a half hour from home, which was good, and took place at a local speedway, so there was ample parking, and we parked a very short walk away from the venue. Registration was easy and we got our bibs. One smart thing was that the bibs themselves were stickers, so no safety pins were necessary.

Ready to race

While waiting for our wave, there was a small bouncy house for kids that Laurelin took full advantage of. But it wasn't long before our wave was ready to go. The course was on a speedway, which meant flat and open, so there wasn't any shade to speak of, except for within some of the obstacles themselves.

The Beach Ball obstacle

The first obstacle was a simple climb up inflatable stairs and then down a slide, and we were off. Most of the group just took off running, but Laurelin and I went slower, which helped as group spread out and when we arrived at obstacles we didn't have to wait. the next was a simple run through a bouncy house like structure, and then one that was like a large mattress.

Fighting through the obstacles

Laurelin had a blast karate kicking making of the upright parts of the obstacles on her way through, but sometimes lost her balance. One of my favorite obstacles was a "ball pit" of sorts where you had to negotiate your way through beach balls as large as a person. I had a lot of fun when I got to the end and started hurling them back at racers behind us.

Completing another obstacle

The heat and the distance started to wear on Laurelin, and we made it to the halfway mark water station.

Taking a short break

The second half of the race was much the same as the first, but by now Laurelin was tired and I started carrying her for stretches of the course. Of course her sore feet magically felt better every time we reached an obstacle...

Down the slide!

Sore feet or not though, Laurelin was still all smiles by the time we got to the end.

Waiting our turn at the last obstacle

Before we knew it we were at the end, another race in the books. The only downside to this race was the price, which was something like $150 for the two of us. The Krazy Kids Inflatable Fun Run that we did later was much easier on the wallet, and just as much fun for the kids.

With her medal and T-shirt

The race was fun but I'm not sure we'll be doing another one, if only because of the price. On the other hand, they're in the area only once a year, so we'll see.