Prizes Before the Event -- Score!!

In the final part of the weekend wrap-up, we must visit THE EXPO!! It's always so fun to go to a large event Expo and scope out the vendors! I love it so much that as I was scouring the internet for another Half to sign up for in the Fall, one of the things I considered was if there was an Expo, and how big was it going to be. I'll run some hellish hills if there's a good Expo!

The Rock the Parkway event was awesome all the way around including the pre-race fun at its Expo! Of course, part of the excitement is picking up the shirt and the bib:

My pal and I patiently waited for my stuff before hitting the
rows of merchandise!

With bib in hand, I'm officially set!

And, there's the shirt ... I was pretty
indifferent about it at first because I think
I was expecting blue (seeing as that was
the color of every bit of signage and
publicity). But, once I re-looked at it,
I could dig it. I'm just going to make it
smell anyway, so I should be glad to
have one I don't care about as much!

One of the things I've always appreciated about the large Expos in particular is that every member of my family is treated as important, not just me as the runner. I realize the vendors want to sell to everyone, but I have always been thankful that the Crew gets to enjoy something like a yummy granola bar or tasty sandwich sample or beef jerky stick because that has to make it even easier to wait while I am combing through magnets and hair bands!

One of the first vendors I spent actual time and money at was the Go Girl shirt-making stop!

Many choices ... but, I'm an awesome narrow-it-down-in-no-
time kind of gal! I know what I like.

I'd stopped and spun their prize wheel which resulted in a $10 credit toward their apparel. Well, then, I had  to find out if there was something I wanted!

 

And, there was!

Bling all over the place! Woohoo!

Here's the headband up close:

Super sweet!!

Seriously Cool Swag!

 

Okay, so both Pit Crew #2 and I hoped the wicking headband people were there. I could use another one because they are truly one of the most awesome products ever, and PC#2 has had wish-she-had-bought-it remorse for about a year after passing up one that said, "Will Run For Cupcakes" at the GO! St. Louis Expo. Right down the aisle from the Go Girl folks, we were in luck!

So. Many. Choices! And, with so many choices comes a LOT
of digging through the pile to see if they have what you want!

That's just fabulous!!

My boy adores cheesecake. I had to take a pic.

I was going to pick up this yummy lavender
number 'til I saw how much it cost ...!

PC#2 had all kinds of luck!! Not only did
she find a pink "Will Run For Cupcakes"
band, but she scored some awesome
patterned ones!

Puppy paws for me ...

... and, a prize for Elly! It crunched up the
first day I put it on her, so I put it around
her middle for the run. It was like a sport
bra. Ha!! I got it right the next day! It
should really say, "What I lack in brains,
I make up for in fool." (Can you tell what
kind of run I had with her today?)

By the way, the local news had a story that night about Rock the Parkway (letting people know about street closures ... nothing exciting), and both Aaron and I were in the background at this vendor. I know ... we're like su-pah staaaaaahhhhs !!

 

Anyway ...

 

While wandering around, Pit Crew #3 and I checked out the Glow Run display!

I got him a black wicking band for summer driveway basketball.
He's gonna love it. How cool would he have looked under the
black light had I gotten him something like lime green, though?!

Lime green rocks the black light look!

As soon as we arrived to the Expo, both kids wondered if the infamous Avocado people were going to be there again. They weren't, but Whole Foods put out quite a spread:

Honey-sweetened, flavored waffles. Not bad ...

Now, these fruit snacks were goo-ood. They didn't stick to your
teeth at all, and they were, of course, real fruit. I wasn't a big
fan of the price, but I did enjoy the sample.

I always enjoy seeing the many, many shirts because some of them crack me up:

Thanks to this shirt, I literally had this go through my mind
during the last tenth of the race!

Laughed. Out. Loud.
By the way, this RUseen company does
these shirts in reflective lettering and
graphics. It was really quite cool. I don't
run in the dark, but, if I did, I'd totally
check them out.

There were more hair accessory vendors than I've ever seen at one of these. Look! There's more ...

And, one of my favorite vendors is always the one that has the car stickers and magnets. This one cracked me up!

0.0!!! Fabulous!!

Those are my favorite highlights from the Expo! Well, except for this:

I love these people!

And, indeed, the Half I'm strongly considering for Fall (just triple-quadruple checking calendar things at this point!) is the one that has the best Expo! It's truly not what drew me to it, but it most certainly helped! It's always fun to have a little prize to take home to commemorate one heck of an effort (or, in which to drown your sorrows when you feel craptastick afterward. Either way. Ha!)!

As you might have caught, the running did already restart! Tomorrow's a Rest Day, though, and I have a fun throwback for Thursday pic before picking it all back up on Friday! See you tomorrow!