BLOBFEST!
On a warm night in July of 1957, a meteorite impacted on the outskirts of a small town in Chester County PA. Contained within was a gelatinous blob. This carnivorous amoeboidal alien began to devour the inhabitants of the town one at a time until it was stopped by a gang of kids and their dog. Of course I’m referring to the plot of the 1958 Sci-fi horror movie THE BLOB starring Steve McQueen. The movie was shot on location in Phoenixville PA. One of the main buildings featured in the film is THE COLONIAL THEATER, an old time movie house still in operation to this day. Additional scenes were also filmed in the towns of Chester Springs, Downingtown, and Royersford.
For over 20 years the town of Phoenixville has commemorated the film with an annual 3-day festival called BLOBFEST. Six years ago the local Phoenixville area running club THE RUNAGADES began hosting a coinciding race fest on Sunday morning, The BLOBFEST 5K/10K.
Small town movie theaters need all the help they can get to survive these modern times and the profits from the race benefit THE COLONIAL THEATER. These vintage movie houses are slowly going out of business because of the newer theaters, as well as declining theater attendance. Once these remnants of yesteryear are gone, they will be gone forever, so consider adding the BLOBFEST race to your calendar next year.
This year, the RUNERGADES expanded the races to included a half-marathon distance with a strict 3.5 hour cut-off due to the brutal July heat. I only found out about BLOBFEST last minute, but as there was still time to sign up, I decided to join a friend who asked if anyone was going.
I briefly toyed with the idea of signing up for the half as the cutoff time is right about where I am right now. In the end I made the wise decision to just go with the 10K having just run a brutal summer half-marathon twelve days earlier which I still hadn’t fully recovered from.
Personally, it was the right decision. It was hot and humid. Plus there were a couple of hills that seemed to go up forever, although the total elevation gain according to STRAVA was only 293 feet (89.3 meters).
The course was a straight out and back with ample water stations. As I ran the middle race distance this gave me 4 water stations.
The half-marathon started at 7am, 10K began at 8am, and the 5K launched last at 8:05am. The race was chip-timed and depending on your distance you turned back at the marker sign. The bibs was different colored, 5K red, 10K green , half was pink. The first half mile of the course was decorated with signs or had spectators watching.
I took great delight in yelling “DON’T STAND THERE, RUN IT’S COMING!” as I passed the onlookers. If you aren’t having fun, you’re doing it all wrong. Life is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated. I also encouraged a few of my fellow runners who seemed to be struggling.
The right words at the proper time can lift the spirits of those who are discouraged or filled with self-doubt. As a result, I tend to make friends easily at most of these races.
As a few of the faster runners past me, I also cheered them on, jokingly telling them to save a banana for me if I ever make it to the finish line.
Humor is good medicine and I was having a fun time regardless of any physical discomfort I might have been experiencing as I pushed myself hard. My goal was to run the course in 90min. It took me twelve minutes longer than anticipated as I crossed the finish line at 1hr 42 min FLAT.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive a finisher’s medal. Usually these are offered to half-marathoners, but evidently they were awarded to all who ran the 10K course also. I suspect the 5K finishers received medals as well.
As I walked back to my Jeep I paused to hold my medal over the Phoenixville skyline, vowing to return next year!
You can find me at these upcoming local races
AUGUST 2023
August 17th Third Thirsty Thursday 5K Race Series (#5 of 7) @7pm Reading PA
August 20th Chobot Challenge 13.24K Trail Run @9am Rustic Park Birdsboro PA
SEPTEMBER 2023
September 9th Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon @9am Bird-in-Hand PA
September 21st Third Thirsty Thursday 5K Race Series (#6 of 7) @645pm Reading PA
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As always, I wish you success and happiness!