Did you know that you can run a race at the zoo? I mean that you can do it as an organized event. I don’t recommend just running around the zoo because that might cause a panic and get you thrown out. Months and months ago I saw an advertisement for Run for the Wild. It is a 5K/ family run at the Bronx zoo. I had been wanting to get back into running (not that I ever did it for very long) and had convinced my boyfriend to train with me. I figured this would be perfect because how could he turn down a chance to be at his favorite place, the zoo. We were supposed to start training in January, but I underestimated how much school would drain from my body. It sucked every extra ounce of energy I had after work. The last thing I wanted to do after slaving over homework was to subject myself to running. I know I’m being dramatic, but am I really? Probably. Each week we would say we were going to train as the clock kept ticking closer to the race. We trained a total of 1 time, so you can imagine how excited I was for the race. In the week leading up to the race I gently suggested that we participate in the family portion of the event so we could walk instead of run. I had all of the arguments ready even though I didn’t need them. He wasn’t too thrilled about running either as it turns out.
Of course, when you need to be somewhere early the subways have to be all messed up. We had to take 3 trains to get there. It ended up being worth it because if you don’t hear a man shout “The only way it could be better is if you were sitting on my face” into a phone at 7am, are you really living?
We made our way to the zoo and I was shocked by the number of people in attendance. I’m not sure why, I just assumed that there wouldn’t be that many people. We checked in, got our t-shirts and took a picture with a tiger.
We hadn’t put on the shirts because we thought it would be too much
Being the gigantic child that I am, I suggested that we get our faces painted. Since my boyfriend is my ideal match, he suggested that we get matching pictures which set my little heart a flutter. We decided it was time to put on our official shirts, so we could match even more. While waiting in line we got to play with the thousands of bubbles that were floating around. Some of the bubbles has smoke in them which was pretty cool. I wanted us to get painted by the same person, but the woman directing the line was a little difficult. We had a color scheme picked out so that would just have to do. The finished result was pretty cool and we ended up looking similar enough
Sorry not sorry we're so cute
The race (walk) itself wasn’t too bad. It was a little bit annoying getting stuck behind slower people because I naturally walk fast. It’s not like I could politely push them out of the way because pushing children is frowned upon. We got to see a lot more animals than I expected just walking around the zoo. The walk itself wasn’t bad, but after the second mile I was starving and I’m not such a great person when I’m hungry. It’s like I transform into this demanding beast and the real me is stuck inside watching it stomp all over everything. This also happens when I need to pee in case you were wondering why I won’t stop for conversation on my way to the restroom. At this point I started feeling like this walk would never end and I would expire on this path. Just when I was about to give up and accept my fate (I was born this dramatic I swear), We reached the 3-mile marker and hit the home stretch. I got a bagel at the finish line and returned to my natural human state. Kudos to my boyfriend for putting up with my nonsense the entire way.
The first stop after feeding my face was to the rock wall. It was included with the registration, so I talked a big game about making sure I did it. The only problem is I’m terrified of heights. It’s so bad that I don’t even like being in tall buildings. I barely look out of my window and I only live on the third floor. I felt completely fine until I had to walk up to the attendant in my harness. She said that I would climb to the top and then hit the button. After that I was to hold on to the loop thingy with both hands and slowly come down. In normal situations I would have asked what I should do if I can’t make it all the way to the top because of fear. However, I knew that if I asked then I would never make it to the top. During my entire climb I kept telling myself that I was going to die. I said that the entire thing was going to fall over and crush me. About halfway up I had trouble finding pegs and the attendant kept yelling to me where they were. Each time I would step higher I’d imagine my untimely demise. In that same breath I would try to tell myself that no one had died yet here today so maybe I would be okay. Before I knew it (felt like hours) I was at the top. I rang the stupid bell and then I let go. I’m no small girl so I also worried that the thing would break, and I would plummet to my death. It’s amazing that all of this only took about 10 minutes, not even. Afterwards I had such an adrenaline rush because I could not believe I had done it. I literally kept saying it every 5-10 minutes in case my boyfriend had forgotten what I’d just done. We celebrated with the beer garden and cannoli. I’m not sure why they thought cannoli and beer go together, but I wasn’t going to complain.
I didn't take a picture, but it pretty much looked like this
Overall it was a pretty cool experience for a great cause. Who else can say they ran for the wild? (besides the thousands of people who were at the event and in years past. Humor me)