Halloween is this Tuesday, but the celebrations have already gotten underway. Runners and cyclists and even kayakers have been getting into the spooky spirit of the season. My Halloween plans include going trick-or-treating with my friend Deb and her family, riding my bike over there and back dressed as Queen Elizabeth (well, sort of). In case you were still unsure of what to do that might combine your interests in fitness, fun, and Halloween costumes, here are some images that I hope will be inspiring (or at least amusing). I start with a surprise– try kayaking in a very large pumpkin. Think it’s not possible? Well, think again.
Tualatin, Oregon hosted a Giant Pumpkin Regatta last weekend, but maybe you could get some folks together to host your own. We at Fit is a Feminist Issue do not recommend paddling in a pumpkin in open ocean– please use your own good judgment…
If you prefer your Halloween paddling to be more conventional (that is, you want to use a boat), you can trick out your kayak nicely. Here’s one woman who did just that:
And then there’s cycling.
Options for biking while costumed are vast in number. It’s cyclocross season where I live, and there are costume races this weekend. Last year I rode in the Orchard Cross cyclocross costume race, and it was nothing but outrageous fun. Here’s a picture of my friend Steph (she’s in the T. Rex costume, one of two T Rexs in the race) riding the course in a small pack:
If you prefer riding on the road, there are loads of Halloween bike rides. I’ve done the one in Boston a few times and blogged about it here. There’s nothing like riding at night with about 500 other friendly cyclists, all bedecked in spooky finery. If you’re worried that your handlebar or helmet lights won’t be enough, you can always accessorize like this guy did:
And then there are the runners.
There are loads of Halloween running road races. According to Running USA, Halloween is the number two most popular time for road races (with US Thanksgiving in the number one spot). There were reportedly 733,576 finishers in 2015. I’m not (soooo not!) a runner, but I see ads for these races, and they look like a blast. I mean, don’t you want to cross the finish line with these folks? I almost do.
Of course there are many many activities I’ve left untouched. There are Halloween yoga classes (worthy of its own post, but gotta save something for later), soccer games, spooky trail runs and walks, and goodness knows what else.
Hey readers– what sort of Halloween activities have you done? Have you done a sport or activity bedecked in costume? How was it? We’d love to hear from you.
