Calgary Marathon Expo 2013

I dropped by the Big Four building tonight to fetch my race package and check out the Calgary Marathon Expo.  Since the two vendors I was most looking forward to had been dropped from the list, I didn't expect to actually spend much time there. The plan was to grab my package, pick up a pair of calf sleeves from the CEP people and get the heck out of dodge.

But we somehow ended up spending an hour there.  With hubby and two almost four year olds!  How did that happen?

With this being the 49th Calgary Marathon, you can already tell that they are ramping up for the 50th next year - there was an incredible feeling of nostalgia sprinkled throughout.   The moment you step through the door, you are greeted by a row of mannequins dressed in the race shirts of past years.

The package pickup is located in the first row.  You need to show up armed with your bib number this year so make sure you have it on you.  Like last year - the bib pick up was super efficient.   And to keep people from turning right around and leaving without visiting the rest of the expo, the t-shirt pickup is located AFTER the vendors.  There are more mannequins after the bibs with even more race shirts.  I forgot to snap a pic of those...I was too focused on what I saw next...

MEDALS!!!!  Old medals.  New medals.  Lots and lots of Calgary Marathon medals from days gone by.  Of them all, though, I was immediately drawn to the ones for 2013!!!  On Sunday, I will add that lovely purple one to my collection.

But there were tons from past years as well...so cool to see how far they have come!

I bypassed the Running Room booth since I didn't really need anything there and I headed straight to the CEP booth.   Since winning my Dietbet - the promise I made myself was to use my winnings to buy a lovely pair of compression sleeves.  I got the CEP ones in Royal Blue...

I wanted to try on the Altras.  So bad.  But I didn't think the twinners patience would hold out for that so we kept moving.

Next stop was the Team Diabetes booth.   I had a lot of questions for them and wanted to grab some information.  Since my dad has been diagnosed with Type 2, I have been looking for a way to give back.   I like the idea of running my next full for the Canadian Diabetes Association. Especially since the local fundraising minimum is actually quite reasonable. I also scored a pair of shoelaces while I was there.  And she gave the girlies glow necklaces, which were a big hit.

Still not on the hunt for any merch, we glazed through most of the rest of it...until the HealthyU booth which drew us all in.  There were games for the kiddos and everyone got their choice of prize.

The girlies chose purple hacky sacks and the booth gave us some healthy living packages for the whole family with tips to keep us all on track.  At the Cerebral Palsy booth, they were handing out free pedometers for Steptember so I grabbed two of them for the girls (hubby and I already wear pedometers)...I look forward to seeing how many steps THEY take in a day!

The girlies decorated some leaves for the motivation tree (Buggie even wrote her name on the back of hers without any help!)

Loved this one!

If you go - take a moment to read the trees...there are some cute ones in there...lots of kids contributed to motivating the runners!

and then, almost an hour later, we were at the end and picking up my shirt...I love the design this year...

The face is just me trying to decide if I want to go down a size or not.  I ended up keeping the XL, though it is slightly big on me.  They changed brands on the shirts this year so they are not as snug (er skin tight) as the past couple of years.   I am wearing this over my blouse.  It will be probably about perfect for casual wear since that's how I tend to wear my race shirts.

Detail shots of this years design...

and then we waved goodbye to the runner guy and headed on our way back into the rain...

The whole race package:

My thoughts on the expo?  I didn't have high expectations.  I have come to be pretty disappointed in so many of the expos around here.  BUT...this year I thought it was pretty decent.  There was a great energy, the volunteers were bending over backwards to help and keep everything moving smoothly, the vendors were much more attentive than usual and there was a decent selection of products - even if there weren't the sales you find in the expos south of the border.  A full list of vendors can be found here.

So - when you are picking up your bib this weekend - take time to explore the vendors...I wish I had time to go back and spend even more time there.