Running Odd

This Sunday is Philly’s spring half marathon—the ODDyssey Half Marathon.  No, that’s not a typo: the race prides itself on being, well, a little odd.  Costume contests, optional side obstacles (yay moon bounce!)… one year, a man ran juggling the whole way.  Juggling.  For 13.1 miles. 

Juggling.

So I imagine you can’t just wear regular running shoes to the ODDyssey Half—you’ll need to wear more, er, unusual ones.  Maybe like these:

What the…?  The ATV19 Plus by Reebok has got to be the weirdest shoe I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something.  It looks like some sort of alien plant-octopus hybrid that’s eating your feet, but all those tentacle thingies are actually meant to help you conquer uneven terrain.  Also available in all black and a really weird-looking black, yellow, and burgundy combo; your choice for $140 from Zappos.

Or these:

Tie dye extravaganza!  Seriously—even the laces on the 890 V3 by New Balance are tie dye.  Now that’s dedication to a design!  If you are a neutral runner and have a high arch and $110, these can be yours from Lady Foot Locker.  (Also available in a number of other, less crazy colors.)

And of course, we need at least one of these:

The bright colors make this pair of SeeYa LS especially fun: slashes of sunny yellow, bright pink, and lime green.  And five toes, of course!  The shape was designed to help runners feel like they’re going barefoot, but with the protection of a shoe.  (Doesn’t mean it doesn’t look weird, though!)  Also available in blue/purple, black/pink, and orange/gray; your choice for $100 from Vibram FiveFingers.

There are still some registration spots available for the ODDyssey Half!  If you’re a distance runner or walker, come on out and join the fun.  I’ll be there!  Also, please note this awesome shirt my sister-in-law got me for my birthday, seen here on my last long training run:

Perfect, right?  And just look at the back:

Shoe Fairy away!

Sales this weekend:
Bakers: Buy a pair of shoes for $50 or more and get 25% off a purse
Bloomingdales: 30-40% off a selection of designer shoes, and 25-40% off a selection of regular shoes
Call it Spring: Up to half off shoes
Lord & Taylor: Friends and family sale: 25% off with savings pass or promo code FRIENDS
Macy's: Save 15% on one pair, 20% off two pairs, and 30% off three or more pairs
Payless: Entire stock sandals up to half off
Saks: Up to 30% off designer shoes
Steve Madden: Save 25% off sandals with code SANDALSALE25