Bubbles make for good clean run
Photo by Meaaloha McCabe
Green foam pours over runners at the Maui Bubble Run, Feb. 11, in Kahului.
What, you might ask, is a Bubble Run? Do you run in a bubble suit? Do you run while blowing bubbles? Or perhaps it’s a run that you do while running in a bubble?
A bubble run is a fundraising event for local charities. Participants wear white t-shirts and run through gigantic mountains of colored bubbles that look like they belong in car washes, not in the middle of Keopuolani Park.
Despite the heavy rain, Bubble Run 2017 went off just fine Saturday at Keōpūolani Park, where nearly 3,000 people to run a 5-kilometer course (approximately 3 miles). Each runner was given a T-shirt, headband, tattoo, and a race bib number. There were experienced runners who had trained for the race and those who came out just to have fun.
“It’s not something you prepare for. Itʻs something that you just do. You just go out and have fun,” KS Maui cross country runner Lily Gavagan said.
The starting line was next to the Boys and Girls Club skate park, where a 10-second countdown was repeated every 3-5 minutes to let the waves of people go. Upbeat music got the crowd pumped, while chunks of bubbles flew around those who were waiting at the starting line.
Foam bogs were stationed at each kilometer. Yellow, pink, blue, and green bubbles enveloped runners and walkers going through the course.
“We were walking through the bubbles and enjoying just being covered with bubbles,” said Chris McPhee, one of the a participant.
Most of the foam bogs were working perfectly. The blue foam bog had some issues, but some participants stayed back while workers fixed the problem in no time. The wind and some slight rain picked up during the race, and bubble storms began to form.
The windy weather at the Bubble Run 2017 created foam storms around participants.
At the end of the course, there was a community bubble bath. Movable bubble machines, controlled by staff members, shot foam into the sky while music blasted through large speakers around the field.
At the end of the course, participants were showered with foam.
“I’ve never seen so much joy where people are exercising and smiling at the same time,” McPhee said, while enjoying the finish line bubbles.
Within all the bubble fun, a mannequin challenge broke out, and all runners froze and struck a pose underneath the slowly falling foam. Behind the scenes of all the laughs and smiles, lots of work went into the event from planning a year in advance, to shipping in equipment.
“There is hundreds and hundreds of hours beforehand for the 2 hours of fun,” said Will Kelsay with the Bubble Run.
Missed your chance to participate in the Bubble Run? The next course will be run at the old Kona Airport in Kona, Hawaiʻi, March 5.
