Ok I seriously have had this post “in progress” since October 21st.  Seems a little late to recap the Oak Scare event that I helped plan at the Oak Square YMCA the week before Halloween, but I still want to.  Plus if I have any hope of recapping Mania, I best get this out of the way first.  Better late than never, right?!

Anyways, the Oak Scare event is an annual tradition for the Oak Square YMCA and the Brighton community.  There’s a 5k where participants can run, walk, or wheel (in costume!) and then attend a Health Fair in the gym after.  The other coordinators and I put a TON of planning into this event… weekly meetings and follow-up items to make sure everything was organized and set in stone.

The day started bright and early.  By bright and early I mean that we were at the Y at 7am to set up for the race.

We set up the registration tables outside in the parking lot.

Runners began arriving right at 7:30.

Runners got their numbers and started warming up.  Some were even in costume!

We set up the timers, handed out t-shirts, and Lauren & I were given the very important responsibility of hanging the mile markers along the 5k route.  We really could have messed with people with that job!

Runners before the race:

And they’re off!

Meanwhile, while the race was going on the rest of us coordinators and all my wonderful volunteers got the gym set up for the Health Fair.  We were a bit pressed for time, but thankfully we got everything ready just in time as the runners started coming in!

Here are some highlights from the fair itself!

My brother as DJ:

Dunkin Donuts across the street was kind enough to donate coffee and bagels, and we set up a bunch of fruit for runners to grab after the race:

I had my amazing group ex addicts manning my group ex table:

A couple of my awesome cycle instructors instructed people on form and how to set themselves up on the Cycle bikes.  Hi Mom!

Monique manned the Dynamax Medicine Ball station:

Julio rocked some kettlebells:

After a quick pep talk, I lead the Corpbasics girls in a 10 minute Kickboxing performance.  Thank you, ladies, for giving up your Sunday mornings to help out with this!

About 45 minutes into the fair we announced the race winners and gave away some raffle prizes:

And us coordinators got a special thank you shout-out and recognition, which was nice:

Later in the morning we also had Carolyn lead some Family Zumba for the kiddos… and us not so kiddos!

And we can’t forget about the plank challenge!  Theresa took home 1st place with a six and a half-minute plank.  Go Theresa!  P.S. Check out Tim rocking his plank in jeans and a sweater.

We also had tables set up for aquatics, prizes, nutrition, blood pressure, children, fire safety, and more.

Finally, I can’t forget about the vendors/sponsors who donated both products and time to help make our event what it was.

Becca from Mindful Massage:

The folks over at Chobani!  Tons of yogurts donated:

We also received product donations from HINT water.  Which by the way, I had never tried before and I loved it.  So refreshing and light!!

New Balance was there, giving away free swag and representing the community:

And so were my good friends at Fiorella’s Express:

A huge, enormous THANK YOU to these sponsors.  It made our event so much better, and we loved all the great feedback we got about not only your products but about your generosity as well with raffle items, etc.

The Oak Scare 2012 event was a lot of work, but worth it.   I love when a plan comes together!

Have you guys ever planned an event you’ve been really proud of afterwards?

Have a great Wednesday!