10 km race? In October? Running half-naked? Sure, why not?
And that's basically how I came to sign up for the 10 km "Biegnij Warszawo" (Run Warsaw!) race in October 2012. But this wasn't going to be just any race. I decided to join Spartanie Dzieciom, a group of Polish men and women who run in various races around Poland dressed as Spartans. The reason? Because it's awesome. And also to raise awareness and money for charities supporting disabled children in Poland (that's important too). Of course, WITC was also there (and in full force, with nearly 40 people running), but 4 of us from the club decided it was still warm enough in October to run half-naked, just like they did in Sparta.
Spartanie Dzieciom has been featured in the news, and they usually attract a lot of media attention during the races. They're even allowed to start the race at the front of the group, because of their mission. I don't think anyone is worried about a Spartan actually winning the race, so moving to the front doesn't give them any advantage. They run in marathons, as well as shorter runs, all over Poland, and all dressed like Spartans. Of course, I'm not doing the marathons, so 10 kilometers it is.
Andy, Ewa, Karolis and I decided to join the group a couple months
back. We paid a "joining" fee, which paid for our uniforms, race entry
fees, as well as a donation to the cause. In each city the group races
in, they give some support to disabled children in that city. There is
also a website where you can donate,
but it's only in Polish. If you'd like to donate something, just let
me know and we can figure it out! It's been a while since I was
involved in a charity race (like American Cancer Society Relay for
Life), so it was great to join something like that again.
The biggest shock about the whole process was receiving our "uniforms". When the guy passed me the "pants," I actually thought it was one of the arm-bands, because it was so small and only had material on one-side. Nope, it was the pants. And in this case, I mean it the way the British use it (i.e. "underwear"). There was no back side to these so-called pants!!! Basically it was a fancy leather thong. When we asked what we should wear under it, the guy motioned around his downstairs area with his hands, then shrugged his shoulders and said "nothing, really". I almost asked for a refund. (But is it weird that I am wearing these pants as I write this? It makes me feel more Spartanese).
On race day, the 4 of us met with the other Spartans, put our self-consciousness aside, and changed into our gear. We immediately had to run from the changing area to meet WITC for our WITC group picture, in full Spartan gear. We got lots of looks during this little jog, but it helped that the staring faces were smiling and excited to see us, rather than pointing and laughing, like they did in elementary school. It also helped that our helmets covered our faces and our capes covered our butts. The group has been around for a while and already has a good reputation in the running community in Poland. It's funny how quickly I went from self-conscious about the outfit, to proud of it, in just a short amount of time.
Back with the Spartans, we proceeded to find a remote location to practice the Haka dance (which we had to perform multiple times before, during and after the race). If you're not familiar with it, the Haka is a war ritual famously performed by New Zealand's rugby team, as a way to intimidate the opponent and get fired up (it's "famous" if you know what Rugby is, and know that New Zealand has people who play it; not just sheep and hobbits). We couldn't watch ourselves during our performances, but I'm pretty sure we're just as intimidating as these guys.
After the race, we performed the Haka a couple more times, took a "victory lap" around the track, and posed for pictures with fans (people really asked us to take pictures with them!). I think they were surprised to see an Asian-looking face under the helmet. Maybe they've never heard about the Spartan-Hun student exchange program.
Overall, it was a very fun experience, and I look forward to more races next year. I don't think I'll manage a full marathon like this (I don't know how they do it in this gear), but I guess I'll never say never. It's great to be a part of it, for such a great cause, and it's nice to know that we're raising more and more awareness around the country. Now we just need some help in raising the money (hint hint - see link at the beginning of this post).
Here's the Spartan's website, also only in Polish, but you can see how official the group is!
And that's basically how I came to sign up for the 10 km "Biegnij Warszawo" (Run Warsaw!) race in October 2012. But this wasn't going to be just any race. I decided to join Spartanie Dzieciom, a group of Polish men and women who run in various races around Poland dressed as Spartans. The reason? Because it's awesome. And also to raise awareness and money for charities supporting disabled children in Poland (that's important too). Of course, WITC was also there (and in full force, with nearly 40 people running), but 4 of us from the club decided it was still warm enough in October to run half-naked, just like they did in Sparta.
Spartanie Dzieciom has been featured in the news, and they usually attract a lot of media attention during the races. They're even allowed to start the race at the front of the group, because of their mission. I don't think anyone is worried about a Spartan actually winning the race, so moving to the front doesn't give them any advantage. They run in marathons, as well as shorter runs, all over Poland, and all dressed like Spartans. Of course, I'm not doing the marathons, so 10 kilometers it is.
WITC Spartans
The biggest shock about the whole process was receiving our "uniforms". When the guy passed me the "pants," I actually thought it was one of the arm-bands, because it was so small and only had material on one-side. Nope, it was the pants. And in this case, I mean it the way the British use it (i.e. "underwear"). There was no back side to these so-called pants!!! Basically it was a fancy leather thong. When we asked what we should wear under it, the guy motioned around his downstairs area with his hands, then shrugged his shoulders and said "nothing, really". I almost asked for a refund. (But is it weird that I am wearing these pants as I write this? It makes me feel more Spartanese).
On race day, the 4 of us met with the other Spartans, put our self-consciousness aside, and changed into our gear. We immediately had to run from the changing area to meet WITC for our WITC group picture, in full Spartan gear. We got lots of looks during this little jog, but it helped that the staring faces were smiling and excited to see us, rather than pointing and laughing, like they did in elementary school. It also helped that our helmets covered our faces and our capes covered our butts. The group has been around for a while and already has a good reputation in the running community in Poland. It's funny how quickly I went from self-conscious about the outfit, to proud of it, in just a short amount of time.
WITC team photo
Back with the Spartans, we proceeded to find a remote location to practice the Haka dance (which we had to perform multiple times before, during and after the race). If you're not familiar with it, the Haka is a war ritual famously performed by New Zealand's rugby team, as a way to intimidate the opponent and get fired up (it's "famous" if you know what Rugby is, and know that New Zealand has people who play it; not just sheep and hobbits). We couldn't watch ourselves during our performances, but I'm pretty sure we're just as intimidating as these guys.
Haka'ing
Generally, Biegnij Warszawo is a really fun event. I believe it's the
biggest run in Warsaw, with around 12,000 people participating this
year. That's a lot of people running 10 km. And everyone is dressed in
their cool, black mandatory BW racing tops. Everyone except for the 40
individuals dressed in red robes and golden armor (and except Ken,
since he was wearing his white WITC top...so scandalous!).
Before the race, we marched through the crowd, to the front of the starting line and performed the Haka for everyone. Unfortunately, our "clothes" (if you can call it that), do not have pockets for my camera, so I have no pictures of this, but I was able to find some pictures that others took. Here's a video of us taking a break from the run and performing in the middle of the race. The view is obstructed, but you can see a bit.
Before the race, we marched through the crowd, to the front of the starting line and performed the Haka for everyone. Unfortunately, our "clothes" (if you can call it that), do not have pockets for my camera, so I have no pictures of this, but I was able to find some pictures that others took. Here's a video of us taking a break from the run and performing in the middle of the race. The view is obstructed, but you can see a bit.
Get out of our way, we have spears!!
Waiting for the race to start
There's also a short video of us running here, which was on the Polish news.
The run started, and we were off...running two-by-two, as if running into battle. The shield and spear weren't too heavy (only about 40 kilos), but it was the fact that my arms were in the same position the whole race that gave me a bit of a cramp in my shoulders. Just kidding about the weight, by the way, the shield and spear barely way 1 lb combined. Anyway, I think we looked pretty awesome (although with a bunch of new people like us, we weren't as crisp or 'Nsync as we could have been). Everyone that ran past us smiled, and many tried to talk to us, or take pictures of us while they were running. A few guys took selfies with their phones with us in the background...while racing! We did a nice, easy pace, finishing 10 km in 1 hour 5 minutes (with 2 stops for more Haka dancing along the route). The group did some marching chants that I never managed to figure out the words to, but it must have been inspiring, because after each time, the runners around us would start clapping and cheering...again, while racing! It was awesome.
The run started, and we were off...running two-by-two, as if running into battle. The shield and spear weren't too heavy (only about 40 kilos), but it was the fact that my arms were in the same position the whole race that gave me a bit of a cramp in my shoulders. Just kidding about the weight, by the way, the shield and spear barely way 1 lb combined. Anyway, I think we looked pretty awesome (although with a bunch of new people like us, we weren't as crisp or 'Nsync as we could have been). Everyone that ran past us smiled, and many tried to talk to us, or take pictures of us while they were running. A few guys took selfies with their phones with us in the background...while racing! We did a nice, easy pace, finishing 10 km in 1 hour 5 minutes (with 2 stops for more Haka dancing along the route). The group did some marching chants that I never managed to figure out the words to, but it must have been inspiring, because after each time, the runners around us would start clapping and cheering...again, while racing! It was awesome.
Spartans running into battle amongst the black-shirts
After the race, we performed the Haka a couple more times, took a "victory lap" around the track, and posed for pictures with fans (people really asked us to take pictures with them!). I think they were surprised to see an Asian-looking face under the helmet. Maybe they've never heard about the Spartan-Hun student exchange program.
Overall, it was a very fun experience, and I look forward to more races next year. I don't think I'll manage a full marathon like this (I don't know how they do it in this gear), but I guess I'll never say never. It's great to be a part of it, for such a great cause, and it's nice to know that we're raising more and more awareness around the country. Now we just need some help in raising the money (hint hint - see link at the beginning of this post).
Here's the Spartan's website, also only in Polish, but you can see how official the group is!
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