Le Bonheur Pumpkin Run 5k Memphis **Recap**

The Le Bonheur Pumpkin Run was fantastic. They had a lot of activities for the kids before and after the event. I saw multiple face painters, pumpkin painting station for the kids, outdoor games courtesy of the YMCA, multiple bounce houses, and lots of freebies from sponsoring businesses/organizations. There was a DJ with energizing "make you want to dance" music which was great to get you in the mood to have fun. There was also an announcer to keep us informed of the times and vital information before and after the event. There were plenty of porta-potties for the crowd. The course was marked very well with plenty of cones and arrow signs. There were 2 water stations during the race which was perfect. After race, we had our share of ice cream sandwiches, Mempops popsicles, hot dogs, Gatorade, etc. All this was included at no charge to us. That was awesome! After the race, they had a costume contest for the kids for different age groups. We didn't participate in that due to me not reading the email thoroughly (facepalm).

This event offered a kids fun run which was FREE. Austin did this run and only ran about 1/4 of the 400m run; I had to carry her the rest of it, haha. But she ran the very end across the finish line and was so proud of herself.

*CONS*

-The kids fun run did not include the ribbon that was advertised on the website. This was frustrating because I had built Austin up for that ribbon for finishing her 1st race. (I'll get a ribbon for her from somewhere.)

-There was A TON of vehicle traffic on the race course. This puzzled me. I had to keep PK on my right side to keep her away from traffic, and this was the longer way around the course due to how it was laid out. There were a ton of families and kids in the event. I don't understand why it wasn't locked down better.

All in all, the race was great, but before we register for this event next year I'll have to check out the route map and see if it's more contained or not. Running with my kids makes me more aware of these dangers of cars zooming past as we run. The family had a great time and could not have asked for better weather for the event.