Thursday's Helpful Race Hints: Costume Basics

Snow White and Evil Queen posing for pictures at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon

What separates Run Disney events from other races?  While this can be answered 100 different ways, one of my favorite ways is the costumes.  Grown women and men pay homage to their favorite, pixie, princess, prince, villain and favorite character by creating a costume inspired by their beloved character.  The course is filled with all sorts of Disney characters.

When I was deciding on a pixie powered costume for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, I obsessed over my first race costume.  I was not sure how to create a costume.  I read all blogs related to costumes and looked at the previous year's costumes (to see the race pictures from the 2013 Tinkerbell Half Marathon, visit www.marathonfoto.com).  My favorite blog related to costumes was from According to Kelly.   Kelly has ran many, many Disney races and always comes up with fabulous costumes which she makes herself.  You can also check out etsy, a website for crafters and sewers to sell their hand made creations by searching for your character and adding "running costume".  You can also search google and google images the same way.

After you decide on a character, decide what details symbolize the character.  For example, Snow White, what are the details that let you know it is Snow White?  Yellow skirt, blue top, red/blue short sleeves, white collar or combination of these items?  For Tinkerbell, is it the light green skirt, wings, pom pom on her shoes, strapless top or poofy bun?  Identify the items on the costume that are essential in recognizing the character.  Now, how do you modify that item so it is easy to run in?  For example, look at the picture above.  See Snow White's sleeves?  They are strips of ribbon that are held together at the sewn to an elastic that make the short sleeves.  Very breathable and very runnable.

A Snow White Inspired Costume from www.team-sparkle.com on Pinterest

 Identifying the icons for each costume that make it recognizable as that character is essential in creating the perfect running costume.  There are those that replicate every item on the costume while others create a character-inspired costume.  The best costumes have little details that reflect the characters.  For example, if you saw a disney runner in a yellow skirt, blue tank top, and a red ribbon in her black hair, you would probably still identify her as Snow White?  Why?  The color scheme is Snow White including the red ribbon in her hair (an essential detail in her costume).

When you are putting together your costume, take a minute to ask what are the details which are essential to the character.  Don't forget to include these in your costume.  Happy Costuming!