Biggest Loser Seattle Half Marathon - Part 1

Last Saturday I headed down to Seattle with my friend Carrie to pick up our bibs at the Biggest Loser Race Series Expo being held in the Wallingford neighborhood of North Seattle.  The Expo was being held at the local Boys and Girls Club.  Years ago I lived in this neighborhood so I was a bit curious when I read that the Expo was being held in that area.  This is a very urban and trendy area, with little parking except for street neighborhood parking and I couldn't imagine any venue being big enough to handle such an event.  We had reservations to stay in Seattle that night to so the next morning would be smooth and easy.

The EXPO was open from 12pm to 5pm and we arrived about 1:30pm.  It was busy... took us a bit of time to find parking in the surrounding neighborhoods.
  

 

 We walked a short block and got right into the Expo.  As I guessed the building was just a small community Boys and Girls Club... small lobby, a few side reception rooms and a small gym.  We were greeted in the lobby area and directed to "sign the waivers"  and then told to make our way into the next room for bibs and drawstring backpacks.  The lines were only about 4 or 5 deep so it took no time at all for us to get our bibs and also pick up our stuff for our children who were all registered for the Kid's Mile Fun Run that would be taking place at 12pm the next day.

My friend Carrie gets credit for this photo... Nice orange shirts.

When we made it into the gym to pick up the shirts and I was expecting more... there were about 5 or 6 booths of sponsors pedaling their wares, a small stage for a speaker, and the T shirt pick up area where they also had some Biggest Loser specific merchandise for sale.  That was it... I guess because this was the Biggest Loser I expected bigger and more... a bit of a disappointment.  There were speakers scheduled throughout the afternoon - First time running advice and a few past contestants.  While we were there - Jesse - from Season 11 of the Biggest Loser was on the stage.  He talked about his experience getting on the show and how Hollywood can make the experience look a bit different then the experience actually is.  

Off to the side of the stage they had a Meet and Greet area set up and folks were meeting with Jennifer Rumple who was from Season 12.  

The line was long to meet her so we didn't wait... this paid off the next day because I got to hug her at the end of the Half and got a photo with her too!

To tell you the truth we didn't really stay long to listen... There wasn't much to offer at the Expo so we left after picking up our shirts and checking out the merchandise they had for sale.  I will include some photos below of what we saw.

At the Merchandise area they had 2 large bins of overflow shirts from other Biggest Loser races... I have to say that EVERY single color of the shirts in those bins were better then the shirt offered at the Seattle race.  My sister, who teaches middle school, assures me that NEON is in right now.  Okay... but caution cone orange?  Seriously?  I hate the shirt... but probably will wear it for training runs from time to time... at least I will be seen.  No question about that!   All in all I think the EXPO was a "Meh"... I guess with the Biggest Loser name I expected something bigger.  In the end we got our bibs and shirts without much hassle so that is a good thing.  Stay tuned for the events of the next day!

Part 2 - Coming soon... The Biggest Loser Half Marathon - SEATTLE!

What is the coolest thing you have ever experienced at a Race EXPO?

Do you have a Race shirt that you don't like?  Bad color?