On October 1, 2011, I’ll be running the Skirt Chaser 5K in Denver. The race starts at a very civilized 3:00 p.m., not so much to facilitate my Saturday morning sleeping in, but rather so the runners are done just in time for Happy Hour. Avery Brewing Company and Barefoot Wine will be serving up complimentary post-race libations accompanied by an assortment of finger foods.
Why Skirt Chaser? Because if you’re a guy, you’re literally going to be chasing me, running in a skirt. Not you, me. Well, you can wear a skirt too, if you want. But I get one with my race entry fee. The Skirt Chaser 5K is the brainchild of Boulder-based Skirt Sports, a designer and manufacturer of running skirts. Skirt-clad ladies start three minutes ahead of the guys in this amicable battle of the sexes.
Race director and Skirt Sports CEO Nicole DeBoom called me on Friday from Steamboat where she and her two-time Ironman Hawaii World Champion hubby Tim were vacationing for the weekend. She was excited to share that they just booked That Eighties Band to play at what she calls the “Block Party,” the Skirt Chaser’s notorious après race extravaganza. “This isn’t like other running races where people clear out within 20 minutes after they finish,” she says. “Everyone stays for about two hours to socialize and dance.”
Of course they do. With a fun and flirty race format that draws 1,500 up-for-anything runners, who would want to leave? DeBoom says that the race, now in its fifth year, consistently draws about twice as many women as men. And not that this is a singles’ event, but she does provide stickers for guys and gals to wear on their backs if they’re available. “Why not?” DeBoom says.
A former Ironman Champion herself, DeBoom met her husband on an airplane en route to the 1995 ITU World Championships in Cancun, Mexico. But it could have just as easily been at the race . . .you know what they say about birds of a feather. Beyond matchmaking, 39-year-old DeBoom wants to inspire people, especially women, to be active and to remain active as they age. “People are more likely to include fitness in their routine when it’s fun,” she says.
