It rained, it hailed, it got windy, and the race was run. On a chilly day in downtown Cotati seven teams gathered to prepare for the second annual shopping cart race. We huddled onstage out of the rain as emcee Jeremy Sharp read an article about the Iditarod in Alaska. We talked about the dog sled race starting the same day as us, and about the CHIditarod in Chicago, and how we can’t really complain about our weather. Still, we really hoped to get some blue skies before the race began.

Someone said the rain is going to stop in thirteen minutes. How do they know that?!? They whipped out their phone and showed me the forecast, and they were right too. About a half hour before race time the skies cleared and we got our window. Teams ventured out into the park to finish preparing their carts. We had our photo op with Caryn from Redwood Empire Food Bank after she finished loading up all the food. By our tally we had gathered 855 pounds of food to donate.

When Caryn got back and weighed in on the REFB scale she assured us we had done way better than that. The racing teams donated a whopping total of 1,047 pounds of food this year, over twice what we brought in last year. Over a half ton of food to feed the need and help end hunger in our community! We are proud to be a small part of replenishing the food stores after the recent fires.

This year the checkpoints were all themed and run by crews dedicated to each location. We had a blindfolded derby gear race with the Sonoma County Roller Derby, a ring toss head on a platter game with Tarwater, a confessional sexy unicorn bead toss game with Camp “Oh, No You Didn’t!” followed by an escape room puzzle with Reed Between the Lines, and a Shakespearean rap lyric challenge for our final stop with Nick from Smokin’ Bowls. The checkpoint judges all rocked their roles, and everyone had a great time at each stop. We even had someone show up who had run the race in Chicago and came to volunteer with us!

We had some returning teams this year, and some new teams too. Everyone really went all out with their costumes and decorations, and it made for a fun parade. We did get some light rain during the race, but we kept right on running. The circus performers in Skytopia ran parts of the route on stilts! When we ran through one neighborhood a lady came out of her house to ring a bell at us as we ran by, which me and my team found very encouraging. It was nice to see the community supporting the racers. We had cars honking, people waving, and shouts of encouragement along the way. Keep Cotati Weird is kind of a theme in our town, and the locals definitely approved of our efforts.

There were even costumed people running around the park pre-race who weren’t affiliated with any team. People just suited up and came out in the rain to dance around and cheer us on. Caryn from the Redwood Empire Food Bank showed up in a pink wig, rainbow tights and a tutu for the food pickup. Yes, these are your people. You’re in the right place! It was fun to see everyone dressing up and playing along. Next year put together a team and join us!

We also had some hardy vendors come out and set up in the rain to help support our event. Only about half of the folks who were signed up to vend showed up because of the weather and other factors, but the ones who did toughed it out along with us and made it through the storm. At one point the book lady’s booth tried to fly away in the high winds, but everyone rushed over and helped her keep it grounded. Which is good because books and rain don’t mix. We even had a booth for the other roller derby crew in our area, who also put up a team for the race. Resurrection Roller Girls were a highlight this year with their “We Can Do It!” theme and the great energy and team spirit they displayed all day long.

The playful spirit and fun sense of competition between the teams made it a really fun day. There was sabotage! And bribery! Much good natured jockeying for position ensued. Everyone had fun playing the games and messing with each other. We gave as good as we got, and took it all in the friendly spirit it was offered. Although every team in the race is a winner, here is who took home which trophy:

1. Most Food Donated – the Enemy Within with 175 pounds, barely beating out Resurrection Roller Girls who came in second place for food donations.
2. Best Costumes – Free Candy with their awesomely executed concept and stellar cart design.
3. Best Decorated Cart – the Resurrection Roller Girls with a We Can Do It! attitude, a ton of great energy and awesome outfits too.
4. Speed – Sparkle Bitches with their rainbows, fuzzy balls and big smiles came in first place for the speed race.
5. Best Sabotage – the Hexafrogs with their cute costumes, impossible road blocks and all weather decorating style.
6. Spirit of the Event – the Conglomerate of Underemployed Superheroes with their bubbles and awesome backstories brought so much silly they had extra to share.
7. Best Art Cart – Skytopia and their circus theme resplendent with stilt walkers and dripping with awesome went literally over and above with the tallest cart design.
8. Dead Fucking Last – the Enemy Within who hit a light pole at warp speed and still finished the entire race route!
9. Bike Marshal’s Choice Award – Best Teamwork – Resurrection Roller Girls who cheered everyone on, played fair and tough, and made it a really fun day.

Teamwork makes the dream work! Thank you all. See you next year!!! Cotatitarod 2019 starts Saturday, March 2nd in beautiful downtown Cotati. Tell a friend!

http://www.cotatitarod.org

*** all photos courtesy Kevin West of the Redwood Empire Food Bank ***