i went to the superhero 5k race happening in central square this morning (10:00). i came across it during a random search of things to do this weekend and then remembered seeing photos of it from last year (this is actually their 4th year). the staging area was at pacific street park off of sidney street, that block of recent development to the west of MIT.

the course runs along sidney street to erie-albany, up to mass ave, then back around returning via albany-pacific. i waited at the corner of sidney-erie, then ran up to sidney-mass ave to see the procession a second time, before returning to sidney-pacific to catch the end of the run.

it's pretty interesting and there was so much to see that i used up my 4GB memory card without even realizing it (approximately 1000 photos). the amount of creativity is pretty amazing. i wonder if some of the outfits were actual halloween party outfits retrofitted as running gear? plus it helps that there were cash prizes for best individual and group costumes (i wonder who won? couldn't find a list online). it's no new york city halloween parade (2008, 2010), but i don't have to travel 250 miles to see it, and it takes place during the daytime (a little easier to photograph than at night).

dc superheroes:

marvel superheroes:

miscellaneous costumed runners part 1:

miscellaneous costumed runners part 2:

after filling up the tank, i motorcycled to belmont to put the bike in storage during the impending hurricane. i don't know if it's true or not, but i've always thought that if the wind is stronger than 60mph, that's enough to blow the bike over. instead of waiting to find out, i thought it was a better idea to put it away in the garage.

it was already misting a little bit by the time i arrived. my mother and sister were outside raking the lawn. my mother asked me to go up on a ladder and check the gutters. there were some leaves but nothing major; i heard the hurricane actually won't leave too much rain in the boston area, about 1-2", which is the amount in a typical heavy storm. the damage will come mainly from coastal flooding (which won't affect us) and strong winds.

my sister was in one of her bipolar moods again, extremely sensitive to any kind of criticism, sarcastic and accusatory in her responses. at one point she stormed out of the house when it looked like she wasn't winning her argument, dragging her poor dog with her out into the rain.

i watched the patriots-rams game broadcasted from london, in one of those NFL stunts to introduce international audiences to american football. players and coaches hate it because it takes them out of their usual routine. it wasn't a bad game if you were a new england fan because they ended winning in a blowout with a score of 45-7 (st.louis scored a touchdown in their very first possession, their only points of the match). not sure if that was the kind of game for the british audience, who would've preferred a more closely contested matchup.

after dinner my father gave me a ride back to cambridge. the rain had picked up by then. i moved my bicycle into the basement, figured i wouldn't be riding for the next few days, no point in leaving it outside exposed to the elements. i almost expected my roommate drew to be back at the house. he's due to return tomorrow night, but when he left thursday morning, i don't think he was expecting a monster hurricane to shut down the entire east coast.