On the Run: Rock CF Jorts Jaunt

Last week I did a little fun run organized by Emily, founder of the Rock CF Foundation. She's such an amazing person!  She puts on THE most amazing half marathon out there, has some super cool Rock CF swag, and works tirelessly to raise awareness about cystic fibrosis. And I mean tirelessly!  She's going on a 500-mile bike ride in September to raise money and awareness about CF.  You can learn more about Jerry & Em's Great CF Adventure and support her here.

Oh, and did I mention she's freakin' hilarious?  Being with her is a laugh a minute!  And she's also one of the most positive people I know.  

When Emily announced a while back that she was planning a group run in August - The Jorts Jaunt - I was so excited!  I set out finding the perfect pair of jorts, both for myself and for my Rock CF groundhog.  Finding jorts for myself was easy.  I went to my local Goodwill store and found 2 pairs in my size.  I went with the pair that had a lower rise, were a bit shorter, a bit looser, and had more holes for air circulation.  They were basically the jorts version of my favorite Lulu Lemon shorts.  Perfect!

Finding jorts for my groundhog, however, was another matter.  He really has a most unfortunate body type.  Because he has short legs and no waist, he needed a custom pair. Lucky for him, my mother is great at sewing so she was able to make him some.  I'd say she did a fine job, wouldn't you?

The group met at New Center Park, across from The Fisher Building.  14 people RSVP'd to the event but in the end, only 6 of us were brave enough to flaunt our jorts.  (Plus one non-jorts wearer.  Emily let it slide.)  What our group lacked in size we made up for in enthusiasm as we headed onto West Grand Boulevard past the Fisher Building and turned onto 2nd Street.  We ran through the Historic Boston-Edison district, which has gorgeous homes everywhere you look.  Running through that neighborhood never gets old.  Then we turned on 3rd and headed back toward the start.  The route was basically a big rectangle (with one little detour down another gorgeous street) that brought us back to New Center Park.   

We had pockets of crowd support along the way as people cheered for us from their porches and driveways.  Some kids wanted to run with us and others shot water at us with their water guns.  We didn't get any comments on our jorts but we did hear compliments on the various Rock CF shirts in the group, which was awesome!

This was one of the most fun group runs I've done!  Good people, fun conversation, a great route, and hot sweaty jorts.  

When it was done I had to run back to my car, which was parked at RUNdetroit, 1.3 miles away.  So yes, besides the official Jorts Jaunt, I also ran 2.6 miles through Midtown in my jorts, carrying a stuffed groundhog.  Just another day in Detroit.