The Adventure Run is new to the event and is the only part that normal members of the public can participate in. The race was held in my home town of Hobart, Tasmania and the start line was literally 10 minutes walk from my house.
The event was fairly understated, although there was a whopping big black 'vehicle' playing dance music that was a bit hard to miss...
There were about 250 competitors, most of which seemed to be better at running than me. I did however hand myself a serious handicap by competing in one-piece blue overalls with transfers slapped on it to make it look like Webbers 2008 race suit, plus an F1 Rejects cap for good measure (and shameless promotion).
I placed 175th, which was appropriately reject worthy. However, it did allow me to have the finish line all to myself and I got a big cheer from the crowd as I crossed the line.
Mark had just finished slapping high-fives to all the finishers and was signing race bibs and taking photos. I got in just in time, the last person to get a photo with him before he was whisked away to award the trophies.
He even managed to slip in a bit of beat-boxing which is one of Mark's hidden talents.
Mark was amazingly relaxed during the event and spoke to as many people as possible during the run. I know everyone says it, but he comes across as a much better person in real life than he does in driver interviews.
The weather was pretty average, although the torrential rain stopped before the race started. Mark said he expects many more competitors next year.
I guess you're wondering what he said about my 'get-up'. Well... this photo was taken by me just before I got my own.
The puzzled look on his face included the comment 'Is that my suit?'. I think he mostly thought I was crazy but he still gave me a photo and a signature and for that I'm very appreciative.
I'd heard Mark Webber has a reputation for being really decent guy for banter and being approachable by fans so its nice to see that in action.
