RUN Wenatchee

Andrea Huber, center, is getting married in a few weeks. She and her friends included Saturday's Bundle-Up 5K as part of her bachelorette party.

By RunWenatchee.com

WENATCHEE — When Wenatchee dresses up, it really dresses up.

Nearly 700 runners and walkers hit the Apple Capital Loop Trail early Saturday afternoon as part of the annual Bundle-Up Festival 5K and 1K, with many sporting costumes that ranged from the comical to the colorful.

There was a Superman, a Batman and a Catwoman, of course, along with a gorilla, a tiger, a woodsman, and a cowgirl. Others ran in suits, ties, skirts, tutus, wedding dresses, graduation gowns, Hawaiian shirts, hockey gear, wigs, and even boots.

RunWenatchee knows who these two are, but we've been sworn to secrecy.

Oh, and with the Super Bowl just about a week away, there were plenty of folks adorned in Seattle Seahawks gear.

“What a hoot,” said Steve Maher of RunWenatchee, which organized the third-annual Bundle-Up Run. “This is a great event to put on because people have fun and let their hair down a bit. Running shouldn’t always be serious.”

A total of 683 people registered for the event. A year ago, about 500 registered.

While the Bundle-Up 5K is not officially timed, there is a running clock provided by the beneficiary, the Wenatchee High School Cross-Country Team. Fittingly, a couple of Wenatchee High runners — senior Austen Lane and fellow senior Garrett Britt — finished first and second with unofficial times of 18:08 and 18:12.

The run and walk is held in conjunction with the Bundle-Up Festival, which took over the adjoining Stanley Civic Center Plaza and featured hay rides, a fire pit, s’mores, L-Bow the Clown, community booths and entertainment.

Many of the kids who took part in the 1K run enjoyed the festival prior to their run.

Andrea Huber and her “entourage” won the Bundle-Up costume contest by coming as a wedding party. It wasn’t entirely made-up, either. Huber is getting married in February, and she and her friends — Allison Dorenbosch, Jennie Pierce, Arina Ferchland and Rebecca Wachtel — decided to include the Bundle-Up Run as part of her bachelorette party.

Kids take off from the starting line in the 1K run. The 1K Kids Race preceded the 5K race.

“We wanted to get in a little exercise before the drinking,” Huber said, laughing at the thought of what their later plans included.

For others, Bundle-Up represented a chance to get outdoors in the middle of winter. On Saturday, highs were in the upper-40s with breaks in the clouds.

For Wenatchee’s Karl Rowland, it was his first official race since a Snohomish half-marathon in October. Following Bundle-Up, he plans to take part in the Wenatchee Half-Marathon in April.

“I like getting out with my friends and Bundle-Up is a nice little warm-up getting ready for the races in the spring time,” Rowland said. “And I want to support RunWenatchee, of course, and the charities that RunWenatchee donates to.”

Carl Hagerty said Bundle-Up provides a great reason to get out.

“If you don’t do a lot of stuff in the winter, you lose your fitness,” Hagerty said. “And this run is fun. You don’t take it too serious.”

A few minutes later, a woman dressed in a fake-mink coat strolled by a crowd, which included the race’s official photographer.

“I’m all ‘Bundled-Up,'” she said, to know one in particular.

Indeed.