Before the Easter Bunny Hop, there was Debbie’s Easter Bonnet Marathon (or, the DEB Marathon)…

Back in 2003 Bill and I were training for the Frederick Marathon; but weren’t we always training for a marathon?  Anyway, the day before Easter we were scheduled to run our final long run of 20-22 miles before our taper.  Since I had a day of Easter cooking ahead of me, I wanted to get a head start and met a friend at the trail early before the others showed up.  When Bill and our other running friends arrived, I already had 12 miles under my belt.  Because peer pressure is an ugly thing, and I can always be convinced to run a few extra miles, I ran 12 more miles with my friends.  When we finished, I was at 24 miles.  My friends Bob and Terri said that since I was so close, I really needed to run 2.2 more miles and make it a marathon.  So, we ran another 2.2 miles…

The following week my doorbell rang.  When I answered the door, a courier handed me a large envelope.  In it was a marathon finisher’s certificate that my friend Bob had made!

DebsEasterBonnetMarathonFramed

Five years ago I started the annual Easter Bunny Hop.  The first year my buddy Jerome made bunny ears out of pipe cleaners and tails out of cotton balls!  The Cruisers humored us and tried to wear them on our run, but ears and tails ended up flopping everywhere!

For that first Bunny Hop, Bill designed a surprise course that took us off of the W&OD Trail and through our neighborhood trails.  He designed it so we ran right past our back yard so we could have a mid-run Easter Egg and Gatorade hunt.  Unfortunately, it started raining really hard during the run, and as we approached our house, Jerome and I ran ahead and quickly scattered Easter goodies and Gatorade for the Cruisers to find in our back yard.  The rain had dampened our spirits, so we didn’t hide the goodies as originally planned.

2009EasterBunnyHop

April 11, 2009 – Wet Cruisers

For the next year, I bought bunny ears, but even those wouldn’t stay on so we only wore them when handing out the Easter treats.

BunnyEars

For 2010 and 2011 I got fancy and wrote the Cruisers names on their jelly bean filled Easter eggs.

2011EasterBunnyHopBasket

April 23, 2011

2011BunnyHopBasketEars

April 23, 2011

In 2012 I was still on injured reserve, so it was more of an Easter Bunny Limp for me.  I handed out goodies to our Cruisers, and then walked with some friends.

Last year I raised the bar, and the Easter Bunny handed out Sports Beans, Shot Bloks, and chocolate milk.

2013CruisersEasterBasket

March 30, 2013

I always hand out the goodies prior to the run since we don’t all run the same distance and we finish at different times.  Last year we had a cold start!

2013CruisersEasterBunnyHop

March 30, 2013

This year I filled eggs with jelly beans, Dove dark chocolates, and M&M’s.

FillingEasterEggs

2014

I found this adorable Hershey’s Speedy Bunny at the drug store and gave him away as the grand prize!  I’ve been seeing this adorable little guy all week on Instagram, Twitter, and blogs, so I was thrilled to find him.  He advertises the Hershey’s Track & Field Games which my sons participated in when they were little.

SpeedyBunnyChocolate

April 19, 2014

I had the Cruisers pick a number between 1 and 20, and the closest won the Speedy Bunny!  Beth picked 16 and the number was 17!

BethDebEasterBunnyHop

April 19, 2014

The chocolate milk (or as I like to call it, “Chocky-Poo Milk) is always the biggest hit!

Cruisers2014EasterBunnyHop

April 19, 2014

It’s time to hop on out of here and make some dishes for tomorrow!  Happy Easter!

 

  • Questions:
  • Who’s hosting Easter dinner tomorrow?
  • What’s your favorite post-run drink?
  • Is anyone racing this weekend?