T. Rexes to thunder into Dorey Park for Nov. 11 run

About two years ago, someone posted a video on Ralph Gibbs’ social media feed that led to the birth of Richmond’s T. Rex Run.

“It was this guy in a T. Rex suit, and he goes out to shovel snow off his balcony in a blizzard,” recalls Gibbs, who is president of the Richmond Road Runners Club. “He’s out there on the balcony, and the wind takes his head and starts blowing it backwards,” Gibbs says, noting that the dinosaur suits top out at seven feet, so that empty space in the head must be kept inflated by a fan inside the costume.

“It absolutely killed me!” he exclaims, chuckling at the memory.

Almost immediately, Gibbs began thinking about getting such a costume for himself. An avid runner, he has moved up over the years from mile runs to marathons and ultra-marathons, and is always up for adding “fun and frivolous” items like costumes to the mix. He found an outfit readily available on Amazon, but did not tell anyone of his plans to wear it – just showed up at a race.

“Who’s in that thing?” all the runners wanted to know, before eventually beginning to ask, “Is that Ralph?”

Some children were frightened by the outfit, but most were delighted, and Gibbs had to pose for countless selfies. And while running in the costume wasn’t easy – with its long tail, flopping head, and tiny arms – his fellow runners were intrigued as well as amused. Soon two other RRRC members had bought T. Rex outfits, and talk turned to organizing a theme run.

On Nov. 11, the results of their efforts will play out at Dorey Park – on the day after the Richmond Marathon.

As of Oct. 30, 45 runners had signed up for the inaugural Richmond T. Rex Run. And there are sure to be more.

The race is free, and open to anyone five years or older. Although inflatable T. Rex costumes are preferred, they are not required; the only expectation is that participants register and be costumed. As the promotional literature puts it, “Other species of dinosaur may participate.”

Gibbs also knows of at least one participant who is building a meteor costume.

Gibbs emphasizes that the event is a fun run, not a race; it will not be timed, and there is no first place. The T. Rex pace, he cautions, is actually “more of a shuffle,” and the course is a mere four-tenths of a mile long.

Already, he adds, the organizers have had so much fun planning the inaugural run that they are talking about holding a future event called “The Race to Extinction.”

If all goes well with their plans, future T. Rexes will be allotted new batteries to power their fans during the run, and the last outfit to stay inflated will be declared the survivor-slash-winner.

It’s all about having fun and enjoying the camaraderie, Gibbs says – with a dose of healthy exercise thrown in. As a former couch potato who once weighed almost 100 pounds more than he does now, Gibbs like to think that perhaps this unique opportunity to have some good healthy fun will inspire someone else to participate in a run for the first time.

“You just don’t know what will get someone moving,” he says, noting that for him, the incentive to exercise was his daughter’s struggle to hug him – and wishing aloud that he was a “skinny daddy.”

“Whatever gets you off the couch,” Gibbs says. “If putting on a T. Rex suit gets you off, then we want to support that!”

To register or learn more, visit http://runsignup.com/Race/VA/Henrico/RichmondTRexRun.