After going into detail about the snazzy costumes I ran the Star Wars Light Side Challenge in, I got a lot of positive feedback from folks who had considered Disney races or running in costumes. So now that the Dark Side Challenge is complete, let’s take a look at the costumes I ran in this time (and how I had to modify my plans to account for the heat)!

Originally I wanted to run as Phasma for the half and possibly do Greedo or Han Solo for the 10K. I even went as far as spending an entire evening looking at hip holsters on Amazon (an activity I don’t recommend unless you want your Amazon suggestions to be VERY WEIRD for the next few weeks).

But because this was a Dark Side themed weekend, I decided on Phasma and Vader pretty early on. And here’s how I made them happen!

Captain Phasma

My search for a Phasma outfit started off rocky: I couldn’t find the right shiny silver top and skirt in matching tones AND performance fabric in my budget. But, as fate would have it, at the same time, my friend Tiffanie (aka Star_Wars_Runnah), announced that she’d be running the NYC Marathon in support of the March of Dimes and would thank donors by making them skirts or full outfits depending on their level of support. The chance to support a good friend, a great cause, AND check my costume off the list while getting something one of a kind?? Thank you, universe!

To top it all off I added some personal finishing touches, including a DIY cape I made the weekend before and the outfit was complete!

This one was easy and functional, especially in the Florida heat:

• tank and skirt custom by Tiffanie (TM, lol)
• running shorts (for under the skirt) by Avia at Walmart
• sparkly silver headband by Mavi Bandz
• silver gloves I cut the hands off of for touch screen and keeping cool purposes
• costume cape I cut down and added red ribbon to
• Dark Side race weekend Pro Compression socks
• Altra Paradigms

And as a bonus: I can wear almost all of this costume again, even when I’m not running! Except for the silver gloves. Those things were so soaked through with sweat you could see through them and went right in the trash after the race, lol.

Darth Vader

For Vader, my costume was even more simple, and thank goodness: that heat was BRUTAL, and even though I was only in one layer, the sweat had pooled at the bottom of this dress and needed to be wrung out from miles 8-13 (bleh)!

• Vader Dress by Her Universe (on sale for $25 when I got it!)
• Vader headband by KatieDidProductions
• running shorts (for under the skirt) by Avia at Walmart
• Black Elite Marathon Pro Compression socks
• Tiny Trooper stuffed animal on my race belt (lol)
• Altra Paradigms

The end product was something super-easy to run in that still got the Star Wars love out there. Plus – as an added bonus – it looked super cute, if I do say so myself!

Have you ever run a race in costume? What’s the craziest costume you’ve ever seen at a race? Share in the comments!