And I should know… I was a g’rilla back in 2006 and it was beyond brilliant.

I even got a medal for it.

So when it came to 2008, I was already getting itchy elbows to become a g’rilla again. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of fur against skin, internal thermal irregularities and the sensation of sweat pooling in your rubber-lined g’rilla gloves.

In 2006, myself and a Red Gate colleague took part in the Great Gorilla Run. It’s a run that raises money for The Gorilla Organisation which grew out of the Dianne Fossey fund.

It’s a simple enough premise. You dress up in a gorilla suit and run, lope, jog and generally monkey around on a 7 kilometre course through the centre of London. But of course you’re not alone. There are over 700 other g’rillas doing the same, which makes for a particularly surreal experience. What makes it even more surreal is that the number of people dressed up in gorilla suits, actually outnumber the remaining gorillas left in the wild. A scary thought.

So last time around, we were a bit stupid. On a day where temperatures hit the heady UK heights of 25 degrees Celsius we were dressed head to foot in thick fur. But that wasn’t the stupid part. You see… to be a real g’rilla you can’t just wear the standard suit. That would be silly. Not only would nobody be able to know who is who, but you’d miss out on the true overheating experience that can only be achieved when you augment your suit with more insulating materials. We decided to additionally wear suits and ties, and importantly, nice thick wigs to stop heat escaping from our rubber encased heads.

 
I’m the one in the blonde wig replenishing fluids, clutching an industrial sized ‘nana.

So roll on September 2008 and it was time to don the suit again, only this time with a few more Red Gate people to take part:

Rachel Potts
Stuart Laurie
Marine Barbaroux
Hazel Reed
Myself

This time, we thought we’d train a bit so that we’d be at optimal g’rilla performance. Weeks were spent running to build up the stamina required for such an event. We spent nights just “ooking” at each other to get into character. We were on a strict diet of nanas, nana shakes and fleas that we managed to pick off each other.

We needed a theme of course, lest we be ridiculed. And with multiple g’rillas some kind of group costume was very much the requirement.

After several themes were discarded for being too indistinct or just plain too difficult, we settled on The Village People – that fantastic YMCA warbling ensemble from the 1970’s:

A shortage at the local fancy dress establishment ensured that we had to avoid the traffic cop guy – we just couldn’t find a suitable helmet in any size that would fit over the top of a gorilla head.

At the store, the cost of their only Indian headdress was prohibitive, and to be frank, was completely rubbish. But at Red Gate, we employ talented people, and Marine did construct an Indian Headdress of remarkable authenticity out of straws, disposable protective clothing, paint, cotton, pillow cases and feathers.

So whilst it took hours to construct, the end result was nothing short of brilliant and really made us recognisable as the iconic disco group.

Early on the misty Saturday morning of the race our taxi arrived to take us to the train station. I believe it was quite a shock for the driver to see us fully suited up and liberally depositing fur on the seats of his nice clean cab. But this reaction was to become normal as we took the train from Cambridge to London and then weaved our way across the London Underground.

Getting on public transport dressed as a g’rilla rocks.

It’s ace.

After the final preparations before the race, the horn was sounded and 730 g’rillas were let loose on the streets of London. We set off at the back of the pack, and decided to take it pretty leisurely. After all, we had dancing to do.

Stuart (in the construction worker suit) had an iPod and portable speakers stashed in his toolbelt constantly playing a selection of the Village People’s classics. But after listening to a few and assessing their quality, we quickly decided to just loop YMCA with the occasional “In the navy” if our arms were feeling a bit tired from performing the dance.

 
From left to right: Stuart, Hazel, Rachel, Marine, Dom.

Whilst the fastest g’rilla completed the “race” in an impressive 31 minutes and 40 seconds, our excuse was that we danced most of the way. Still, a time of 1 hour 19 minutes and 13 seconds is not to be “ooked” at, and places of 603 to 607 isn’t too shabby in a field of 730. We think. You can disagree obviously. But you’d be wrong.

As a group we managed to raise over £1000 with various fund raising activities. We baked cakes, made some Oooky oooky sauce (banana chutney), held a knockout conker contest, gambled and received countless donations to our team donation page. If you want to donate to a great cause too, our page is at: http://www.justgiving.com/grillageeks

 
Dom and Marine selling food (and Oooky oooky sauce) at Red Gate

Post by Dom Reed.