Welcome to the world of party racing— costumes highly recommended
Somewhere outside of our nation’s capital, there is a man in running shorts trying his best to hula-hoop for one minute. He might be required to chug a beer at the next checkpoint five miles away. This man, and 120 more runners just like him, are participating in an ultra-secret ultra-marathon.
“It’s not that we don’t want to people to join us,” says the president of the club responsible for this 50K fun run, which features a handful of aid stations with bizarre challenges and optional alcoholic refreshments. “We want people out there running the trails. But the problem is, this run is so popular, registration fills up before most of our members can sign up.”
There are at least a dozen more bizarre semi-underground events like it in our region. In Greenville, runners climb 15-foot walls and carry teammates on stretchers. In Charlotte, there’s a bike race and scavenger hunt that sends cyclists traversing downtown, stopping to do the limbo or a splash down a Slip n’ Slide at various checkpoints. And then there’s the Warrior Dash, where runners tackle a course with fire pits and junkyard car obstacles. While many traditional races are struggling to find sponsors and participants in these lean economic times, these crazier competitions are selling out.
“We wanted to come up with a different kind of event, so we decided to combine all of our favorite things: bikes, adventure racing, live music, and beer, ” says Josh Kravetz, creator of the Urban Assault, a bike ride scavenger hunt that has grown from a small underground event in Austin, Tex., to a ten-city national tour with a stop in Charlotte, N.C. It combines the route-finding of adventure racing with a mix of off-the-wall activities. In the Denver race, bikers stop at one point to ride a roller coaster. At another checkpoint, they go swimming in a city pool.
Not only has Kravetz’s Urban Assault grown into a national tour, but its original Austin race has evolved from a humble 10-person event to 2,000 participants each year, making it the largest bike race in Texas.
Eric Wever puts on a brutal two-day mountain bike race in Pisgah National Forest called the Double Dare, which is known as much for the crazy challenges scattered along the course as it is for the biking. At one mandatory checkpoint, bikers in the 2010 edition of the race had the option of either knocking off a target with a slingshot or eating two pickled eggs.
“One girl liked the eggs so much, she ate three,” Wever says. “Have you ever had a pickled egg? They’re not good.”
But the concept of riding 20 miles deep into one of the most rugged forests on the East Coast and coming across a loaded slingshot and giant jar of pickled eggs is appealing—at least to a certain type of athlete.
“If you want to race seriously, find a different event,” says Wes Dixon, half of the winning duo for Double Dare’s 2010 edition. To win the Double Dare, Dixon and teammate Geoff Bergmark rode 153 miles, climbing 23,000 feet in elevation in 22 hours. It was a monster athletic accomplishment, but Dixon didn’t sign up for the Double Dare to test his biking prowess. “The whole reason we ride bikes is to have fun. The Double Dare, with the slingshot challenge and light show, keeps it lighthearted.”
Light show?
“When everyone’s out riding on Saturday, I spend my time setting up this elaborate light show at base camp,” race director Eric Wever says. “It sets the tone for the weekend.”
Yes, there’s typically a winner at these events, but there aren’t really any losers. Think of these events more as G-rated episodes of Jackass, but for people who like to get a little cardio in with their shenanigans.
“People want to be active, but not everybody can train for a marathon or a triathlon. This sort of event is much more attainable and much less intimidating,” Kravetz says. “And people love the obstacles. These little challenges give them the chance to do crazy things that they wouldn’t do otherwise.”
Check out these races that will take you way out of your comfort zone.
URBAN ASSAULT Charlotte, N.C. ride bikes, do goofy stuff Teams of two ride to checkpoints throughout downtown Charlotte. At each checkpoint, bikers have to complete a challenge, which can be anything from racing mini-bikes to piggyback polo.
“Probably the toughest challenge is the human wheel barrel,” race founder Josh Kravetz says. “You grab a BMX wheel with pegs, while your teammate grabs your feet and pushes you like a wheelbarrow through a course.”
Bikers will typically ride 15 to 20 miles during the Urban Assault, but there is no set course, so route-finding is part of the challenge. In 2010, Charlotte’s inaugural Assault saw 500 racers. September 18. urbanassaultride.com
DOUBLE DARE BREVARD, N.C. ride bikes, do goofy stuff, then rave Teams of two bike for up to 12 hours on two consecutive days trying to reach 10 checkpoints each day. If you’re in it to win it, you’re looking at up to 80 miles of pedaling per day. But most folks enter the Double Dare simply wanting to ride bikes and have fun. Along the way, they’ll tackle challenges like BB gun target practice, and last year there was a “slow bike race,” where the last one to finish (without stopping or dabbing a foot) won an hour off his team’s time. Costumes can also be strategic. One team moved into second place because of the time bonus they won for staying in costume the entire weekend. They were dressed as Jugglers: fans of the Insane Clown Posse. At night, Pisgah Productions turns the campsite into a mini rave, with a light show, bonfire, and movie screenings. Halloween weekend. pisgahproductions.com ST. FRANCIS MUD RUN GREENVILLE, S.C. be a marine for a day This four-mile run has 30 different obstacles along the course, all of which were inspired by Marine Corps boot camp training. You race in teams of four, and your team has to finish at the same time. Along the extremely muddy course, runners face low crawls beneath barbed wire, truck tire throws, and 15-foot scaling walls slick with mud. At one obstacle, you have to carry a teammate 50 yards on a stretcher.
“The chance to get to do something that only military people get to do is appealing for most people,” says event organizer Jill Kozak.
The Mud Run has been going strong for seven years, doubling in size year after year. For 2011, organizers had to add a full second day of competition to the event to keep up with demand. April 30th and May 1st. greenvillemudrun.org TOUGH MUDDER ATLANTA, GA. and WINTERGREEN RESORT, VA. longer, dirtier, and harder This 10K race has exploded from a single-venue event in Pennsylvania to a 12-city tour in 2011. Participants run through a 10K course that includes pond swims, tire-tunnel crawls, a series of 12-foot climbing walls, a massive Slip n’ Slide, a field of fire, and the signature “murdles,” which are a series of hurdles in waist-deep mud.
Not bad-ass enough? The top five percent of finishers at all Tough Mudder competitions across the country are invited to compete in the World’s Toughest Mudder final, which is a 50-mile race of mud, ice, snow, fire, hot coals, rock climbs, barbed wire, electric fencing, underwater swimming, boulder carries, rope climbs, and 100-foot dives from waterfalls. In the words of Keanu Reeves, “whoa.”
Each Tough Mudder after party features free tattoos, free head shaves, and (drum roll please) the Mullet Competition. March 12, 13 in Atlanta, Ga.; October 22, 23 at Wintergreen Resort, Va. toughmudder.com RUN AMUCK FREDERICKSBURG, VA. mud with some yelling Runners tackle 3.5-miles around Quantico, intermixed with mud pits, tire hops, and barricades, but at certain points along the course, Marines with bullhorns will also make you do jumping jacks and crunches. And at one point, you’ll be blasted with a fire hose. But other than that, it’s a stroll in the park. June. marinecorpshistorichalf.com WILDFIRES ADVENTURES MUD RUN SENECA CREEK STATE PARK, MD. train like a firefighter Aaron Foster took his experience as a master obstacle course builder for the D.C. Fire Department and developed the Wildfire Adventures Mud Run, a three-mile “jaunt” through Seneca Creek State Park in Maryland. The run takes its inspiration from the firefighter challenge course (look for tire obstacle courses and scaling walls) and throws in a 30-foot mud pit, a Slip n’ Slide into the water, a heavy-bag course, and a number of other challenges yet to be determined. March 26-27. wildfireadventures.com WARRIOR DASH MARYLAND and GEORGIA race like a viking Probably the biggest and best known challenge course race series, the Warrior Dash is a set of events scheduled at 15 sites across the country for 2011. The races have a Viking theme with furry warrior helmets, battle cries, and many participants in full Viking garb. Some even go so far as to carry swords. Runners tackle fields of fire, scaling walls, mud pits, barbed wire crawls, even a junkyard obstacle course in the North Georgia location. The Warrior Dash attracts thousands to each race, and the after party is probably more hard core than the race course.
The Warrior Dash sells out way in advance, so plan ahead. Look for the Mountain City, Georgia edition of the Warrior Dash on May 14, 15. The Mechanicsville, Maryland event is set for May 21, 22. warriordash.com •
How many people do you need to have a good race? Honestly, if you have the right attitude, just one. We just held the Asheville Extreme Golf Championships and with 7 people we had an absolute blast. I’ve also seen 300+ people at an event be absolutely miserable. When it comes to having a good time, I think it comes down to the structure of the event and attitude of the participants, a lot of which is based on who you pull in or how you market it.
What sort of challenges or obstacles can people include in a course to spice things up? Small ramps, slalom courses with anything, mud, the classic Slip n’ Slide, water balloons, orienteering, big wheels, tricycles…the options are endless.
What sort of headaches can someone expect when putting on a small, unofficial race with no entry fees? There aren’t a lot of headaches if it’s a small event. If at all possible, use private property. They will most likely want to be listed on your waiver and there will probably be a charge, but it simplifies things tremendously.
Underground events on public property are interesting. I love them, but keep it small to stay out of trouble. People sue, especially in America, even if they sign a waiver. My advise is just to make sure that what you are doing is as safe as possible and that you, as an event organizer, have tested the course yourself.
DIRTY MOVIES
See vids of the Urban Assault, St. Francis Mud Run, and the Tough Mudder at blueridgeoutdoors.com
