Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Running in Costume is totally Normal

Posted by CheapRunnerMichelle

Happy Hump Day friends (who else just started picturing the camel commercial?!?).

This past weekend I had to slack on my running due to the fact that I was working at a Bridal Show all weekend (hence why I was missing from the family pics at the MEC race on Saturday)...but yesterday was my day off, and I was able to get in a good solid run on the treadmill....13km in the books - I'll take it!

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I know a lot of us out here in blog land have been planning our upcoming 2014 race calendar...and as I was "researching" various runs online to consider, I came across a few, shall we say "unconventional" foot races, that I thought I'd share with ya'll today

1. Krispy Kreme Challenge - Held annually in Raleigh, NC it is defined as "2400 calories, 12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour.  The mantra of the Krispy Kreme Challenge epitomizes the test of physical fitness and gastrointestinal fortitude.  What started as a challenge among ten friends has transformed into a nationally publicized charity race, and the number one tradition to complete before graduating from North Carolina State University."

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2. The Wife Carrying Competition - is a 253.5 meter race in which a male participant carries a female participant through a series of both wet and dry obstacles. The race originated in Sonkajarvi, Finland, and has been carried out as an official competition since 1992. According to the rules, the female participant must weigh at least 49 kilograms, and may be carried in any form, as long as no equipment is utilized. While smaller wife carrying competitions are held worldwide, the Championship competition is still held annually in Sonkajarvi.

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3. Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake is an annual event held at Coopers Hill, near Gloucester, England. During this race, a nine pound Double Gloucester cheese wheel is rolled down a very steep hill. The cheese wheel is given a one second head start and can reach speeds upwards of 70 miles per hour. After the one second head start, the participants race down the hill, trying to catch the cheese. The runner who crosses the finish line first is deemed the winner, and wins the wheel of cheese.

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4. The Man Versus Horse Marathon, held annually in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells, is a 22 mile race where runners compete against riders on horses over rough, cross country terrain. The race began in June of 1980, when a man named Gordon Green overheard a conversation between two men at a bar debating whether a horse or a human would be a stronger runner over significant cross country distance. Though the race began in 1980, it wasn't until 2004 that a man successfully beat a horse; Huw Lobb beat the horses and won with a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 19 seconds.

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5. Burro Days is a 29 mile race held in Fairplay, Colorado, where runners must push, pull, drag or carry, but not ride, a burro throughout the course. The race officially began in 1948, and is held to commemorate the history of mining in Colorado. The course which begins on Front Street in Fairplay, goes up the 13,000 foot elevation gain of Mosquito Pass, and returns to Front Street in Fairplay, is physically demanding on even experienced athletes. Each burro is required to be equipped with a regulation pack saddle, packed with prospector's paraphernalia and must include a pick, shovel, and gold pan, which combined must weigh a minimum of 33 pounds. The first human and burro team to cross the finish line together are deemed the winners.

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6. The Redbull 400 is a 400-meter vertical sprint up the face of a ski-jump slope, originally held in Kulm, Austria, and recently moved to Planica, Slovenia, in 2012. The race, which attracts hundreds of participants each year, requires racers to run up the steepest ski jumping hill in Europe with an average gradient of about 45% and an angle of ascent of 37 degrees in its toughest sections. The first half of the race takes place on grass, and the race finishes off on the concrete surface of the ski jump. Tools such as crampons or spiked shoes are not allowed.

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I tell ya I think that I'll stick to running a race in costume...and that's about as weird and wacky as I'm prepared to get right now.

Any takers on any of the races above...and if so...which one?

What's the "strangest" run you've ever done?

If you could live anywhere - where would it be?

13 comments:

  1. Those are some crazy races!!! I'm just going to stick to my treadmill running and leave those to other people!!

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  2. haha these are hilarious! I would like to do the Marathon du Medoc in France one day and drink wine while I am running haha...it's on my bucket list!!

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  3. Some of those races are hilarious! I can't believe a human EVER beat a horse over 22 miles! The Wife Carrying one would be fun. But I think my husband and I would be terrible at it!

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  4. Amy @ fitnessmeetsfrosting.comJanuary 22, 2014 at 3:45 PM

    LOL LOVE!! When my BF and I eventually get married, I'm gonna gain a few lbs and make him do the wife carrying competition. Hilarious!

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  5. When you google images for the husband/wife race...some of the women are smart and opteded to wear helmets...lol

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  6. Marathon with wine pit stops...I can think of a few people in my life that would enjoy that race

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  7. Isn't that unreal...I think that race would make me so nervous that I was going to be run over by a horse

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  8. hehehe...that sure would be a way to test those marriage vows...lol

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  9. ahahahah these pictures are hilarious! I think I need to witness, not run, this burro race!

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  10. ...yeah...I'm with you....I'll just stick to witnessing these races rather than participating!

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  11. Thank-you...I bought them at Lulu years ago. You are one brave soul Laura...have you seen how steep that hill is?!?

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  12. I haven't heard of any of these! lol

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