Adventure Racing and Running for an Adventure

Every time I go for a run I try to make it an adventure.  I do this by running in the rain, the cold, the heat, on the beaches, over bridges, through historic areas, across islands and any other time or place that seems crazy or cool.

This afternoon I was at my desk thinking about not going for my run.  I was feeling unmotivated and a little bogged down with work.  I knew the weather was not so great and I had a bunch of other excuses I could use too. 

Just then one of my co workers came by my office and said, “You are not running in this weather!  It is raining and cold and just too nasty outside!”

The way I see it, I had two choices.  I could agree with her and stay in my nice warm (and dry) office or I could go have an adventure. 

My response was, “Sweet!  Now I have to run!”  I threw on my running clothes and ran out the door.

It was cold and it was raining, but man did I have fun!  I ran through puddles of water, I dodged cars splashing water eight feet high and I ran fast!

When I got back to my office I was soaked.  I took a shower and changed my clothes and was ready to get back to work.  I ended up getting a ton of stuff done because I was so jacked up after that awesome run!

This brings me to Adventure Racing.  I have done adventure races and I love them!  I ran the Warrior Dash last year and I did the Bulldog Challenge two years ago. 

The Bulldog Challenge was crazy hard, but very rewarding.  The Warrior Dash was fun and it was cool that I drove to Georgia with my son and a group of friends to run the race, but it was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

I have been putting together the race calendar for the Charleston Running Club and found a few Adventure Races around this area.  In fact, the Rugged Maniac 5K is going to be right here in Charleston (actually Mount Pleasant).  Its right before the Cooper River Bridge 10K, but I am still going to do it.  I am also signing up to do the Bulldog Challenge with a group of my friends (both races are in March).  There are like four more of these types of races around the state that I would love to do.
 
One thing I noticed is that the national (or professional) races are more expensive.  Paying over $50 to run a 5K is pretty extreme (there is even a web site dedicated to these types of races www.adventurerun.net).  The local races seem to be a little better ($25-$40).

Adventure Races are the closest to trail racing as I have come and I’m hoping to do more of both in the coming year.
 
What better way to stay motivated than to know you are training in crazy conditions to do something even more insane!