Sunday, January 23, 2011

Short Spikes, Vol. 1

Short Spikes is an ongoing feature of The Hurt Box, in which we span the web to bring you the best, the brightest, the strangest bits of ephemera from the racing world.  Today's theme is: Wacky Races

1. The Zoom! Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon
What's not to love about a marathon that can boast perfect weather (60 degrees, no wind, rain or snow), a pancake-flat course, 600 aid stations, music for the full 26.2 miles and a personal time keeper for each runner?  Oh, did I mention that the race consists of 150 laps on an indoor track at St. Olaf College in (where else) Minnesota? 

2. The Self-Transcendence 3,100 Race
Participants in this race run 3,100 miles in 52 days.  That's an average of 60 miles a day.  And they do it around a single city block in Queens, New York.  The race is sponsored by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, a group of runners with a shared goal of self-transcendence through endurance running.  If I were running 2 marathons a day for two months, I would also seek an out-of-body experience.  I would enjoy a movie, a cup of coffee and maybe a nap while my body was RUNNING 2 MARATHONS A DAY FOR TWO MONTHS.

3. Boom Days Pack Burro Race
Runners in this race are tethered to a burro, which they are forbidden to ride.  Instead, they must run alongside the intractable beast, across a 22-mile mountainous course in Leadville, CO, which exists at a higher altitude than any other city in the US (roughly 10,00 feet), and seems to be ground-zero for bizarre and brutal races.


Go out and do something crazy today, CRC!



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