http://www.SpecialOpsSeries.com/trek/%0D

Kaleidoscope Tour pg. 1-4

Matthew O’LearyEditor in Chief

Double Runspg. 11-16

Roger Smith PhD.Writer/Author

Your Gateway Drug to Fitness pg. 27-28

Laurie HaleGetting Dirty Podcast

Neil MurphyRegiment Running

Resolve for Changepg. 17-18

Holly BerkeyMuddyMommy.com

Altitude Training Mask And epic tale - I mean failpg. 19-21

Disease DashJust Run With Itpg. 23-26

OCR Guruhttp://mudfireandbarbedwire.com

?

When I hear the word Gimmick I feel some negative emotions. It makes me think of being fooled into buying something. Tricked into finding value in something that might appear interesting from a glance, but later I will be burdened with buyers remorse. The Color Run is NOT a gimmick. Let me tell you why.

As a participant in all the goodness that this magazine represents I enjoy a variety of runs. Don’t misunderstand me. I enjoy that the industry is a hodgepodge of interesting things to do. I know I only speak for a few hundred thousand of you (sorry runners), but if you asked me if I wanted to go run 3 miles Saturday morning I would stare at you uncomfortably wondering if you were serious. Heck NO I don’t want to go running. I do that during my workouts, not for fun!

Fun runs changed that for me. Do I want to run? No. Do I want to do something fun that involves running.

Heck YEA! Thats a good time and exercise! I get to goof off and feel good about myself afterwards.

Operating a fun run can be a hard gig. Just coming up with something different and interesting to persuade people to come to your race when there are so many others on the same weekend is tough. And then if you come up with something good everyone mimics you. But that stress also forces the people behind these races to come up with some new and interesting ideas that keep me entertained.

The Color Run decided to do something different this year. They created the Kaleidoscope Tour. But what is a Kaleidoscope tour? Do we all get kaleidoscopes in our bags ? Are we expected to run through the course staring through a little tube?

Here is some text from the their website http://www.thecolorrun.com

“Kaleidoscopes demonstrate the beauty of motion and change. Little shifts can add new depth and color to everything we see. ... remembering what it feels like to just “run for fun”, the Kaleidoscope Tour will be an unforgettable event...... Think it’s cool to look into a Kaleidoscope? Wait until you run through one! ”

Now again I know I am not speaking for everyone, but your telling me I get to run through a big Kaleidoscope? Pshh, Heck YEA!

I think The Color Run honed in on something here. They recognize that everyone wants to have some great pictures with their friends doing something fun and memorable so they save it, remember it and share it.

I haven’t done this race yet, but I will and I can’t wait to see what the inside of a kaleidoscope looks like.

The Color Run, let me just say I really enjoyed your website. I can tell just from 5 minutes of browsing that you have a team of artistic people who are passionate about providing a fun and healthy experience. Its your types of races that have put so many of us non-runners into running shoes and Hybrid Runner appreciates the creativity and good nature that comes across in your events.

I encourage everyone to go check out http://www.thecolorrun.com for some killer photos, interesting recipes and of positive message that this company advocates.

http://bit.ly/1mkiILl

http://bit.ly/1klyKZZ

Early this September and mid October you can participate in something different from your everyday OCR. Different, and a lot of fun.

Each group of participants is lead by an instructor.

The group is initially taught new skills including how to properly carry difficult items, knot typing, creating a transport system and rappelling.

http://www.SpecialOpsSeries.com/trek/

Later, groups are broken up into teams to compete against each other in war games.Competitions include mini-challenges and task completion like mini-workouts, geo-locating markers and constructing an apparatus.

This is all done over a 3 - 5 mile course of orienteering over various terrain, negotiating hills, culverts and streams.

This course is as much a mental challenge as it is physical. By the end of it you can expect camaraderie, team building and some new friends.

Checkout the drinking game on the next page

by Roger Smith, PhD

We paid for all three races with the all day running pass. If you ended up dying The Zombie Run encouraged people to run a second time. -Courtey

You are lining up for a mud run and notice that the person next to you is wearing wet clothes and has mud smeared on their arms and legs. They don't look like the clean, eager racers around you. If you ask, "What happened to you?" the answer will probably be, "This is my second time through the course."

For novice racers who run once or twice a year, this sounds like insanity. They finish a race completely spent of energy and a little battered and bruised. It is time to kick back with a beer, not line up for a second loop through the course. These events are seriously challenging. They push you to do things that you don’t think you can or that are actually frightening. Who could go through that twice in a row in the same morning?

Welcome to the world of the fanatic mud runners. They will enter a race every weekend if there is one within a hundred miles (or even further). They train for these competitions like they were making a living at it. And they arrive at the race with more energy and experience than can be satisfied by a short 3, 4, or 5 mile race. They have conquered the single race and are pushing themselves to complete the

entire course twice or maybe even three times.

But should this be allowed by the organizers? Is it a good business practice? Is it good for the sport?

There are at least three different perspectives on these questions –the experienced runner, the novice runner, and the race organizer.

Experienced RunnerEveryone enters these races for the personal challenges they present. Some races are 5K's made for newbies and novice teams; others are 6 to 8 miles for the experienced runners; and finally there are the 13 mile and longer for the serious competitors and professionals.

But once a runner has graduated to the 8 mile races, should they stop entering the local 5K races? Are these events part of their past or is there still something attractive to them? Do the race organizers want to keep these experienced runners in their events?

There are plenty of organizers and runners who want to see each other at any and every event. The runners want the thrill of a mud run every weekend. The

I entered the running world a few months ago, a time when I was used to siting on my couch watching TV or in my office, unaware that running would come to inspire me. It would change me completely and change the way I see life! I remembered the first time I ran with a friend of mine. After a half mile I wasn’t able to breath right and began sweating like crazy. By the first mile mark I vomited and went to the ground! but i loved it, and realized that i Love to Run! That was the beginning of my training. A couple of months after, I was running my first Half Marathon and a series of the amazing Spartan Obstacle Races. I am Hooked with Running in Trails, Roads, Mud etc.. Running has become a part of me now, and I’m just starting! I will continue training to improve my timing and stamina, and of course I will Continue Running for the Rest of my Life!!!

Christian Guerrero

part of a wave filled with novice, casual and less experienced runners. But, since they are not usually competing on this lap, they can take time to encourage and advise the novice runners on the course. On a tricky obstacle they can demonstrate to a dozen people how it should be done successfully. They can spot runners who need assistance. Some of the services I have provided on a second lap include, Mud Titan. A woman in her first race was genuinely stuck in the mud and could not get out. Neither could her novice friend dislodge her. I was able to reach under her foot and lift her free, then assist her to the edge so she could keep going.

Hog Wild. A man had sprained an ankle jumping into a water pit. He was not sure how badly it was hurt, but was afraid to keep running. Just a quarter mile away I found the medics and sent them back to check on him.

Rugged Maniac. A group of girls could not figure out how to get up the final wall leading to the water slide. I showed them how to hop from one support beam to the next to work their way up the wall.

Spartan Sprint. I showed a couple

how to hold the spear to increase the likelihood of its flying straight and sticking in the target.

Providing this kind of help to new runners is something that we all learned from the experienced runners that came before us and who gave us the same assistance. That is the spirit of the sport. I believe that having experienced runners in later waves increases the number of times that this spirit can propagate during a race.

Race OrganizersRace organizers want to get as many people as they can to sign-up and run safely through the course. They want novices, experienced, and elite runners attending their events. A novice runner may enter one or two races a year. But an experienced runner will enter one race every single week if possible. This makes them a valuable and reliable customer base for any race. To attract the novices organizers have to "out market" the national races to be noticed. But for experienced runners, they just have to post the event on a popular race calendar like MudRunFun and registrations will roll in.

Organizers want the excitement of having a full competitive wave

organizers want the revenue from registration, as well as the excitement that experienced runners bring to the pack. Who would want to skip the run and the party just because they had mastered a 5K race like Mud Titan, Hog Wild, Mud Endeavor, Superhero Charger, or Monster Challenges?

Experienced runners get to push themselves to their limits with a second loop through the course, making these races just as challenging as they were years before.

There are also cases where experienced runners post that they did not attend a race because it was too easy or too short. That means lost revenue for the organizers and lost energy for everyone on the course. Maybe a double run would draw them back to these shorter races, to the benefit of the organizers and the novice runners.

Novice RunnersOn their first lap experienced runners will be in an early or competitive wave. They will be neck-and-neck with other people who are pushing to beat their personal best or to achieve a winning place in the race. But, on their second lap they are

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congestion, the double runners can actually reduce the lengths of the lines by demonstrating to those waiting how to conquer it. This may speed people up more than a single racer slows them down.

Attracting experienced runners to an entry level race and allowing them to run twice may add more than it costs the organizers. Organizers could also create a new product around the double runner by creating a special wave and t-shirt for sale– the "Double Hog", "Double Titan", or "Double Monster". Balance

The entire field of runners, especially those who are new, benefit from the double runner when this person is there to encourage them and to give tips on how to accomplish difficult obstacles. The organizers benefit from the energy they bring and the assistance they provide on the course. But they need to put a stop to the medal and t-shirt hogs.

Mud and obstacle racing is still young and inventing itself. It's important that everyone work on standards of behavior that benefit

all. Hopefully the sport and hobby will be here for years to come and will preserve the fun and energy that exist today.

If you are an organizer, create events that meet the needs of runners at all levels. If you are an experienced runner, contribute to the positive energy and camaraderie of the race. If you are a novice, enjoy the experience and keep coming back because it only gets more fun as you do more races.

Double Run Etiquette:RunnersProvide encouragement and assistance to the novice runners on the course.

Do not take a second medal or t-shirt.

Consider skipping an obstacle if you are just contributing to the backup.

OrganizersOpen waves to runners going a second time.

Offer double run waves and merchandise.

Set clear rules for double runners.

to start the day. They want the local elites and heroes to show up and validate that their race is worth running. When these experienced racers take a second lap they are making the contributions described above, which is like having additional volunteers on the course.

But organizers also worry that having people run the course twice contributes to the long lines at the obstacles, as well as the wear and tear those obstacles take. They are even more frustrated when a double runner takes a second medal or a second t-shirt. These are the major expenses for a race and the items that most often run out before everyone has finished. Since, an organizer must place an order for medals at least 4 weeks before the race based on an educated guess at registrations, it is easy to miss the number and end up very close to running out of medals. When a double runner takes a second medal it costs the organizer money and threatens to take a medal away from the last finishers of the day. That is bad for the novice, bad for the organizer, and bad for the sport.

When it comes to obstacle

pg 16

Roger Smith is an avid obstacle and mud runner living in Florida. Professionally, he is a researcher at the Florida Hospital studying surgical robotics and improving surgeon performance. He holds a PhD in Computer Science, which is not useful for completing a good mud run.

Mud & Obstacle Race Logbookavailable at Amazon.com.

The story begins differently for everyone. We encounter our own unique web of life circumstances which will ultimately lead us to the very same precipice that will force us to make a change. We tiptoe anxiously to the edge of the cliff, peeking over at the cavern below that promises the unknown as we mentally weigh out our options. Do we stay perched up high where it is comfortable and safe, even if we may not be 100% happy with how we look or feel about ourselves? Or do we descend into the unknown with the hope that we will finally be able to make the positive change we yearn for, with no guarantee whether we will succeed or fail.

Then it happens. We take a leap of faith. The yearning for change outweighs the inclination for comfort, and into the abyss we tumble forward into the unknown.I found myself in this exact position not that long ago.

After years of not taking care of myself, of opting to be lazy instead of lively to feel restored, of eating for fun instead of for fuel, I came to the realization that I was actually quite miserable. I hated how clothes looked and felt on my body, I despised how I looked in pictures and avoided cameras at all cost, and all I wanted was to feel confident in my own skin. Yet

despite these facts, I continued on my path of destructive living, gaining pound after pound, wallowing in my own misery.

But finally, FINALLY, enough was enough. I’d had it with making excuses, with continuing the cycle of unhealthy living, and with refusing to accept that I could actually make a change if I made the effort, I was simply unwilling to do it.

I stood on that precipice of life, the unknown beckoning with the promise of redemption, and I took the plunge. It wasn’t easy at first, and to be honest I still struggle from time to time to this very day. In the beginning it’s hard to get up early when your bed is so incredibly warm and comfortable. Early on muscles ache, stomach’s growl, and the results don’t seem to come quickly enough. It’s frustrating, it’s uncomfortable, and giving up seems so tempting.

Thankfully, I didn’t give up, and although I was venturing forward into the unknown, I was determined that I was not about to throw in the towel on something that I was so determined to finally accomplish for myself. Not only did I want to lose weight, but I wanted, for once in my life, to finally feel good about myself.

It’s been a few years since I took that fateful plunge, and although I had to arrive at a complete and utter state of despair, it was the desire to be a better person that brought me to where I am today.

Yes, it’s difficult. Yes, it’s a struggle. But yes, it is so very worth the work! I’m not perfect, but what makes my choice different is that even when I stumble, I never give up.

I now strive to help others gain this same sense of self worth by cheering them on as they also work toward results that they never thought they’d have the faith in themselves to achieve. It makes me so very proud when I’m able to witness a person made that fateful decision to forgo the comfort of their current path in life, to step off the cliff, and to begin a journey that, with dedication and a resolve not to quit, is so incredibly rewarding.

If you have yet to take this plunge, what are you waiting for? There’s no better day than today to strive toward healthy, happy, confident living. You can do it, and there’s a huge community that will support you. So take that step forward, venture into the unknown, and start your journey of finding the full potential that life can give you when experienced by way of fresh air, active movement, healthy food, and a happy heart. You’ve got this, and I’ll be cheering you on!

MuddyMommy.com

Its been a few years since I first saw the ALTM. I didn’t think much of it at the time because it made absolutely no sense to me. Kinda reminded me of the Suzanne Somers “Thigh Master” – as seen on tv… Just a bad joke, IMO. This review will surely piss off a lot of believers and even some real professional athletes that swear by it. So before I jump off into why these are a waste of your money, let me say this. I am only reviewing the claim that this mask will simulate altitude, prepare you for altitude or replace the benefit or even simulate training at altitude. It is scientifically impossible and thats a fact!

You may be asking yourself, who the hell is this guy and what F@*! would he know about it?

So let me briefly explain where my point of view is coming from. I majored in physics and spent a good portion of my life working underwater as a commercial diver, underwater welder and Instructor. What does that have to do with the price of tea in China, you say? Everything, since the same laws of physics that we put into practice underwater apply to you standing on top of Mt. Everest. Its called Dalton’s Law and it would take several hours to thoroughly explain… I will do my best to keep it as simple as possible, so I don’t lose you in 3 sec.

Basically what it all boils down to is pressure being exerted on your body. Right now for 98% of you there is roughly 14.7lbs of pressure per square inch

being applied to your body, from now on we will call that PSI. 14.7 PSI also represents 1 atmosphere of pressure, 1ATM. Being a diver, underwater this is incredibly important since our body reacts to pressure. Every 33ft of seawater sitting above my head represents another atmospheres worth of pressure, 14.7psi. When I am at 33ft, there is 29.4PSI or 2ATM being applied to my body, I just doubled the pressure. So what happens? Well the law of Partial Pressure “Dalton’s Law” along with a few other physics laws come into play that I’m not going to fry your brain with right now. Basically, the percentage of oxygen you’re breathing increases and it takes twice as much air (which has been compressed) to fill your lungs at that depth. For example

By OCR Guru Written for HYBRID RunnerJune 2014

if you were breathing what we call standard air 21% Oxygen 78% Nitrogen & 1% trace gases at a depth of 33ft your actually breathing 42% oxygen, and the whole piece of the air pie just doubled its capacity to 200%. Now if you don’t believe me and that makes no sense to you, go get certified to Scuba dive using Nitrox and you will thoroughly understand why. – For you master divers out there, please forgive me for not talking in terms of partial pressure, only so much can be explained in this article…

So what does have to do with altitude? The same law, applies in reverse. Its really simple math. If we reduce the ambient pressure even slightly, it effects the partial pressure (%) of oxygen (PPO2) we’re breathing. The higher up

you go, the less atmospheric pressure you have being applied to your body. It’s called decompressing or off gassing. We as divers decompress on the ascent after every dive. Your body right now is completely saturated with oxygen and nitrogen, which is directly proportional to the pressure being exerted on your body. At altitude, say around 4000ft you start decompressing (equalizing to relative pressure) to the point where oxygen is leaving the body and it becomes harder to do things as you exert yourself (barely noticeable at this Alt). Keep going up and reducing the pressure and more oxygen will leave the body and you will eventually start to notice it. Go up too high/too fast, like in a space shuttle without pressurization and the oxygen/nitrogen would

literally start to boil up in your veins and muscles. You would die in a very short period of time if the contents of your body were not put back under pressure…

So hopefully you kinda understand how pressure affects your body. Athletes like to train at altitudes between 4000-6500ft. Because, there is a slight reduction of pressure which decreases the partial pressure (%) of oxygen and they have to adapt to performing with less oxygen in their body. It’s not that the air in Denver is different than Miami, it’s just that there is less pressure in Denver than Miami due to Altitude. When athletes return to their normal altitude, their performance increases only for a short while. It’s not a permanent thing. It only takes a

By OCR Guru Written for HYBRID RunnerJune 2014

few days (technically 24hrs) to acclimate and after returning, those benefits leave relatively quickly. That’s why a lot of fighters will go train up at Big Bear CA right before a fight down in LA. Some just stay up at altitude, to keep an edge on the lower elevation fighters.

You cannot replicate the physics of altitude by restricting air flow, you would have to reduce the pressure. That is a scientific fact. Go ask any physics teacher at any college… What these masks do, contrary to rumor mill, is strengthen the diaphragm. Meaning you can breathe in easier under direct

outside pressure on your body without the aid of artificial pressure to your lungs, like we use in scuba diving. So if you were sitting at the bottom of a 6ft deep pool trying to breathe off a garden hose, this type if training would certainly benefit you. That or if you ever get into a fight with an anaconda you just might las t

As a (c

ough) 40ish

year-old

man, deeply inves

ted now in a

mid- life cr

isis, I’m

a new

mud

run enthusia

st. I h

ave settl

ed

on the m

uddy races a

fter new

hairsty

les, a

used co

nvertible

and leather n

ecklac

es like a

ll

the poste

rs of m

en in the

Abercrombie

store

windows. I have

r e a l i z e d

something

very

unusual

about mud runs. Typica

lly

people cate

gorize s

ports into

age class

es: golf a

nd bowling,

for exam

ple, res

erved fo

r the

older folks, w

hile road biking

and mixed martial

arts are

more often thought of with

younger ath

letes

in mind.

So are m

ud races

for y

oung

or old? A

nd I’m sp

eaking of

the runners with

war-pain

t,

duct-tap

ed shoes,

hoping for

a trophy not ju

st free

beer at

the finish

line. O

ne may think

the younger

competitors

have an edge.

For

me, I’m sta

rting

to have knee

an

d

for a few more seconds…Sorry to burst your bubble

OCR Guru

lower back

issues

that make

distance

running difficult.

I also stru

ggle with

mental

issues

- no, n

ot the k

ind my

friend Earl

has, but re

garding

talking myself

out of a run. If

running say, 5 miles

, after

1/2, I begin doing math

in my

head...”I

have 9 more o

f those,

and my back

alread

y hurts...

is that

a rock in

my sh

oe or

a foot p

ain?...d

id I send th

at

report?

...” Many guys

my

age who have b

een in

good

shape most o

f our li

ves stil

l

workout. Shuffling to the g

ym

and laying on a b

ench is lots

easier

than ru

nning. So I’m a

guy with a

decent p

hysique,

but no rea

l place to

show my

stuff. A

gain, o

ne may th

ink

the enduran

ce and st

rength

events of a

mud ru

n would

favor younger m

en, but I

believe t

hey make fo

r

the perf

ect “o

ld-

but-fit-g

uy”

race. Th

e

from the readers

something

very

unusual

about mud runs. Typica

lly

people cate

gorize s

ports into

age class

es: golf a

nd bowling,

for exam

ple, res

erved fo

r the

older folks, w

hile road biking

and mixed martial

arts are

more often thought of with

younger ath

letes

in mind.

So are m

ud races

for y

oung

or old? A

nd I’m sp

eaking of

the runners with

war-pain

t,

duct-tap

ed shoes,

hoping for

a trophy not ju

st free

beer at

the finish

line. O

ne may think

the younger

competitors

have an edge.

For

me, I’m sta

rting

to have knee

an

d

I am a diabetic and have always been told that id never be able to be athletic and that my diabetes

would always get in the way. I’m a few months away from my third and fourth mud run. Ive always found it motivational to know that diabetes could either be

a crutch or a way to prove to other people that if I can do this and have fun with it then there is nothing that should be able to stop anyone from achieving the

same goal if they want to accomplish it.

Leo

lower back

issues

that make

distance

running difficult.

I also stru

ggle with

mental

issues

- no, n

ot the k

ind my

friend Earl

has, but re

garding

talking myself

out of a run. If

running say, 5 miles

, after

1/2, I begin doing math

in my

head...”I

have 9 more o

f those,

and my back

alread

y hurts...

is that

a rock in

my sh

oe or

a foot p

ain?...d

id I send th

at

report?

...” Many guys

my

age who have b

een in

good

shape most o

f our li

ves stil

l

workout. Shuffling to the g

ym

and laying on a b

ench is lots

easier

than ru

nning. So I’m a

guy with a

decent p

hysique,

but no rea

l place to

show my

stuff. A

gain, o

ne may th

ink

the enduran

ce and st

rength

events of a

mud ru

n would

favor younger m

en, but I

believe t

hey make fo

r

the perf

ect “o

ld-

but-fit-g

uy”

race. Th

e

short dista

nce runs a

llow me

to run at

a pret

ty good pace

because

instead if

thinking

about my 401k, th

e weed

s in

my lawn, et

c, I ca

n focus o

n

the next o

bstacle

. My ca

rdio

training gets

to pay off an

d

my strength tra

ining does too,

but I never h

ave to set

tle into

that long, back

-breaking ru

n.

I’ve run 3 m

ud runs a

nd am

registe

red for 3 more t

his year

.

So come a

ll- young an

d old.

The m

ud knows no ag

e.

Bob Kuykendall

I’m lying in a bed with an IV consistent of almost every drug known to man using voice-to-text as I write this. I am in this situation because I have got every disease known to man coursing through every fiber of my existence. As I look up at the ceiling through a veil of mucus and cataract-laden eyes, I feel nothing but pride and accomplishment in my heart. All of it was worth it. The medal around my braced neck was worth every ounce of suffering!You’ve heard of the X rated run and even the broken glass

5k, but after being in the race preview group for the Disease Dash and being the sole survivor of said group I’d venture to say we’ve got a new up-and-coming winner in the OCR scene!

Originally funded by Jenny McCarthy as a means of proving that you don’t need vaccines, the plan backfired when the only vaccinated person in the group (me) made it out alive. That however did not stop the race directors and anti-vax community from continuing their

dream of delivering the most unique experience that the OCR community can offer! Having the lowest registration cost of $0.01 (but a mandatory insurance cost of $42,000), the Disease Dash offers a double dose of pain and pestilence as you trudge through countless obstacles designed to infect your weak and vulnerable husk of a body in every way possible.

Right as I got to the nondescript venue that appeared to be a toxic waste dump, the friendly

hazmat-suit-wearing staff was quick to direct me to my free (free!!) parking spot right near the starting corral. I checked in my bag where I was given my rusty barbed wire wristband and a ticket stub for a free garbage juice lager. As they fastened the Shock Sherpa ™ onto my neck, I knew this race was going to be a unique experience! I met up with the other volunteer runners – all of whom were wearing costumes. I felt like such a weirdo being the only person not wearing a gas mask and eye protection! I guess I missed the memo that we were doing this run on a Breaking Bad theme or something.

We lined up at the starting corral uniquely designed as a stagnant pool of water laden with malaria mosquitoes – an obstacle right at the start! The foghorn blared and we slogged out of the malaria hot tub and onto the course. Mud was in short supply, but its replacement of toxic waste and sewage runoff utilized the same effect of slowing you down and reminding you to tie your shoes tight. Those who lost their shoes quickly regretted their OCR newbie mistake as the occasional rusty screw or nail littered the refuse and made quick entry into their bodies. The tetanus trudge was a tricky one!

Casting aside the slight nausea that was building in my gut I ran through a brief thicket of black widow spider webs and on to the race’s version of the ice bath. The clever name of “ebola enema” gave the hint of what I was waist-deep in, but it was nothing compared to the pure joy and elation experienced at the salmonella slide! Instead of water, the hazmat volunteers would open up bloated cans of food and use the juices from that to fuel the exciting and slippery slide that covered the entire mountainside of the landfill. Remember that ‘pigs fly’ GEICO commercial? That was me going down that bad boy. WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The fun didn’t stop there! After another nuke-water station there was another low crawl called the “crabs crawl”. I’m not talking about pinch-pinch crabs, either. The itch-itch I’m feeling now is proof of that... The SARS sprint was another memorable devil of an obstacle that consisted of Toronto natives standing in a line as they coughed and sneezed on you. They were talented little buggers, too. I got a nice little rope of mucus that landed right on my eye on that one! Mile markers whizzed by me as the Shock Sherpa ™ kept

me in line with the exciting and challenging course. I didn’t hear many of the other runners by this point. It turned out that some of them opted to just let the Shock Sherpa ™ knock them out as they deliberately ran off course to avoid obstacles such as the AIDS carry and hepatitis hoist. Sissies!The sounds of ambulance sirens and vuvuzelas thrumming in the distance gave me the hint that I’m almost done. But like many obstacle races, there was always a series of obstacles waiting for you at the end – a trend that the Disease Dash wasn’t intent on forgetting. I noticed a similar structure near the finish line that looked a lot like the electroshock therapy you’d see at “probably the toughest event on the planet”, but the wires were wet and purple. It turns out that instead of electricity, the hung man-o-war jellyfish at the top of the structure and had people run through the tentacles! Talk about exciting! The jellyfish jive led towards the wall climb obstacle that was adorned with discarded surgical gloves. After the wall climb the finish line was just a fire jump away! The curiously green flames emanating from the burning plastic and other various chemicals wafted into my senses as I gracefully hopped over them and ran towards the hazmat

volunteers holding the petri-dish medals.

The cheering and coughing crowd erupted in happiness as I put the medal around my neck and helped myself to some bananas and raw chicken laid out at the finishers corral. The garbage juice lager went well with the food so much that I came back for a second drink thanks to the extra beer tab that another runner quickly gave me before the race. The transportation and crowd control was second to none – they gave us ambulance rides! Talk about an elaborate chauffeur to take you where you need to go!

Fast forward a couple of days (or weeks, I don’t recall much after that) and here I am. I can’t wait for this race to go mainstream! I hear they are in the works to have ESPN4 cover their ‘world championships’ in Miami, too! Overall I give this event a 9.5/10. I didn’t give them a perfect ten simply because there was one bottleneck on the course on the rabies rope climb. I mean c’mon, who just puts ONE rabid raccoon at the bottom of the pit with ONE rope to climb up?

Barbed Wire Wristband handed out at the beginning of the race.

The only rabid raccoon at the bottom of the rope climb area.

Your Gateway Drug to Fitness“Start where you are. Use what you have.  Do what you can.” –Arthur Ashe

Ask any hybrid runner how they got started, and each one will give you a different answer. Whether you start out as a traditional road runner or a walker at a Color Run - there is no wrong way to get started. No matter where you are in your fitness journey there is an event out there that you will find appealing and enjoyable, and it may be your gateway to trying something new.

Depending on where your ability is on the running spectrum, the easiest way to transition into other types of races is to start out with a distance you are already comfortable with or a little shorter than what you are used to. This way you aren’t setting yourself up for failure. If you find yourself too far out of your comfort zone you may be more inclined to give up before trying a new type of event.

If you are not a strong runner, or like to power walk then start with a fun run like The Color Run. This will give you a great feel for how these events are laid out. There is no competitive angle to these races at all – they are all about fun. Many people complete their first themed race with little to no previous training. This isn’t ideal, but a reasonably healthy person can walk 3.1 miles with minimal issues.

Once you have one of these races under your belt you may want to move into something more challenging like a mud run. Mud runs will require more training and a little more planning before you get out on the course. You get a completely different feeling when participating in a race that occurs off the pavement and it will have you doing things you don’t normally

get to do in your everyday life. A lot of people love mud runs because it reminds them of their childhood. Participants are encouraged to get dirty, act silly and just have a good time.

If you find that mud runs are your gateway you can move into more challenging obstacle races. These can range from three miles to half marathon distances. The obstacles themselves also have varying degrees of difficulty and the possibilities with the obstacles is only limited to the imagination of the course designers. So many people find that the diversity within the obstacle racing community is so vast that they can do a different race every weekend and be physically challenged in unique ways at each race.

There are many people who love all types of running events and it is not unusual to see overlap within the running community at all different types of events. You may see a runner at a color run with their family one weekend, an obstacle race with friends the next weekend and aiming for a new PR (personal record) at a half marathon the following week. This just shows how much diversity there is with running, and how a hybrid runner can find joy in some or all of them equally.

With the right mindset and proper training you can interchange any of these types of races to find out which ones you enjoy the most. You may surprise yourself and fall in love with something you never imaged you could actually do. The most important thing is to have fun and don’t underestimate what you are capable of.