Le professeur de trail
Now that I have your attention, I want to tell a story from my run this morning.
I was almost 2 hours into a 2.5 hour run this morning - just finishing up a few loops in the local park when a van pulls in pulling a trailer with a very large tire in the back. I couldn't help but to wonder why. I continued running and saw that the van had parked. Three guys had gotten out and started to untie this large tire. I looked over and one guy was talking to me. I had my ear buds in so I had no clue what he was saying. There may be many instances where I act like I can't hear and keep running but I had made eye contact and it was too late at that point. So I turned off the music and moved closer. The guy asked if I could help take the tire off the trailer (I estimate the tire was 5 or 6 ft in diameter). My first response was "sure". Little did I know at the time that he was being sarcastic. So this sparked a conversation that went something like this:
Me: So what are you guys doing with this tire?
Guy 1: We're just gonna work out, do some things.
Me: Oh really?
Guy 1: How long have you been out here running this morning?
Me: (looking at watch) oh close to 2 hours.
Guy 1: Wow. That's cool. So you are into what.....running long?
Me: Something like that. What are you guys into?
Guy 1: Spartan races...things like that
Me: You have some other stuff here. Are you guys training for something specific?
Guy 2: Well, our buddy here (pointing to guy 3) just got accepted into a marathon obstacle course.
Me: Wow. Impressive. (now what I was thinking was - what?!?! really? come on?)
Guy 3: Yeah. I have done half marathon obstacle courses but this is a full.
Me: Where is it?
Guy 3: In Vermont.
Me: Is it the Death Race?
Guy 3: No but it is put on by the same people.
Me: Wow. Impressive. (I wanted very bad at this point to say "I like obstacle courses too but all nature made ones. No man made &^*#**#.........." but I did not because it seemed to be a big deal that he got into this race. Maybe it's the equivalent of getting into WS100 or Hardrock)
Me: Well looks like you guys will be having a fun time. Good Luck!
At that, I took off but made a couple more loops around. Next time around, they had all put on some sort of what looked like a blindfold but the eyes were cut out? I didn't know what in the crazy they were doing. They had lost me at "we do Spartan races" but this really made me appreciate pure and natural trail running.
Good luck guys, good luck!
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Old , Ugly and slow
I can understand lifting a tire.
But wearing masks that sounds scary good thing you can out run them.
first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007
2019 goals 1000 miles , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes
Good story and I wonder if they have some sort of childhood super hero tie they have not gotten rid of yet. You are going to be a Prof of Psych what do you think?
Endless trails
Rock on, boys!
I've heard of Spartan Races, but had to look it up to see what they were about. I'm
no psychologist, but I imagine anyone that participants is just about the exact
opposite of our crowd.
running under the BigSky
I look at as just three less people on the trails
those "spartan" races have motivated a lot of folks to tune up their fitness, so that's very positive- not my gig, but like I said- glad not everyone and their grandmothers are trail runners
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It's only mostly dead, not all dead. Beat away.
I work with some guys that participate in these on a pretty regular basis. They admit they're not real sports (obstacle course races)
They do talk about how much fun they have going and making fun of the crossfitters who participate.
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With my innocence, I would have thought the tire was for some monster truck race (in the middle of nowhere, I guess...).
On the blindfolds, I don't know. Maybe blinders, like horses wear them in some races? So that they won't see the beautiful trails right next to the obstacles?
Run for fun.
Will run for scenery.
I was guessing they were going to get inside the tire and roll downhill. When I was young/foolish/indestructible I might have been talked into doing something like that.
Stupid feet!
Stupid elbow!
Next time, photos. please. I started off thinking they're we're illegally dumping stuff. Not my thing, but if it gets them out there, keeps them fit, good for them!
I was thinking illegal dumping also.
With the blindfolds did they look like the teenage mutant ninja turtles?
. I'm no psychologist, but I imagine anyone that participants is just about the exact opposite of our crowd.
. I'm no psychologist, but I imagine anyone that participants is just about the exact
I agree. I think obstacle course races / mud runs and the like are about fitting in. Trail running, to a degree, is more akin to standing apart (not that we're not part of a group ourselves, albeit a smaller community.)
If these type of events get people off the couch that’s great. But i guess it is our responsibility to make sure they know about the purer sport of trail running, which will still be here after the hype and hoopla of obstacle courses events have passed.
http://www.valleyrunningclub.org/
It's only mostly dead, not all dead. Beat away. I work with some guys that participate in these on a pretty regular basis. They admit they're not real sports (obstacle course races) They do talk about how much fun they have going and making fun of the crossfitters who participate.
So can we just assume that everyone makes fun of Crossfitters (except themselves, of course)?
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I am not so sure about psycho-analyzing these guys after only 4 minutes with them. But I will say they were a bit high strung for me. My point in telling this story is that I very badly wanted to introduce them to real obstacle courses - you know the ones in the wild with downed trees, rocks, mud pits, fury creatures to dodge, etc. I had my Hyner race short on and almost pointed to it to start the conversation. The only thing that kept me from diving into that was that they were so happy that the young guy (guy 3) had gotten into this marathon obstacle course. I felt like I would have been bursting their bubble (or trying to). So I let it alone. To each his own. I do agree though - better to be out there getting exercise than sitting at home in a sedentary state.
LOL Jamie. Last fall running out on the trails of Valley Forge we came down Mt Misery into an open field and stumbled across a bunch of dudes doing similar training. There were huge tires, pieces of wood being chucked around, etc. Funniest thing were some dudes belly crawling up a small hill through a field. One of the guys was sort of struggling during the crawl and his tights bunched up and rolled over his arse!
The leader of this band was really into the mud runs. He went on and on about it while we stood there nodding our heads with sheepish grins. To each his own I suppose, but from our perspective this was a total crackup.
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I did all the obstacle courses I could ever want to do when I was in the Marines. Before I go on a rant, I will say that it is a positive thing that these events have gotten a large number of people to get off the couch and do something physical. However, these things are, in my opinion, about one thing: MONEY. That is the same issue I have with large road races. It bothers me to the extent that I think running is something that should be about one thing: RUNNING. I don't have a problem with people putting on races and making a profit; I really don't. I just think the "mud" races and the "obstacle" races are just a bunch of fluff, and I just can't stand the vibe of most big road races. I like a laid back race/run where the start is not much more than a suggestion, and the whole day is about the joy of running in the woods.
LB2