chicago-style urbanathlon

Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.
- George Bernard Shaw

I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason. So when we went to sign up this past summer for the 2008 Men's Health Urbanathlon in NYC, to take place on Saturday, September 27, and we found out the race had already filled up, we weren't too distressed.

So we just went ahead and signed up for the one in Chicago, to take place three weeks later on Saturday, October 18, in colder weather and approximately three miles longer. I admit, even after we signed up and secured our spots, the idea of a longer race in a city we'd never been in, still lacking airplane tickets and hotel reservations, did seem daunting. Plus, we had yet to really start training.

Well...we did it. And it was truly an awesome experience =)

The race turned out to be approximately 11 miles, give or take, and it was a total blast. In addition to the running, we had to tackle obstacles (hence the name, Urbanathlon), including jersey barricades, culvert crawls, marine hurdles, cargo net crawls, monkey bars, taxi hurdles, a stadium climb, and a rope wall from where you launch yourself, in less than graceful form, to the finish line.
As you can see from the pictures in the following links, Alex and I have two very different running styles. His is more serious, whereas I take the more lighthearted, if-I-don't-stop-smiling-maybe-I'll-finish-quicker approach.

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=36402&BIB=1173&S=230&PWD=

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=36402&BIB=810

In the race itself, we saw a good stretch of the city, including Navy Pier, Soldier Field (I'll never look at football stadiums the same way again), Grant Park, museums, aquariums, buildings, buildings, and more buildings. When not racing, we checked out the downtown area, went up Sears Tower, declared a restaurant our favorite in Chicago (the Exchequer Restaurant & Pub), ate Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, rode in an old-school elevator, and even slept in a park next to two giant Native Americans on horses.

And we did it all in three days. Pretty awesome =)

What about next year? Well, as much as we loved Chicago, we would like to get back to our roots and do the Urbanathlon again in NYC.

So that just leaves the question - who's up for joining us?

going the distance

Thank God, it's over.
- Neil Cusack, 1974 marathon winner


Yesterday, Alex and I competed in the 2007 Men's Health Urbanathalon.

What is an Urbanathlon, you ask? It's a race in the city that includes urban obstacles - jersey barricades, culvert crawls, marine hurdles, scaffolding mazes, rope walls, and taxi hurdles - and a 52-flight stair climb up and back down 7 World Trade Center.

For two people who aren't crazy about running and whose knees had been pleading for months not to do this, we took the plunge anyway because we were not about to miss the opportunity to run an obstacle course through the city. It was probably the most entertaining marathon we could have picked to be our first, and you can be sure we're going to be there again next year.

We stuck together - for the most part - got quite a few pictures taken of us (not only were we the cutest couple there, but there were also some tourists who wanted to send pictures back home of New York's finest *ahem* marathon runners), and we had a blast. Considering I couldn't even run three miles the day before without coughing up a lung, I was perhaps the giddiest person at the finish line.

A lesson learned? Of course!! When you have a goal, a finish line, and free drinks waiting for you miles and miles away, in both vertical and horizontal directions, you'll find a way to get there.

Now if only we could find a giant obstacle course with a lot less running =P