Run It Fast®

No matter where you live there’s more than likely a fairly full calendar of local road races every year. From charity runs to yearly big events there’s always something around the corner when you choose this sport. While most of these races are fairly standard distances and affairs, there are some races that have lots of personality whether it’s because of the location, the weather, participant’s garb or other reason. Here are 15 of the most unique and interesting races that we could find. While we’re sure to have missed plenty of interesting runs we think this is a nice representative list of the kind of wackiness you can find in the world of distance running if you just look.

15. Kona Underpants Run, Kona, HI

The Kona Underpants Run exists to vent some of the pressure of the Hawaii Ironman World Championship. It’s held the Thursday before the big event every year, and started because three triathletes got a little fed up with visiting athletes parading around town in their Speedos all week, well before the event necessitated stripping down. The first Underpants Run was held in 1997, and now boasts more participants than the Ironman. Before the race each year, the race director’s lead participants in this pledge:

I STATE YOUR NAME SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO WEAR THE EVIL GARMENT KNOWN COMMONLY AS: TOGS, SCUNGIES, BUN HUGGERS, PLUM SMUGGLERS, BANANA HAMMOCKS, CRACK SPLITTERS, BUTT FLOSS, SPEEDOS, ETC., ETC., ETC. OUT SIDE OF SWIMMING OR RACING.

I FURTHER PROMISE TO UPHOLD THE SANCTITY OF THE LOCAL’S HOME OF WHICH I AM A GUEST BY FREQUENTING PUBLIC PLACES IN PROPER ATTIRE, OBEYING TRAFFIC LAWS, AND BEING COURTEOUS AT ALL TIMES. THIS I PLEDGE AS AN IRONMAN – VETERAN, 1ST TIMER, OR WANNABE.

Continue Reading

Inspirational runner Amy Dodson is on the cover of the July 2011 issue of Runner’s World magazine.  The July issue features four different covers, each honoring a different cancer survivor, that not only survived but is thriving as an endurance athlete.

Amy lost her left leg to cancer at 19-years old. Two years later she lost her left lung to lung cancer. However, that was not the end but just the beginning of how her story would unfold.

From the Runner’s World Editor:

Amy Dodson, 48, lost her left leg below the knee to sarcoma when she was just 19. Two years later, her cancerous left lung was removed. I’ve never met Amy, but I have run with her. We both were among the 75 marathoners in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to run with Dean Karnazes as part of his 50-50-50 quest in 2006. I had met amputee athletes before, but this was the first time I’d gotten outrun by someone with a carbon-fiber leg. And I loved it.

Amy has run Boston twice (she was the first female leg amputee to run that race) and has a marathon PR of 3:35. She’s a four-time national half-marathon champion, with a PR of 1:51:04. She’s also done more than 30 triathlons, including two Ironmans, and is a two-time USA Paratriathlon champion and a two-time ITU World Paratriathlon champ.

As you read this, she’s preparing for her first Western States 100, one of the toughest races on Earth. “One of the great ironies of my life is that because of my childhood cancer, I couldn’t run with two legs,” she says. “But freed from the pain, with one leg and one lung, I can run forever. Cancer may have ravaged my body, but running saved my soul.”

Run It Fast contributor Dallas Smith, author of multiple running books, is a very close friend of Amy. He dedicated his first book, Falling Forward, to Amy.

Dallas had the following to say about Amy’s strength, “Amy went through white-hot fire and come out the other side tempered like steel. If you watch her compete you learn the potential of the human spirit. She continues to be a wonderful friend.”

Congrats to Amy on all of her amazing accomplishments and for making the cover of Runner’s World.  She is an inspiration of what the body can do when the mind takes control over it.

Spanish ultrarunner Albino Jimenez continues his run across Spain on el Camino de Santiago, the Trail of Saint James. His route started at his home in Burgos, Spain and goes west. He has some 329 miles total to run to reach Santiago de Compostela, the location of the tomb of Saint James, 54 more miles if he continues on to Fisterra, the actual end of land. His daily stages range from 30 to 40 miles, and it should take him around 10 days to complete the run.

As of this writing, he has completed three stages, distances of 44, 38 and 33 miles, and is currently spending the night at Leon. Heat seems to be the main challenge. He reports highs ranging in the upper eighties, 88 on the 3rd stage.

As his run unfolds, I’ll tweet his progress from my twitter account at @smithbend, and post his progress on my Facebook page. Albino is posting his progress on his Facebook page as well.

To read the full story click HERE

Kilian Jornet is the overall winner of the 2011 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.

He ran the 100 mile course, the Boston Marathon of 100-mile ultra marathons, in a time of 15:34.

Jornet is from Puigcerda, Spain.  He is the youngest male to ever win the race according to a tweet from ultra marathon god Scott Jurek.

2011 Western States Top 4 Results

1. Kilian Jornet – 15:34
2. Mike Wolfe – 15:38
3. Nick Clark – 15:50
4. Jez Bragg – 15:55
5. Tsuyoshi Kaburaki – 16:04

Ellie Greenwood was the female winner of the race with a time of 17 hours and 55 minutes.

2011 Western States Top 5 Women Results

1. Ellie Greenwood – 17:55
2. Kami Semick – 18:17
3. Nikki Kimball – 18:17
4. Tracy Garneau – 18:22
5. Rory Bosio – 18:37

Reports are surfacing that 2nd place female finisher Kami Semick was delayed 7 minutes by a mad mama bear. She waited for runners behind her to catch her. They then passed the pissed bear as a group.

Western States 100 Website

[image: @irunfar]

This video is a memorial video tribute to Charles ‘Charlie’ Reagan about his life as a first class runner and as the biggest Milan Bulldogs (high school) fan ever.

Charlie was brutally murdered at his shop, Supreme Muffler, in Milan on June 16, 2011.

Read More About Charlie and His Passing

“How ’bout ‘dem Bulldogs!” – Charles Reagan

I started 2011 with two BIG running goals (to me at least).  One was to run and complete a 100 mile ultra marathon. Back in February, I was able to finish my first 100 miler down in Texas at the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile Trail Race.

The other big race this year I wanted to run (and hopefully finish) is the Last Annual Vol State 500K Road Race (yes, that’s 314 miles) that takes place every July in Tennessee.  Well it starts in Missouri and finishes in Georgia, but 300 of those miles wind through the Volunteer state. Which can get rather toasty in mid July.

The race was started by Lazarus Lake (Gary Cantrell) in 1981.  Runners have a maximum of 10 days to finish the race and end up at ‘The Rock.’

I needed several dominoes to fall into place before I could commit to Vol State.  All the dominoes have fallen.  The planning has begun.  This is my public confession of my insanity and confirmation of my intent to be at the starting line in Dorena, Missouri on July 14th for the 2011 Last Annual Vol State 500K.

My cousins Erick and Blake from Kansas are coming down to crew me for the week.

I have no clue if I can complete this race. I’ve done 100 miles before, once! This will be 214 more miles on top of that.

I believe I can, but it’s the unknown and makes me a bit crazy in the head thinking about it.  I stay up late at night looking at maps and attempting to come up with a strategy on how to attack it. I will have to be very disciplined and run within myself until I reach the finish.

Any friends or runners who want to join me at any part, and run that day or several miles that day with me, are welcome to join me.  Email me or tweet me @bayou and we will set it up.

I am going to try to live blog the race (while competing) here on Run It Fast and also on my Facebook Running Fan Page (Like it HERE).  You can also follow me on Twitter @bayou if you so desire.

Who Benefits From Such a Selfish Act of Running 314 miles?

I have few policies in life. One of those policies is that if you are going to do something that could result in your death, then you should raise money in the process to help benefit those less fortunate.

So here is what I’m going to do in connection with running a 500K.  I run a lot of races.  Runers at all of these races, even half-marathons and 5K’s, almost always rant and complain because there wasn’t enough water or a water table close enough for them.  Runners will have the biggest hissy fit if they go more than 15-20 minutes without a volunteer standing there offering them water.

So I’ve decided to raise money through Charity: Water to help build a water well in one of 17 developing third world countries. The well will provide actual clean drinking water to men, women, and children who desperately need clean water for survival.

With your help, we will raise $5,000 over the next couple of months. With that money, we will provide a permanent water source to 250 men, women, and children in need.  That’s 50 families which usually makes up an entire community.

The reach of clean water doesn’t stop at hydration. It allows more time for other essential things that can be done instead of walking for hours to find water. Women and children can spend more time learning to read & write and developing skills needed for survival in the 21st century.

View my Charity: Water page to help build a well to give water to 250 people for life.

DONATE HERE: 314 Miles – Water for 250 men, women, and children!

If you don’t have much today then donate a little. Then come back and donate a little more. Just like 314 miles, we will help build a well a little piece at a time.
Thanks in advance for your truly amazing support!

– joshua

I will be running the 2011 Last Annual Vol State  500K in memory of Charlie Reagan (Read More Here).

A great running friend who was murdered on June 16, 2011.

Unofficial (Official) Last Annual Vol State 500K Website

Charles ‘Charlie’ Reagan, one of the best runners from West Tennessee, was brutally robbed and murdered this afternoon at his muffler shop in Milan, Tennessee.

Reagan was found brutally stabbed to death inside his business, Supreme Muffler Center.  He was pronounced dead at Milan General Hospital.  He was 54 years old.

Milan police have arrested a 17-year old boy on charges of 1st degree murder and especially aggravated robbery according to The Jackson Sun.

Charles is survived by his wife, Trenia, and three daughters.

Charlie was a good running friend and one of my favorite people.  We always knew when Charlie showed up at a 5k or 10k race that we were racing for second place.

Reagan ran mostly 5k and 10k’s of recent but was an accomplished marathon runner as well.

He ran the Rocket City Marathon back in December 2010 in 3 hours and 7 minutes.  Earlier this year he ran the Germantown Half Marathon in 1:24.  His best marathon time I could find was a 2:52 in the 2002 Rocket City Marathon.

He was still knocking off sub 18 minute 5k’s this spring.  I had last run with him at the Medina Hornet 5K back just last month.  That day for some reason he went into great detail about how he ‘got fast’ and shared with me his speed workout that had helped make him speedy.

I had picked up a medal for him from a previous 10k a few weeks before that he had to leave early. I gave it to him that day. He looked at it a couple of times and told me, “This thing is puny!” He then found a small child to give it to.  The little boy lit up!

Charles would often wear all purple for his hometown Milan Bulldogs (high school).  After a win, he would famously shout out “How ’bout them Milan Bulldogs” or “Go Milan Bulldogs!”

A lot of us just run, but Charlie would truly Run It Fast!

He will be missed!

Read More About Charlie Reagan’s Death and Life

Charlie Reagan Memorial Video

KEYS100 Race Report: May 15th-16th 2010
by Beth McCurdy

As I sit here writing this report only 4 days later, I’m thinking about how fortunate I am that I do not have to work this week. Taking care of Grant, preparing dinner, and all the usual stuff, takes a lot of effort right now. Running 100 miles in the extreme heat affected me more than I had anticipated, both physically and mentally. But it was completely worth it in ways that I had never imagined.

Beth McCurdy

Making the decision to run a 100 mile race wasn’t all that difficult. My decision involved making a verbal commitment to my friends in Tampa, Florida on a Half Marathon race weekend in addition to posting it on facebook. I knew deep down that until I officially sign up, I could always back out. A few months went by and when I felt fairly secure about this decision, I decided to sign up. Never in my life have I ever felt so much nervous energy-even more than right before the gun went off in the Boston Marathon. I felt exhilirated, anxious, and down right scared. After all, the most I have ever run is 50 miles in cooler climate. Running a 100 mile race in the Keys in the month of May would not be easy and I wasn’t even sure that I could finish. But isn’t that I why I signed up?

I stayed focused on my training leading up to the event by completing 70 miles in a 12 hour event, plus some other ultra and marathon distances. I felt confident that my training, my crew, Stacey, Whitney, and Dave, and the mental preparation necessary for this distance, would carry me through to the finish. Of course, the heat and humidity was always the unknown factor that weighed heavily on my mind-and for good reason.

The week before the event I was less nervous than I thought I’d be. In fact, I was in an incredibly positive mood and happy. I was about to embark on the most exciting adventure of my life. I had so much support and encouragement from friends and family-they seemed just as excited about the event as I was.

After a fairly decent night of sleep, my crew and I headed to the start line at the 101 mile marker in Key Largo. The gun went off at 6 a.m. For the first several miles, I talked to Christian and Cyndi. The company helped keep me relaxed and it was nice knowing that I was not the only one on the planet who was about to run 100 miles. Those early miles were an adjustment. I was running at an incredibly slow pace for me and sweating profusely. On a cool day, this pace would feel completely different. So this was my first wake up call of what I had in store for the rest of the day.

At the first few crew stops, I just wasn’t sure what I needed. In fact, I made the mistake of telling my crew that I didn’t need them for 7 more miles. Wow, what was I thinking? I ended up getting water from another crew during that stretch and realized that I need to accept help from my crew as often as possible. So, I surrendered to them and thank goodness I did. Every 2-3 miles, my crew was there with everything that I could possibly need and came out to me so that I could keep walking. Whitney had the cup of strawberries and oranges, peanut butter sandwich, and bag of washcloths. She would squeeze the ice cold water on my head, drape washcloths over my shoulders, and encourage me to eat. Stacey had the refilled handheld water bottle, salt tabs, pain relievers, and the new bandana filled with ice to wear around my neck. Stacey would go over with me what was ahead and where they would be at the next stop. This information was extremely helpful-especially knowing when a bridge was ahead which I ended up looking forward to rather than dreading.

The first longer bridge came at about 15 miles. As I crested the hill on the bridge, all I could see was beautiful clear greenish-blue water everywhere. Even though the cars were speeding by me at 50+miles per hour, I was able to block them out and had this sensation that I was running on water. I was grinning ear to ear and thanked God that I was given this experience to run the KEYS100.

When I approached the 50 mile check-in, I realized that I ran the second 25 miles faster than the first. This was a confidence booster for sure, however, my blistered feet were beginning to concern me. I told my crew that my feet were a mess but that I will not be taking my shoes off to treat the blisters or change socks because I was fearful that it may make me sick if I see the damage. They listened to my wishes and I hoped that my feet would be able to withstand the duration of the race.

The 7 mile bridge approached soon after the 50 mile check-in and I stopped at the SUV in order to take in a significant amount of water and gatorade. I held two handheld water bottles and headed on the bridge with Stacey. Even though there was a nice breeze on the bridge, I had already gone 54 miles at this point and it was approximately 4 p.m. so the sun was strong. Having Stacey lead so that I didn’t have to focus on vehicles flying by was extremely helpful.

After the 7 mile bridge, I returned to the SUV to regroup and suddenly found myself very dizzy. I lay down on the ground and my crew covered me with ice cold washcloths. I believe that running the 7 miles without my crew cooling me down affected me more than I thought but luckily after about 10 minutes, I was back running again and felt fine.

One of the best parts of the day was when the sun started to go down and it wasn’t nearly as brutally hot. I started to finally feel some heat relief and despite my hurting feet, I was able to keep running. I started thinking that if I continue to feel this way, I may actually finish this thing by 2 a.m. But without any notice, I started to go downhill (not literally).

After the 75 mile check-in (time was a little over 15 hrs), I realized how much pain my feet were in and at that time, it seemed to be more difficult to walk than to run. I also realized that running in the dark was going to be more of a challenge than I originally thought. Being in pain, tired, not being able to see ocean, trees, or people, and having to dodge vehicles, was almost too tough to take and Stacey at that point agreed to stay with me for the remainder of the race. I thank God for Stacey.

Unfortunately, I had another “issue” to deal with soon after the 75 mile mark which was nausea and vomiting. I had to accept the fact that I would not be able to eat or drink gatorade anymore. I knew this would be tough but I was still able to process water. My kidneys were still functioning properly and I was able to keep moving forward so with Stacey’s guidance, this is what I did. She encouraged me to run if I could, but the majority of the time, I could only last 5 minutes or less without needing to walk.

With 6 miles left to go, I could no longer run. I had no energy left and my feet were in too much pain. At one point, I had a strong desire to close my eyes. I felt extremely tired and thought that it might feel good to close my eyes. So, Stacey and I walked arm in arm while I took a little “walking nap”. I did this again with Whitney even closer to the finish.

I pictured in my mind that the finish would be the finish of a lifetime. Even if I’d been walking leading up to the finish, I’d make myself run with my crew by my side and be overwhelmed with emotion. Well, I did finish with my crew by my side but I was in such a fog that I really didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t able to run through the finish because my feet were beyond painful and my thoughts revolved around sitting down and taking my shoes off. My finish time was 22:52. 9th overall, 3rd female, 30 finishers total out of 70 starters.

Things that I did not expect

1)The support and love from my family and friends was unbelievable. I know that people love me but I guess running 100 miles reminded me of this.

2)That my feet would get so damaged with swelling and blisters. I thought I might have a few lost toe nails but nothing close to this.

3)That my crew would be 100% perfect. I knew that they were going to be great but they were impeccable. The selflessness of Whitney, Dave, and Stacey was incredible and believe me, they were tired, too!

4)That I would have lost so much weight. I’ve lost weight due to dehydration before from events but I hardly recognized myself afterwards. LOL.

5)That I would feel this much satisfaction out of accomplishing my goal of finishing my first 100 mile foot race.

Thank you!
Mom and Dad and the rest of the family for being so supportive
My running club buddies
My GUTS friends
My neighbors, childhood friends, and facebook friends
And to Whitney, Dave, and Stacey, the best crew ever.
XXOO

– Beth McCurdy

This creative and unique finisher’s medal is from the 2011 Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio that took place on May 1, 2011.

It was the first two-sided medal that I have received for finishing a race.  The front had a ‘flying pig’ with the phrase “I HIGHTAILED IT,” and the back of the medal had the backside of a ‘flying pig’ with the phrase “I MADE A RUN FOR IT” with the skyline of Cincy in the background.

The decorative ribbon (see photo below) completed this first class medal. The ribbon was thick, with flying piggies, and the name of the race on it.

Flying Pig Marathon Website

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that a 22-year old man died while running the 13.1 Chicago Half Marathon on Saturday in Chicago.

The weather reached the mid 80’s towards the end. Temperatures for the race started at 79 and rose to around 86.  The race provided over 10 water stations along the course.

The race started under a yellow flag ‘be cautious, drink water, and pace yourself,’ before turning to a red flag ‘where clocks were turned off,’ before the race was black flagged ‘race cancelled.’

11 runners were taken to local hospitals due to heat related problems.

The Chicago Marathon faced similar issues a couple of years back when that race was also black flagged. Organizers for that race where ill-prepared and didn’t provide nearly enough water for racers that day.

Our condolences go out to the friends and family of the runner!