The Themed Run Craze & What It Has Created

Running is a passion for me. It's something I grew up doing and it's something I'm fairly serious about; serious in the sense that I do it regularly and enjoy it a lot, not that I take it so serious that I don't have fun with it. When I participate in a running event, it's typically timed, there are awards (although I rarely win any), and they are long enough that they require a certain training commitment from all the participants. This is how the running industry was for a long time. 

Back in the day, a 5K usually involved showing up very early, registering for $20 or $25, pinning your bib number on your t-shirt, lining up with 200-500 other runners and doing it as fast as you could. If you won an award, you'd wait around for a short award ceremony or you just wait for results to get posted, check your time and then leave. The whole thing maybe lasted an hour or an hour and a half and then you were at home, showering, and eating breakfast with the whole day ahead of you. 

This is what I was used to thinking when I heard people talk about a 5K run, but in 2012 there was a revolution in the running industry. The Color Run came around as one of the first themed runs. It's opening event, in Phoenix, Arizona, had over 6000 runners and before long, more than 10,000 runners were showing up at each Color Run across the country. Along with color, foam, or neon themed runs, the mud/obstacle/beer runs were taking off as well with events such as the Spartan Race and Tough Mudder gaining huge followings in a short time. According to RunningUSA.org, an organization that puts out annual reports on the running industry, participation in these "non-traditional running events" grew from the low hundreds of thousands in 2009 to over 4 million runners in 2013. All of a sudden, a running event no longer involved that explanation I gave earlier. Now you signed up for a specific wave online, paid $40+, showed up with your bib number (basically a ticket to participate because it wasn't being used for timing), ran/walked your 5 kilometers while being splashed with color or foam or occasionally crawling through mud or jumping over obstacles, and then you hung out for another two hours or more, dancing, drinking beer, getting free stuff or buying all kinds of merchandise and then going home covered in color/foam/beer/mud and exhausted, not from the run, but from the party afterwards.

This new trend has been met with different reactions from the already-existing running community. Around me, specifically, many runners either embraced these laid back, non-timed, fun runs as extras to their more serious, already existing racing schedule. On the other hand, many other runners felt that these events were a mockery or a parody of "real" running events. They may have felt like their sport was being washed out with thousands of "pseudo-runners" who didn't actually know what running was all about and were just there to party. 

As a fairly "serious" runner, I have thought a lot about this new trend and what it means for my sport. Occasionally I'm slightly annoyed with these events, but more often than not, I think they're great. I'll explain both of those separately: 

My annoyance most often occurs with the participants of the mud/obstacle events. Having only participated in one of these events (an 8 mile Spartan Race), I found it more challenging than a regular 8 mile run (obviously). However, what has struck me most about these events is the culture they have spawned. I try not to compare the difficulty of different events because each distance and each course has its challenges. As a long distance (half marathon, marathon, ultra marathon) runner, I know that a 5K is a different kind of pain than a longer distance race. It's 3 miles of all-out, no-holding-back running, while an ultra marathon is hours and hours of slow, constant trudging along. Each distance has its challenges and so it's not necessarily kosher to say "my event is harder than yours". So what bothers me about Tough Mudder and Spartan Race participants is that they tend to love to mention that they are the most bad ass runners out there. Tough Mudder's slogan is even "Probably The Toughest Event On The Planet". This feels arrogant and pretentious to me because, while I don't like to compare, I don't think that 12 miles of obstacles is harder than 50 miles of trail running over mountains and through rivers and rain, or a 2.4 mile swim/112 mile bike/26.2 mile run Ironman triathlon. Don't misunderstand me, my point is not to belittle their accomplishments. After all, I don't believe those mud runs to be easy. The point is just that the superiority complex that these events seem to have developed are often times what irritates other runners about them. That being said, I do think that those obstacle runs have motivated a lot of non-runners to pick up the sport... more on that below.

An interesting statistic that RunningUSA.org reported in 2013 is that more than 60% of Color Run participants are first-time 5K runners. This brings me to the overall attitude I have about these non-traditional running events, including the obstacle, mud run events. The truth is that running is a sport that helps millions of people lead healthier life-styles. Many people pick it up later in life and it helps them lose weight, kick illnesses and live longer, more active, happier lives. I find this to be a much more positive thing than preserving the "tradition" or "authenticity" of the sport of running. If these non-traditional running events bring millions of new participants to the sport, and in turn help even a fraction of those people to live better lives and perhaps pursue the sport more seriously, then I have absolutely no problem with them. In fact, I have personally heard stories of people who started running with themed runs, graduated to obstacle runs, and have now pursued triathlon, Ironman or even ultra marathons as their next challenge. In turn they have become fit, healthy, happy and have even inspired family members and friends to do the same. There is no denying that that, alone, makes these events a positive thing and worth the slight annoyance they might cause to some "traditional" runners.

So sign up for some silly run, or crawl through mud, ice water, tunnels and over walls. Get splashed with color or neon or run through foam bogs, and have a good time. Whether you're a serious runner or new to the sport, have fun with it. Because at the end of the day, people will do things if they have fun doing them, and a traditional 5K never drew as many people because it wasn't as fun for the general population as the Bubble Run or the Warrior Dash. My overall wish is to see a healthier community and I think that 4 million extra runners means a healthier community, and I'm cool with that.

Thanks for reading! Did you know that I coach runners? So if you're interested in a Couch to 5K program or if you want to train for Tough Mudder, a marathon, or an ultra, let me know! Happy running!

- Johann Warnholtz

Sources:
http://www.runningusa.org/state-of-sport-2013-part-III
http://www.runningusa.org/state-of-sport-nontraditional