Running Through Thoughts

Everyone is aware of the obesity crisis that we have in the United States. The prices of watching some of the most athletic sports figures have increased to some lofty numbers; the average of a single NFL ticket is over $100 and the average ticket price to Superbowl was about $3000 in the secondary market. This does not change the fact that the spectators, the average person, eat and drink when either the actual event with absurdly high prices or at home on their couch. While the demand for watching sport events has increased in this nation, there has also been another trend on the rise. 

The past year or so I have witnessed an increase number of races been held. I have no proof that numbers have been actually growing but my awareness has definitely heightened. To name a few: Spartan Race, Tough Mudders, and even ROC Race (which cleverly stands for Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge). In these race the number of number of miles vary but so do the obstacles; some even include electric shock. Many of these can be done as a team and it is actually encouraged. Then you have other running races that have special twists of their own. Some include throwing color corn-starch, eating donuts, and some even include drinking beer every mile or so. There's bound to be numerous St. Patrick's 5k's this weekend.

Is this trend better than paying to attend a sporting event? Well, the prices of participating in these races range from $15-$100 plus the addition money raised by the participant for a specific charity (usually). I'm ecstatic about the donations raised by these races. I am also chipper by the excitement about the training that has to be done to be be prepared for these races; it is much better than sitting on the couch watching athletes playing their sport. 

But is this really the direction we want to go in? The fact that we must add some ridiculous environments/situations is persuade to be healthy and run a bit is laughable. I completely understand it can be for charity and is for just plain fun that may also be a change of pace for routine runners. Doesn't it make you wonder how much money is actually is donated to charity? From a quick search online, it seems that only about 2-4% of the costs go to charity; enough to say some of their proceeds go to a good cause. But of course this is better than none. Has running gotten so boring that we must put on these races? Have our society become so lazy that we need motivation to exercise? (Though most of the people I know who run these races are already routine runners) At least companies are taking advantage of this. Just think one of the largest races is $50/person for 600,000 runners: $30 million. That's just one race; don't tell me it's about charity and not business. Why else would IMG Worldwide partner up with one of the more well known races? For those who don't know, IMG is a marketing/licensing/media firm. Why do these races need volunteers again?

Maybe I'm just bitter that I don't like running as much as the people that partake in these races. Maybe I'm old-fashioned and grew up with boring walkathons and 5ks without color/obstacles/beer that raised money by only having volunteers work the race. Personally, I like running in the rain alone with my thoughts.