Races – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Start planning for Run Barbados, the Caribbean’s biggest running event

Join in on the fun.

When race organizer Zary Evelyn reps Run Barbados at international marathons, people are always drawn to the famously sunny and friendly destination.

“So, we lead in with Barbados, and then you convince them to come for the run,” Evelyn told me as we sat at the George Washington Coffee House in Bridgetown, Barbados. “The run is sort of like the deal clincher. The reason why they choose Barbados over somewhere else.”

Indeed, during my five days in Barbados, I could see why runners from around the world would be attracted to the scenic island. Especially since Run Barbados makes it worth travelers’ while by offering a three-day event.

Runners in a race through the city during Run Barbados. — *Photo courtesy of Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc.*

“It’s come for a holiday and indulge your passion for your sport at the same time,” said Evelyn. “So, it’s not geared primarily at elites.”

This year, the event kicks off on Friday, December 6, with a nighttime one-mile fun run around the historic Garrison Savannah. In the early 1800s, Royal Engineers drained a swamp to become a parade ground for soldiers. Now, Garrison Savannah is the island’s horse racetrack.

“You come dressed up in fluorescent colors,” Kamal Springer, manager for sports tourism at Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc., told me. “You have music, food, drinks. We try to make it more of a fun opening to the activity.” The 2023 race marked the run’s 40th year and involved lots of glow sticks.

Runners passing by an old stone building during Run Barbados. — *Photo courtesy of Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc.*

Saturday and Sunday, runners move to the rugged and hilly east coast for longer races. On Saturday, they can choose between a 5K or 10K. On Sunday, the options are a half or full marathon.

“If you do all three days, you get special challenge medals,” Evelyn said.

For the fun mile, 10K, and marathon, you get a gold challenge medal. Runners win silver by either combining the mile, 5K, and marathon or the mile, 10K, and half. For the bronze, runners must complete the mile, 5K, and half marathon.

“But you get a medal in any case for every race,” Zary said. Medal collectors will love Run Barbados.

Before COVID-19, Run Barbados was the Caribbean’s biggest running event, with 2,765 participants in 2019. Now, it’s climbing back up toward pre-pandemic numbers. Most of the visiting runners come from North America and the Caribbean. Springer hopes the new Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc. office opened in Panama last year will attract more Latin American runners.

“We know that Ecuadorians and Colombians typically are long runners, so we’ll try to encourage more of them to come,” said Springer. “And then Panama has a close tie with Barbados, so we’ll try there as well.”

People running over a bridge during Run Barbados. — *Photo courtesy of Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc.*

Wherever you’re from, if you want to roll sun, water sports, Caribbean food, and music into your running vacation, start planning for December 6-8.

Disclaimer: While this article was not sponsored, Outdoors Wire did visit Barbados during a press trip with Visit Barbados. As always, Outdoors Wire operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Test your endurance with these 5 grueling ultramarathons

Run the extra mile.

If life isn’t hard enough for you, it might be time to challenge yourself to an ultramarathon. No, seriously.

As Dutch ultrarunner Michiel Panhuysen explains in his new book “In The Spell of The Barkley,” ultramarathon running is an extreme sport that can teach you a lot about yourself. “Extreme running might have cost me dear, but I got something important back in return: an indestructible positive attitude with which I can process bad things in my life in a simple way,” Panhuysen writes.

This kind of grueling activity may not appeal to all runners. Still, ultramarathon running can be transformative for the right person. See if extreme running is right for you by exploring this list of some of America’s most demanding ultramarathons.

What is runDisney? Here’s what you should know about the Disney marathons.

Make your next marathon magical.

What is runDisney? And how did the world go from old-school Olympic marathons to having the planet’s most recognizable mouse hosting races? Today, we’re explaining everything you need to know about Disney marathons.

Let’s take it from the top. The lore behind marathons stretches all the way back to ancient Greece. Legend says it all started with a man named Pheidippides, who ran 26 miles between the towns of Marathon and Athens. While the Pheidippides story is an entertaining one, the real history behind modern marathons doesn’t go back quite that far.

As National Geographic writer Erin Blakemore explains, runners have French linguist and classicist Michel Bréal to thank for marathons. Bréal introduced the idea of a roughly 24-mile footrace to the International Olympic Committee. The organization adopted the idea, then extended it to 26.2 miles in 1908.

How we got from there to the world of runDisney is a much more complex web to untangle. As you’ve probably guessed, runDisney is a division of The Walt Disney Company that hosts marathons, 5Ks, and other running events. The project began in 1994 when Disney held its inaugural race at Florida’s Walt Disney World. Today, runDisney is still up and running with a calendar of events hosted online, at Disney World, and at California’s Disneyland.

Runners racing in a runDisney marathon. — *Photo by Josh Hallett*

How does runDisney work?

Through the runDisney website, runners can register for various Disney running events. If you’ve ever tried planning a Disney trip, you should know that the rule for planning ahead absolutely extends to these races.

Registration is a simple process, wherein runners can expect to fill out basic demographic information and pay a registration fee. That fee not only reserves runners a spot in their chosen race but also comes with perks like a finisher medal. Even virtual race participants get these goodies; events like the Neverland 5K provide runners with a medal, shirt, certificate, and digital race tool kit.

What’s the appeal of these Disney races? As Eve Chen, USA Today Consumer Travel Reporter, explains, “I don’t run, but years ago, I promised myself I’d do a marathon if I made it into grad school. I don’t think I could’ve kept that promise anywhere but at Walt Disney World.”

“It’s not just because there’s no qualifying time and the course is paved and flat, all valuable perks for beginners. It’s because it still felt like a Disney vacation, even though I had to put in work,” Chen continues.

Curious to know more about the runDisney experience? Find everything you want to know explained in Chen’s article, “I hate running, but I did Disney World’s marathon. Here’s why it’s different.“

Find a marathon for every month of the year with this 2024 running calendar

Plan for your next marathon.

It takes a lot of work to get in shape for a marathon. Even many dedicated runners need a few months of training to prepare. If you want to successfully run a marathon, you’ll need to start with a plan. Training plans can differ depending on a person’s preferences and activity levels, so do some research to find one that’s right for you. And once you settle on a plan, stick to it. Remember, most things worth accomplishing require a solid amount of effort. Keep this in mind every time you feel ready to give up. With enough training, you’ll be ready to run your next race.

Start your training journey by checking out this list of upcoming 2024 marathons happening throughout the United States. You can also learn about some of the country’s biggest marathons here.

Watch dogs tear it up in the 2024 Idaho Sled Dog Challenge

On your mark, get set, mush!

Do you love dogs? And snow? The sixth annual 2024 Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is beckoning.

“The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge showcases the remarkable partnership that’s possible between humans and canines and has become one of the West Central Mountains’ most iconic winter events,” race founder and organizer Jerry Wortley said in a statement.

Events kick off with Meet the Mushers on January 20 at the Ponderosa Center in McCall, Idaho, where the public can get up close to the people who drive the dogs. The 52-mile Warm Lake Stage Race runs January 24-25, starting and finishing at North Shore Lodge & Resort. Then come the main events, 100- and 300-mile races starting on January 29.

Mushing dogs in the snow. — *Photo by Melissa Shelby, courtesy of Idaho Sled Dog Challenge*

“Mushers will tell you this is a very, very atypical race,” Idaho Sled Dog Challenge co-founder and trail coordinator Dave Looney said. “Our elevation change is 36,000 feet, which is greater than the Iditarod. They call it a 500-mile race packed into 300 miles. So the dog care and the pacing and the attention they have to pay to the terrain is really important, because there’s a lot of up and down. One musher said the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is like climbing Mt. Everest — twice.”

Dogs pulling a musher through the snow. — *Photo by Melissa Shelby, courtesy of Idaho Sled Dog Challenge*

The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is the only 300-mile Yukon Quest qualifier in the lower 48 and one of only three such events for the Iditarod in the contiguous continental U.S. So you can expect to see some of the world’s top mushers in action.

A person in a coat holding a dog. — *Photo by Melissa Shelby, courtesy of Idaho Sled Dog Challenge*

How long does it take to finish such a long and grueling race? Well, that’s a bit unpredictable. Organizers expect the 100-mile race to end January 30, while the 300-milers will cross their finish line somewhere between January 31 and February 1.

A dog sled racing through a snowy forest. — *Photo by Melissa Shelby, courtesy of Idaho Sled Dog Challenge*

If you are feeling the call of the Idaho wild, consider volunteering. The race needs more than 200 volunteers to help with handling dogs, managing parking, setting up and staffing checkpoints, providing food, operating ham radios, and assisting at the start and finish lines.

Lael Wilcox is teaching the world to love bikepacking

Have you tried bikepacking?

Lael Wilcox of Tucson is planning something special for 2024: bikepacking 18,000 miles around the world. She’s still planning the route. And she isn’t going for easy. “I think a lot of people want to design the flattest route they can, but I love riding in the mountains, so screw it I’ll just ride in the mountains,” Wilcox said. “That’s way more inspiring for me.”

Haven’t heard of bikepacking? It’s a relatively new concept, but it’s simple to understand. You grab a mountain bike, load your essentials, and then take off on a multi-day trip over trails. Maybe it’s an overnight, maybe a couple of weeks, or perhaps you dream of biking across the globe.

Depending on your chosen route, almost any mountain bike might do. However, snowy or sandy conditions call for fat tires, and full-suspension bikes will serve you better on technical trails.

A woman on a bike. — Photo by Rue Kaladyte

Bikepacking events

You can bikepack on your own or with friends. Or you can enter a bikepacking race. Event organizers put together some brutal routes. On November 3 this year, The Tassie Gift 2023 took riders on a 1,800-kilometer (1,118.4-mile) race that traversed trails, roads, and goat tracks on the Australian island of Tasmania. Don’t mind the cold? Check out the Fat Viking 2024 on January 27. It’s a 150-kilometer (93-mile) ultra-endurance race through the snowy Norwegian highlands.

A bike parked in front of a tent in the desert at dusk. — *Photo by Rue Kaladyte*

In the United States, the Arizona Trail Race is an unofficial self-supported bikepacking event. Riders choose between a 300-mile and 800-mile trek, which takes them from the Mexican border up to Utah. Each race is a grueling series of ups and downs. Those riding the full distance must carry their bikes for 21 miles across the Grand Canyon!

Wilcox set a record for the 800-miler in April of 2022, finishing it in 9 days, 8 hours, and 23 minutes. “I think the hardest thing about the Arizona Trail is getting enough water. If I can time where I sleep to be near a freshwater source, that’s ideal,” Wilcox said. “Truthfully, I’m always running at a water and food deficit. When I did it the last time, I packed full cheesecakes, and I would eat those because they are so calorie dense. I also drank salsa because I felt like I needed some vegetables. It sounds wacky, but when you’re out there in the desert, your body starts craving bizarre things.”

Bikers on a hillside road overlooking mountains at sunset. — *Photo by Rue Kaladyte*

Making bikepacking female-friendly

The 37-year-old Wilcox loves her adopted home of Tucson. It’s her favorite place to ride and train. This November, she organized a 400-mile cycling event there, the Tucson Komoot Women’s Rally. It’s the first Komoot held outside of Europe. Komoot women’s rallies are designed to make adventure cycling more accessible to women, nonbinary, and trans riders. About 50 women aged 19 to 70 plan to participate in the weeklong event.

Wilcox also spearheads Tucson’s Girls Riding Into Tomorrow (GRIT), a program that introduces 11 and 12-year-old girls to long-distance cycling. Underprivileged girls get six weeks of bike training culminating in an overnight weekend adventure ride. And they get to keep the bike they train on. Wilcox loves to see girls surprise themselves with what they can do. “When I see people take on new things, and shock themselves, and get excited, it brings me back to why I love this sport so much.”

Four girls in bike helmets. — *Photo by Rue Kaladyte*

Obstacle course championship comes to Mammoth Lakes, California

Overcome these obstacles.

If you like obstacles and mud mixed in with your running, Spartan races are for you. And if you like to watch people clamber over nets and swing from ropes as they struggle toward the finish line, you’ll be excited to hear about the new partnership between extreme endurance brand Spartan and the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (OCRWC). From October 6-8, athletes will converge on California’s Mammoth Mountain, coming out muddy, exhausted, and, in some cases, victorious.

“Spartan is thrilled to be returning to Mammoth Mountain in partnership with the OCRWC and Mammoth Lakes Tourism,” Joe De Sena, Spartan founder, said in a statement. “The event is one of a kind, offering something for everyone and challenges for athletes of all skill levels.”

A racer climbing a rope structure. — *Photo courtesy of Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (OCRWC)*

A 100-meter sprint course features back-to-back obstacles. Athletes get two attempts to finish the sprint course. The 3K has more than 15 obstacles, plus a significant elevation gain. The main event is Saturday’s 15K, which includes more than 40 of the toughest obstacles created for the sport. On Sunday, three-person teams will navigate 25 obstacles during the 6K team relay.

A 5K charity race on Sunday morning will benefit Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, a nonprofit that offers adaptive sports and outdoor recreation for people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities. The organization allows disabled athletes to participate in many different sports, including skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing, and camping.

A racer climbing a wood structure next to another racer extending a hand to a third racer climbing up. — *Photo courtesy of Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (OCRWC)*

Famous for skiing, Mammoth Mountain is a location of knock-out beauty year-round. “We are thrilled to bring this world-class event back to such a stunning location and offer competitors an unforgettable experience,” Adrian Bijanada, OCRWC CEO, said in a statement. “We anticipate witnessing incredible displays of athleticism, perseverance, and sportsmanship.”

Do you have the urge to spice up your runs with barbed wire crawls and ladder climbs? See a sample of the obstacles racers will face here. If you’re still inclined, you can download this handy booklet about how to train for an obstacle race.

A racer hanging off an obstacle course. — *Photo by Jack Goras, courtesy of Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (OCRWC)*

Try to outrun zombies in these Halloween races around the US

Throw on a costume and meet at the starting line.

Everybody knows zombies are shambling creatures with body parts falling off. But do you know if you can outrun them? As the days grow shorter and the nights long, runners around the country are dressing up in costumes and trying their luck in Halloween races that feature monsters, zombies, and other scary creatures.

Whether you are a marathon runner, a 5K jogger, or just want to walk a course in your best costume, there’s an event for you. At zombie runs and Halloween races, dressing up is a big part of the entertainment. Many of these events even feature costume contests. Explore these eight spooky running events happening throughout the U.S. this fall, and get some ideas for fun costumes.