Actor and Architecture Combinations, Illustrated by Federico Babina

How about the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon? It is only 875 km.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfield_Ultra_Marathon

Check out the Mount Marathon Race in Seward, Alaska:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Marathon_Race

Contestants run up then hurl themselves down a mountain.

You need to look into joining a Hash House Harriers running club. We were recently in Carlsbad and ran into one of the groups there. What a lot of fun!!! If only they had a club out here (there are clubs worldwide--check out their main web page at http://www.gthhh.com/).

You guys need to get the San Francisco Bay to Breakers up there..... talk about a party...........

I can't run my mouth without having to catch my breath.

I know that many cross country teams hold a "Beer 2-mile" race at the end of the season. It's a 2 mile race (obviously) but the catch is that at every station you have to down a can of Natty Light. Tossing your cookies DQs you. And after you cross you have to keep it down an additional 5 minutes for your time to be recorded.

Similarly some teams do a Coke 1 mile around a track. Contestants chug a 2-liter of Coke and run like hell for a mile. Again, puking DQs you.

we do the Beat Beethoven up here in Fairbanks, AK. it's hilarious. some people run it dressed like beethoven.

The Death Valley Marathoners have to have teams stocked up with ice and water to keep them hydrated D:

And lets not forget the Self-Transcendence 3100 mile run! ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Transcendence_3100_Mile_Race

Last June in San Francisco, there was a 5k Gorilla race, where everyone had to wear Gorilla suits. There are a few videos on YouTube about it. I didn't participate, but was there to cheer on friends that did.

The best part? There was a "Thrilla Gorilla" team that performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" dance after the race... while dressed as Gorillas.

i'm surprised no one mentioned the antarctic marathon....imagine doing the death valley then doing the antarctic one......

http://www.icemarathon.com/

You live in the part of the midwest that I LOVE!!! I used to live in La Crosse and loved the area. Might you know of any AS400/Iseries computer system operator positions in your area?

Sincerely,

Gruntie

Clive, Ohio here I come! That looked like the most fun.

Rachel Toor has a book coming out soon called "Personal Record: A Love Affair with Running" about both ultramarathons, and ride and tie races, which are insane. Ride and Tie would be a good neatorama article actually.

I'm not a runner but I might consider it if I could stop at bars along the way.

Try reading "The Long Walk" by Stephen King. THAT'S a killer 'run'. heh heh...
(It may be published under 'Richard Bachman', his psudonym).

A couple of interesting ones involving the consumption of what's called a "Garbage plate" (a big plate of assorted foods, none of them particularly healthy) can be found at the Wiki article for that particular dish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_Plate

Running 14 miles, and eating one of those things in the middle of the run doesn't sound like my idea of fun...

I live in austin and the marathon here has a different band every 1/2 mile or so. and beer.

http://attaustinmarathon.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=16

I just ran my first "ultra' marathon: The Run to the Sun on Maui--a 36-mile race that starts at sea level and ends at 10,000 feet. Woohoo!

See my link above for more than you ever wanted to know about that race.

I think I could contend in the donut run given the donut bonus.

Let's try to get the comment in the right post this time...

Little Miss Musician over here is loving the Beethoven race. Unfortunately, the 5th isn’t the most upbeat, speed-inspiring music. I’ve never been a fan of Bond, but here’s a great use for their music-butchering! Finally!

You cannot miss out on the Krispy Kreme Challenge. The goal was to run two miles, eat 12 glazed donuts, then run the two miles back. THis is a North Carolina State University/Raleigh, NC thing but God, help someone running after a dozen KKs.

My friends and I did a race to see who could stay up the most by snorting speed and jerking off as much as possible during the race.
Lets just say that one of us had to go to the hospital as he lost his mind.

runnings for people with out legs

Marathon du Medoc:
http://www.marathondumedoc.com/pages/en/esprit.php

A marathon with compulsory rest stops for wine and food tasting in the Bordeaux region. Extra points for costumes and themes. Points deducted for finishing too soon.

i did a 10k walk when i was about 9 or 10 with my family. funny story- i have two older brothers and they went too. before the walk, my dad thought it was a good idea to get us all brand new shoes a)because he wanted to treat us b) i think he needed a pair himself and c) because the new meijer was just opening and he wanted to check it out (this is hilarious because meijer stores are everywhere now, and 'back then' it was smack in the middle of a corn field.. and across the street from an already-standing wal-mart). so we all got brand new shoes. the next day we woke up early and went on the walk. after an hour, we all had blisters and the walk was just getting started. but it was all the free airheads and water we could stomach, and i would definitely do it again.

Last year my brother ran in this one
http://www.muddybuddy.com/info.php?id=1
in Richmond and it sounded like a real blast.

My wife and I were driving down to Jordan Creek that day last year and saw this happening. We could not figure out what was going on!

I sure like seeing Iowa references on Neatorama!

I haven't really participated in any crazy races, although for the school sponsored run last year me and my best friend dressed up as Mario and Luigi (complete with plungers and theme music) and ran six miles ^_^
I've heard of the Gorilla run too, they had it in London a little while back.
I'm doing a race (well more of a walk really) in about two months for the local hospice at midnight. It's women only (I think we're raising money for breast cancer equipment, which affects a lot more women than men) walking about six or seven miles along the beach in almost complete darkness!
Also I have a question: why do Americans use the imperial system for everything except running differences (kilometres)? Is it just to make it sound more impressive (5k sounds more impressive than three miles)?

Can't believe no-one mentioned the running of the bulls.

It's only short - half a mile - but 15 people have been killed so far:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_of_the_bulls

A cow-orker hopes to do the Canadian Death Race this year. It's 125KM long and has 17,000 feet of elevation change over the course of the race.

...the hardest, mile for mile run? The Barkley Marathons, only 6 people have finished the 100 miles since it started in 1986... see what the Washington Post had to say... http://blog.washingtonpost.com/why-we-compete/2007/04/curiosity_1.html

Ya, as Pat J said the Death Race in Grande Cache Alberta is insane. I've seen pictures of the "track" and it hurts!

I am glad to see that someone beat me to posting about Hash House Harriers (drinkers with a running problem)

My mother hash was The Carolina Trash, I was the president of the VD-Hash and founder of the Asad-a-bad-ass h3.

Also, according to beermile.com I am still the world record holder for a guinness draught from a can beer mile!

http://www.beermile.com/records/ref_beer/beertype_Guinness+Draught

I second the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco and also suggest the Urban Iditarod, now also found in other cities.
Imagine running through the tourist-rich sections of SF with packs of people in various dog based themes pulling carts, barking and running amok. If you are running too hard to bark at tourists, you are running too fast! The run is broken up with stops to water the dogs.

The urban iditarod. lol

In Baton Rouge, we have the Fat Boy 5k.

Teams can consist of as many participants as needed to meet the minimum 650 lb. for the team.

One of their mottos is 'Fat - the other white meat.'

http://www.fatboy5k.com/

The Badwater Ultramarathon doesn't sound fun, just scary.

http://www.urbanassaultride.com/

You MUST check it out!

Forget not the Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb.
http://www.bisbee1000.org/

Bisbee Arizona is a mile-high mining town on the Mexican border, barely attached to various deep canyons. About 1/3 of Old Bisbee houses are accessible only by steep stairways. The annual race up-and-down those stairs is always a blast.

Scores of other stairclimb races are also held.
http://www.towerrunning.com/english/races.htm

Those of us with bad knees had best just watch such events.