Adventure Race Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

I've had this brochure tacked to my bulletin board for a few months. It says "MET CON BLUE - REGISTER FOR 2013 NOW! It's a self-described "insane" mountain adventure race at Blue Mountain Resort, Ontario where you basically pay to joyfully suffer through 15 "body beating" obstacles on a 5 kilometre course. My friend Janate did it last year. She loved it.

So I typed in their web site tonight, hoping that it was sold out. No such luck. In fact, I am still on target for the early bird pricing. I clicked around all the tabs to learn more about it. Here's what it said about the 15 obstacles: "We can not even list them due to liability." Laugh Out Loud. Actually, I did laugh out loud when I watched the little video clip of last year's event. I watched grown women and men run up muddy hills, slide down muddy hills, run through rocky creeks with mud-packed running shoes, jump over fire pits, climb over steep walls, walk across thin planks and fall off (into, you guessed it, mud pits), crawl through sticky mucky mud under barbed wire....and there's something about aliens and Big Foot too. The torture list goes on. And it's all packed into a mere 5K! (For those who say "pffffttt, whatEVER," there is the 10K "Full Metal Jacket" course, which requires one to be an able swimmer with no claustrophobic issues whatsoever. Yeah. Not happenin'.)

Last year, my friend Janate said, "You're doing it next year. We'll be part of a team. It'll be fun! I'll help pull you over the wall." Notice how she didn't ask. That's what these adventure race types are like. Hmmmmm. The funny thing is, I am actually thinking about it. I spoke with another friend tonight, Heather, who also has a friend who participated in this crazy event last year.
"She said you have to completely submerge yourself in the ice pool to get to the other side and she felt like she was going to drown," said Heather about her friend's experience.
"Would she do it again?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, she loved it," was the reply. What is wrong with these people?

And why do I keep hanging out with people like this? The ones who lure you into running half marathons, then longer distances, now a body bashing adventure race? Because I was overly cautious as a teenager that's why. Not an athlete, not much confidence in the physical sense. Liked to run the track once in awhile. Who knew that doing physical stuff not only improves one's fitness level, but one's confidence? Before you know it, you start thinking, "Hey, I could do this." And the more you do it, the more you want to test yourself. (I can run 5K easy. Hell, I'm about to run 30K this weekend. But can I run 5K UP HILL in MUD while doing back flips over fire pits?) That's my two cents on the subject anyway.

I meandered around the Met Con web site a little more. They offer training starting about five weeks before the race! Well that's kinda neat! And oh look - since it's at Blue Mountain Village, which is an awesome little ski resort in Grey County, Ontario (well to Ontarians, it's big, but to my brother who lives in British Columbia, it is teeny tiny. Whatever. Who needs 90 days of solid rain.). That means one could stay at the resort and pamper oneself afterwards, plus dine out, plus go shopping....After all, it's the least one deserves after paying to get the &#!* beat out of oneself by inanimate obstacles.

I haven't registered yet. Early bird pricing ends March 31. Better tell Janate. Need to watch the video a few more times. Are those people really smiling and laughing? Check it out at www.metconblue.com.