Men's Health Urbanathlon: Race Recap!

I feel so lucky to have been able to do the Men's Health Urbanathlon with Nike Field Reporter. This 9+ mile run with lots of intense obstacles was by far the best race I've ever done!

It was an early start when we took a cab to the start around 6:45 a.m. for the 7:30 a.m. start. The starting area was bustling with athletic men! I'd guess maybe 20 percent of the participants were women. I also noticed everyone seemed to be in great shape, where in most races I see more of a range of athletic body types.

I was on a relay team with Gina and Audrey, who are Nike Field Reporter Correspondents. Check them out here!

We all three only met this weekend, but we were instant friends and had a blast doing this challenge together.

We weren't able to bring our cameras on the race course, which is a bummer because I'd love to document how hardcore these obstacles were!

I took the first leg but ended up running all three legs after passing off my timing chip. Gina ran with leg 2 and Audrey showed leg 3 who was boss!

Leg 1:

- 3.25 mi. run

- Obstacle Course 1: Jersey Concrete Barriers (balance beam), Monster Truck Tire, Tires

- Obstacle Course 2: under Blue Police Barricades, over Yellow Traffic Barriers (repeat about 10 times!)

Leg 2:

- 3 mi. run

- Obstacle Course 3: Traffic, Marine Hurdles

- Obstacle Course 4: Cargo Crawl, Monkey Bars

Leg 3:

- 2.75 mi. run

- Obstacle Course 5: Soldier Field Stair Climb (total of 866 stairs!!)

- Obstacle Course 6: over Cabs, Bus, The Wall

Before the race I was flat out nervous. With running races there's no specific point that judges your fitness level. If you need to, you just run a little slower or walk.... no big deal. But on this course I was challenged to do things I've never done before- things I wasn't sure I could handle. With some dirt, grunting and help from complete strangers I was able to complete each obstacle, along with the 9+ mile run. I hopped hurdles higher than my head, climbed stairs when my muscles were screaming and scaled a wall before running to the finish. This race ROCKED with its intensely challenging course and fun atmosphere. Everyone should do this race!

Final results (not that they matter at all!):

Overall Time: 1:59:49
Leg 1: 35:35
Leg 2: 41:10
Leg 3: 43:05
Climb: 22:03
Division Place: 69/109

Our team regrouped at the finish line before grabbing some food and seizing awesome photo opportunities!

After a quick shower at the hotel I said goodbye to my new friends and headed out to explore Chicago on my own! I ended up walking 12 miles over the course of 4.5 hours before I had to leave for my flight. I was so tired!

The infamous bean (and photo of yourself looking at it) was my last stop. By this time my legs had traveled more than 21 miles outside and I was exhausted. I snapped one photo and said to myself, "good- NOW I can go home!"

This trip was fantastic. I loved exploring the vast city of Chicago, making new relationships and competing in such a challenging course. Definitely one of my favorite weekends :)

Next up: Ironman in SIX days!!

Have you competed in a race with obstacle courses? What is your craziest physical challenge?