Photo by barbara.keyworth.
It doesn’t matter if you’re morbidly obese, a nudist, or a gorilla: there’s a 5K for you out there.
1. Bare Buns Fun Run West – Issaquah, WA
Now in its 19th year, this clothing-optional 5K challenges runners with a dirt course up Tiger Mountain, located outside Seattle. Fraternity Snoqualmie, a family nudist park, sponsors the event, whose tag-line is “Be brave, be tough, beat the mountain in the buff!”
2. Doughnut Run 5K – Ames, IA
The Doughnut Run, put on by the Iowa State University Triathlon Club, rewards participants for eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts at designated stations on the route. Runners earn subtractions from their finish time for each doughnut consumed and successfully held down.
North Carolina State holds a similar run, in which participants must run two miles to a Krispy Kreme store, consume a dozen doughnuts, and run back to the start.
3. Fat Boy 5K – Baton Rouge, LA
The Fat Boy 5K groups runners into three divisions based on weight: Clydesdale, for runners between 200 and 230 pounds, Super Clydesdale, for runners between 231 and 260 pounds, and Ultra Clydesdale, over 260 pounds.
Runners have the option of competing as a team, but members’ combined weight must be at least 650 pounds. The event provides refreshments like doughnuts, chocolate milk, beer, and coke.
4. Fremont 5K and Briefcase Relay – Seattle, WA
Teams of five compete in this 5K relay, passing a briefcase full of canned food from one teammate to the next. The cans are donated to a local non-profit, and participants are encouraged to dress in their own interpretations of “business attire.”
5. Chase the Gorilla Down Argilla 5K – Ipswich, MA
Put on by the Ipswich YMCA, participants in this road race chase a person in a gorilla suit, nicknamed Argy. Argy sticks around after for photos, but the gorilla’s identity is a well-kept secret.
6. Beat Beethoven 5K – various locations
Instead of competing against each other, participants in the Beat Beethoven 5k race against Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony, trying to finish before the last note of the 32-minute piece. The race has has caught on across the US and Canada, and various cities now hold their own versions. The music is piped in along the course or, like in Covington, KY, played by a live orchestra.
Photo by nolaclutterbusters
7. Pajama Run 5K – various locations
Several US cities host pajama runs, nighttime races run in pajamas. Participants tend to get creative with the pajama concept, wearing footie pajamas or nighttime face cream. In Charleston, SC, the race is followed by a pajama party, and benefits cancer research.
8. Red Dress Run – various locations
These runs are put on by chapters of the Hash House Harriers, a social drinking and running club. The events draw both male and female participants, and involve a significant amount of cross dressing, hilarity, and drinking. They’re essentially massive, costumed pub crawls.
The largest Red Dress Run is in New Orleans. About 2,500 people registered for the “three to four” mile run in 2009.
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11 Comments... join the discussion!
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The Beethoven’s my favorite, too, but the whole concept of this weirdness, which I had no idea existed, has really brightened my day. Just when you think there’s nothing new under the sun….
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Great list! I’d love to give the red dress one a run for its money!
The strangest 5k I ever ran in was the Black Rock City 5k, which is held annually at Burning Man. In the spirit of Burning Man, many of the participants are dressed in crazy clothes, and of course there are no water stations or porta potties along the route. It’s just out into the desert and back.
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There was a Hot Chocolate 5k in Chicago a few weeks ago. Fondue, hot chocolate and people running around giving away candy after the race. Ridiculous.
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I know you put together a list of 5k runs, but the Big Sur’s Mud Run (5 miles) is an amazing event that I wish more cities hosted. Check it out at http://www.bigsurmudrun.org/Home_568.htm
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I have run too many boring 5K’s – I need to check out one of these!
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That’s awesome. See, it really is amazing how much running can say about a location and a culture! Who doesn’t want to beat Beethoven now?!?!
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I am not on a mission to find one of these close to me!
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Great list; as a fan of eating and running challenges, I love the idea of combining the two of them. I guess I just love challenges in general, especially if they give cool t-shirts as prizes.
@Adam, you should check out the Muddy Buddy Ride & Run series – it’s held in 13 cities across the US.
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I have done Chase the Gorilla Down Argilla and its a lot of fun, its part of a road race series the YMCAs of the North Shore put on. Its a great series with different distances and several options to choose from. I would suggest to anyone in the Mass area to check out Ymca of the North Shore Road Race Series and see if there is a race for. With the Gorilla I doo have to say that he is on an ATV so he doesn’t get caught. Who knows maybe one year someone will be fast enough.
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