For those that don’t get enough of a kick anymore from your garden variety road race or trail run, Roanoke City Parks and Recreation offered a new twist last weekend: the Radical Runabout 5K. Centered in Fallon Park, the 3.1-mile (5k) race, which took in part of the Tinker Creek Greenway in Southeast Roanoke as well, also featured a series of obstacles – 11 in all – interspersed at spots along the course.
How about something called the “Roller Derby,” where runners had to pause in order to roll large plastic barrels around a paved loop. Elsewhere they had to jump or climb over large wooden spools normally used for industrial wiring or crawl on all fours under plastic netting. They also had to start the race by running up and down a series of short, steep hills along Dale Avenue.
“Really Tired” meant hopping through a stretch of car tires – like the football agility drill – while “Splash n Dash” meant filling up a large bucket with water. The catch there: the smaller buckets used to fill the larger one had small holes in the bottom, meaning it leaked. Thus the faster someone ran over to fill the larger bucket, the less water they lost in transit and the fewer times they went back for a refill
Joe Hanning and Paul Chapman from the city’s parks and rec. department put Radical Runabout together and spent last Saturday morning setting up the obstacles in Fallon Park and on the Tinker Creek greenway. Hanning, hired by the city last year to focus on outdoor events, said 185 people signed up for the first-ever Radical Runabout.
“I was surprised at the enthusiasm of some of the people there,” said Hanning, who helped put together the Roanoke 100 Miler program earlier in the year and will now work on the second “Outdoor Circus,” coming later this fall. Hanning noted that they didn’t ask people to come in costumes, but some did – including the shirtless guy in the ballerina tutu. “I think they really had a good time with it,” noted Hanning.
Apparently there are several series of “extreme races,” out there, for those looking beyond the “straight” road or trail race. One Radical Runabout participant was sporting a Tough Mudder t-shirt and had just completed a race that included running up a black diamond ski trail at Wintergreen. Warrior Dash is another extreme race series that includes obstacles.
Participant Navege Alexis Evans said the race “was more about endurance than speed. At some points you could go for it [but with the obstacles] it was, just get through it. I’ve done a lot of flat races – this was a lot of hills.” Williams said she would “definitely” do the Runabout again or a similar race if another one was offered.
Hanning said Radical Runabout was a kinder, gentler version of the extreme concept. When he interviewed for his current position, Hanning, who came from Ohio, declared that, “Roanoke is primed for an obstacle race.” From that conversation came Radical Runabout – no jumping through fire or crawling under barbwire however, as with some other extreme obstacle races.
Radical Runabout was also aimed at a larger age group range and people at various fitness levels. “We had ten year olds out there doing it,” added Hanning. The winning time was 23 minutes-plus, which is slow for a 5K, but then there were those obstacles to get through, under and around.
Will Radical Runabout return? “I would hope so,” said Hanning, “we’d love to have it back.”
