When “fun runs” Cross the Line

Every morning with my cup of coffee I log on and check my e-mail, read the news, and check out Facebook.

As I was scrolling along Facebook, I came across something that caught my eye–not because it was interesting of nature, but because it was appalling to me as a runner.

This is what I saw:

Screen Shot 2014-01-16 at 7.51.00 AM

An X-Rated 5K??!!

Seriously, at what point do fun runs cross the line?

I consider myself an old-school runner and was never into many of the fun runs when they first started coming out but I got the purpose behind them: get people moving. I promoted The Color Run because it’s a fun run that motivates people to do something they might have never done and not feel pressure about a time.

But this? I don’t know what to even call this. Call me conservative, but I have zero desire for a sexy, wild 5k filled with g-strings and honey mud tunnels. A dominatrix dungeon is just not appealing to me.

Maybe it is for some people and that’s who they’re targeting. I brought this up in my Healthy Mom’s group and while most agreed with me on its absurdity, some said that there are people this might be of interest to.

Because I think they knew people like me would question why, the website has a FAQs tab with an answer:
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Why Adult Themed?

Because mud runs are fun, healthy and pleasurable, and sex is fun, healthy and pleasurable, so we thought, why not join the two together? As well as having fun, our underlying message is to promote sex positivity. This is defined as:

an attitude towards human sexuality that regards all consensual sexual activities as fundamentally healthy and pleasurable, and encourages sexual pleasure and experimentation. The sex-positive movement is a social and philosophical movement that advocates these attitudes. The sex-positive movement advocates sex education and safer sex as part of its campaign. The movement makes no moral distinctions among types of sexual activities, regarding these choices as matters of personal preference.”

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I guess I just feel like sending this message could be done in different ways. I feel like themed runs like this are insulting to runners who have been doing the sport for a long time, have devoted hours, months, and years to something they take very serious.

I have trouble calling something like this an actual 5K.

–Tell me what you think. Are themed runs crossing the line?

–or, am I getting too worked up over this?

17 responses

  1. I think of myself as pretty open minded but this is a total turn off to me and can not understand the draw of this. I am curious to see how well it goes over, but I suppose if they are going to host something like this, at least they are doing it in Sin City, which has always been known to push the boundaries a bit. But all in all, this is gross!

  2. Yeah, this is strange. I like 5k fun runs and that’s what got me started with running last year but it was nothing like this! I’d be curious to know how many people they actually get to come to this. I just can’t imagine it being that popular.

  3. I find it just … odd. (Not odd in the quirky way, but odd in the “uhmmm, ok” as I move to the other side of the street kinda way.)

    Perhaps the way to look at it is not a 5K fun run … more a … adult thing … that has some semblance of running. I dunno. Maybe I will go back to … its odd.

    I wonder if they get a free tee-shirt when they register?

  4. Hi – I had to check out your blog after Lauren from Run Salt Run mentioned you in a few posts 🙂
    Frankly I’m shocked this event is actually happening. Aren’t all these fun themed 5ks supposed to promote fitness? But this one clearly says fitness isn’t even a factor. I just wonder who they are really marketing to…

    • Thanks for stopping by!!–Salt’s pretty awesome isn’t she??
      As far as this ridiculousness is concerned, I know no one who would do this so I have no idea who they’re marketing to!

  5. Whoa. I can’t imagine boobs and…stuff just bouncing around everywhere during a 5k! How painful! I agree that this is pretty crazy. One thing I immediately thought of was a race hosted by a very large race timing company near me every year. It’s held on a nudist colony and runners can wear as much (or little) clothes as they want. Women are encouraged to wear a sports bra for obvious reasons. It’s NOT marketed in a sexual way, more in like a “You did WHAT race?!” kind of way. I think that run pulls off the nakedness in a way more tasteful way! And FYI you’ll never see me in one of these races!