In this June 17, 2012 photo, Kaitlin Karalunas of Pittston comes down the home stretch of the Warrior Dash at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Virtually overnight, obstacle courses have become a favorite diversion of thrill-seekers and weekend warriors. (AP Photo/Scranton Times & Tribune, Melissa Evanko)MICHAEL RUBINKAM
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) – More than 10,000 people trekked to northeastern Pennsylvania to scale walls, leap fire and crawl commando-style through a mud pit topped with barbed wire.
Willingly. For kicks. And they paid money to do it.
That’s obstacle course racing for you: grueling, mud-spattered and, to its legions of fans, addictive fun.
In only a few years, obstacle courses have become a favorite diversion of thrill-seekers and weekend warriors, with hundreds of events around the country that require participants to go up, over, under and through to the finish line.