Living History Farm's Race

Over Thanksgiving break I will partake in two seven mile races. One of them was the Living History Farm Race which was last Saturday, the 19^th, in Des Moines. The other one I have not run yet but it will be in Dubuque on Thanksgiving morning.

The Living History Farms race is probably my favorite race to run in out of all of the races I have participated in. This is the second year I have done it and I have enjoyed it both times. The race is truly a cross country course. You experience practically every type of ground to run on. In the beginning of the race you are running on the grass which then turns into cement as you go through a tunnel. The course then turns to gravel and you experience big gravel rocks to run on. This is just the beginning of the seven miles you are about to run.

Once you’re past the three mile mark, you have to cross a creek that has water about knee high. There is an alternate way to go so you don’t get wet but where is the fun in that. This is just the first of the four creeks you will have to cross throughout the race. Next you experience running the hills, which are really a very steep inclines usually by the creeks. There are ropes installed so you can pull yourself up but if they are busy you can grab the trees or crawl up. I had to do all of those things when climbing up several of these hills. Now to top it all off everything is covered with mud so it makes it harder to run through the course. The amount of rain we get that fall depends on how muddy the course will be. Last year it was really muddy which made it even more fun. When you end up finishing the race you’re covered with mud and your shoes and legs are soaked with water. By November the weather is usually in the 40’s and in the morning when the race is held, it’s even colder. Jumping into the water when it’s only thirty degrees out is not an ideal thing. By the end of the race, I usually have lost feeling in my legs and hands because of the cold. This year though it wasn’t as cold out which I am very thankful for.

Running the race in normal athletic wear is hard enough but the majority of the participants wear costumes. These costumes can range from men wearing dresses to people dressed up as Lego men. I even saw Santa and his reindeer attached together by string like a sled. There are also the men who show a little too much skin for people eyes. This year my sister and I dressed up as super heroes with bright yellow caps and funky neon knee high socks.

The Living History Farm race is really popular in Iowa. When registration went out the race filled up in about a week, for a total of about 7,500 people. You can see all these people when you’re running because if you look back there is just a long pack that keeps coming and then in front of you there is also another long line of people.

When running the race you get to experience memories that you will look back on and laugh about. For example who can say that they have been dragged up a creek cliff in the mud by some unknown man in a costume? So if you like to run or even a slow jog you should register because you will really get a feel of a true cross country course.