A new vibe is taking place in the running world. If you haven’t yet noticed, running is getting more colorful, even a little dirtier. Mud runs, obstacle runs, color runs, and now the latest, a glow run, are changing the landscape of foot races. The first series of Glow Run 5Ks are set to take place this summer in the heart of the plains.

Steve Blew is the race director for the Glow Run 5K. He refers to these races as his “baby.” Currently the Glow Run is scheduled to take place in three locations, Kansas City, Wichita, and Omaha. The races take place at night and are being billed as a one-of-a-kind experience. The course is described as an event that will light up the night with things like a sixty foot black light tunnel, laser light shows, and runners who are encouraged to wear as many glow items as they can handle.

Sounds fun, and totally different. Blew explained how he crafted this idea. He referred to many of his friends being into the new trend of Day Glow parties, parties where only black lights are used and glowing paint is splashed all around while a DJ keeps everyone dancing. Apparently the parties become one giant glowing mob. So honestly put, Blew gave his friends the credit for inspiring him.

“The idea came from a group of my freaky friends who are into glow parties.”
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Current media has given us the opportunity to watch so many real-life weight loss journeys in the past several years. From television shows to blogs, there are many willing to let the world watch and be inspired by their stories of weight loss. Coming soon will be a documentary about 12 individuals who lost the weight with the aid of running. Together these 12 will take on a 200 mile Ragnar Relay race in the film, “From Fat to Finish Line.”

Rik, Katie, Mary, Linda, Allison, Jennifer, Andrea, Meredith, Jen S., Lealah, John, and Ada are the members of an extra special group of runners. Everyone on the team has lost 100 pounds or more through running and healthy lifestyle changes. Together, these big losers will take on the 200 mile Ragnar Florida Keys relay in January 2013. Currently, the team is training and beginning the documentary.

Each teammate will be introduced and viewers will learn background on their weight loss journey. The runners have all been very candid prior to the film in one media form or another. Some have become blog celebrities as they have documented their weight loss, others have been on Oprah sharing their struggles, and one member, Ada Wong, was even a finalist on The Biggest Loser. The film will describe how the weight was lost and how it’s been kept off.
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Have you ever watched a marathon run past your house or followed the training of a pavement-pounding friend and thought these individuals are cut from a cloth very different than your own? We’re here to tell you they weren’t. At some point, they were just average joes hoping to get to the end of their first mile without croaking. Their gazelle-like pace as they chase one more finish line only came as the result of a lot of hard work and ignoring people who called them crazy.

We’re excited to turn four more average joes in to runners, to prove that with the right training, the right commitment, and the right support, just about anyone can go after a finish line. Today, we introduce the Prairie Fire Marathon Local Joes class of 2012.

Each year, the Prairie Fire Marathon, held in Wichita, Kansas in October, hosts a team of Local Joes, four non-runners who become so over a course of training that leads them to the starting line and well past the finish. This year, we’re proudly sponsoring this group of new runners, and excited to see their growth physically as much as mentally.

Our team is made of two men and two women who are already pretty active on Twitter and about to become pretty active IRL (in real life), too! Meet our Local Joes:
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Those interested in running now have another reason to lace up their running shoes. A new study from Denmark suggests that taking regular jogs can help extend your life.

The increase in lifespan showed through for both men and women. Women who jogged on a regular basis lived around 5.6 years longer than women who did not. And men who jogged on a regular basis lived about 6.2 years longer than men who did not.

For those who may be wondering, the term ‘regularly’ in this study constitutes jogging between only one and 2.5 hours per week, keeping a slow or average pace. Study researcher Peter Schnohr – chief cardiologist of the Copenhagen City Heart Study – made the statement, “We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity. The good news is that you don’t actually need to do that much to reap the benefits.”
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If you’re a runner, you know that there is quite a hype over relay racing as of late. If you’re not a runner, you’re probably going to want to start after you learn what fun people are having with all the great relay events across the nation. One event in particular is really grabbing the attention of all types of runners. Elites and newbies alike are flocking to the Ragnar series of relay races.

Ragnar relay races are 200 mile overnight relay races completed by a team of 6-12 runners. The first Ragnar was hosted in Utah in 2004 with 280 participants. This year there are 15 events scheduled nationwide with more than 76,000 runners participating. Clearly, this race has something special if it keeps growing and selling out every year.

The races take their names from a ninth century Norse Viking named Ragnar. The founders, Dan Hill and Tanner Bell, named the races Ragnar due to the viking’s adventure-seeking and conquering personality. They simply state, “run one of our races, and you’ll understand.”
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