A New Kind of Running Experience: Run to Escape Launches This Week!

I received entry into the Run to Escape: Mission Mt. Olympus as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.

So we've all been doing this "New Normal" thing awhile now, yeah? We've all changed the way we work, socialize, exercise, basically everything over the past year plus. And while I know races have been doing the best that they can as far as offering Virtual options to keep us motivated to still get out there and pound out the miles, really, all the innovation has been up to the individual runners to make things fun for themselves. You know I've been the champ at that with creative routes, coming up with my own special challenges, hosting live events for friends and so on, but even I have gotten to the point where I am tired of more of the same.

But finally, I've found something truly new: a brand new, immersive running experience where you embark on an epic adventure to test your wits and your fitness. Think running paired with escape room style logic puzzles and that will give you a good idea of what the new Run To Escape experience is. 

Run to Escape is launching their first (of hopefully many) missions: Mission Mt. Olympus. The storyline in a nutshell (without spoilers) is that the Greek goddess Atalanta, the goddess of running is trying to become the 13th Olympian and take a seat on Mt. Olympus. The current 12 Olympians are making her complete challenges to prove her worth, and she has chosen a mortal (you) to help her complete 6 challenges from Olympians who would deny her bid. 

Atalanta, goddess of running and who you'll help claim a place on Mt. Olympus

HOW IT WORKS
(from the Run to Escape webpage here: https://www.runtoescapeseries.com/)

"Run to Escape: Mission Mt. Olympus, presented by Runkeeper™, is a first-of-its-kind, virtual experience that mixes running with the clues, codes, and explosive popularity of escape rooms. For those seeking a more immersive, fulfilling virtual experience, Run to Escape is an addictive blend of motivation, dopamine, entertainment, and endorphins."

Basically, once you register for the mission, you will get an email from Hermes with all the details that you need to get started. You'll need to download RunKeeper if you don't have it already, and through the email link, you will send your mission to your RunKeeper account where it will be waiting for you when you are ready in the Races tab. You then download the race audio and press Track Race Now. As you run (or walk) you will hear audio cues when you reach certain distance markers that will guide your challenge. Because of this, the experience is only available to those physically moving for the challenge, so no treadmills. It is highly recommended that you use some sort of headphones so you hear the clues clearly while you run. I use Aftershoks (see pic to the left) so I can hear not only the clues, but also have the benefit of hearing all of the surrounding noises around me like traffic and so on. Safety first, yo!

Each of the 6 challenges is presented by a different Greek god and Hermes acts as the official messenger (as expected) and sends emails with important information before and after each challenge. I've only done 1 challenge so far, but it was really fun listening to the audio and over the course of 5K, I want to say I got 4 messages in addition to the introduction message that played about a minute after I first hit go. 

I don't want to give away any spoilers but I completed my first mission on Sunday and well, let's see if you can guess which of the Greek gods was the one to sponsor my challenge by my post run celebratory picture. It was good luck that I chose to start and finish my 5K at a brewery is all I am going to say. But doing the challenge was really neat. There was a nice gentle harp sound that played right before the audio did both to keep from startling you and to give you a moment to pay attention to the information that was given. And no worries if you missed hearing something, when you finish your miles, Hermes sends you an email with the challenge information including the audio recordings in case you need to hear them again. If if you are really stumped, there are also hints. When you solve the clue, you enter the answer into the registration page on your Race Roster page (there will be a link emailed to you also) and if you are correct, you will get the next mission emailed to you. 

I am pleased to say I solved the first challenge and have received the info for my 2nd, which I plan to complete tomorrow morning. I plan to do another update on the series as a whole once I complete all 6 missions, which should be by the end of the month. So stay tuned! And if you have any questions, feel free to comment below or DM me on any of my socials. I am @runnerdgirl on Insta, Twitter and FB if you don't follow me already. 

If you think this sounds fun and you want to try out this brand new running experience, you can learn more about it here: https://www.runtoescapeseries.com/ The registration hasn't quite gone live yet (as of this blog post going live that is), it opens up on Wednesday, April 21, but you can enter your email address in to get notified as soon as it goes live. And, when it does, I have a discount code to sweeten the deal. Used code BIBRAVE10 when you do register to save 10% off entry. 

In addition to the fun, immersive storyline and experience, the mortals who embark on this quest will have lots of opportunities to win really cool prizes from Run to Escape partners like Aftershokz, Knockaround, BibRave, RunKeeper and others. Serious, I know I keep saying I do not want to spoil anything, but I saw one of the upcoming prizes and let's just say I really really hope I am eligible to win. Cause WOW! 

And lastly, let me leave you will a little challenge to whet your whistle. See if you can solve the riddle below. If you can, you're totally ready to embark on Mission Mt. Olympus! 

Women's Half Marathon - Rock Hill Edition

By now, you've learned that I love any excuse for a party. Like I am literally game for about anything. So when I was asked about hosting another live event for a virtual race, I was totally in. This time, I hosted a Women's Virtual Half Marathon event. 

So there were a couple of things that appealed to me about this event.

1. The event celebrates ladies. Not saying that men were not welcome to join in, but hey, ladies celebrating ladies is an awesome thing. Of course I wanted to gather my girl squad together for this race!
   
   
2. The race benefitted Girls on the Run. Love GotR! I typically volunteer at their local races here in Rock Hill but due to the whole Covid thing, there haven't been any GotR races, so this was another way to throw some support their way.
   
   
3. The SWAG for this race was NEXT LEVEL! I'm talking $100+ worth of cool stuff including tech shirt, Bondi Band, adorable medal with detachable charm, reusable shop bag, Ultima Replinsher powders and sunscreen. Some really cool stuff. Everything was really brightly colored and everyone received a different Bondi Band so it was fun to see everyone's. (Fun fact: my daughter has already stolen mine)

Next level SWAG

About 15 of us registered for either the 5K or the 10K cause options are awesome and welcoming for every level. I am still on injured reserve or I'd have done the Half (next year). I was registered for the 10K, cause I'm totally fine with walking 6.2 miles. You could even do double and triple play events to earn multiple medals.

For the race day event, I came up with some scenic routes in downtown Rock Hill and gathered supplies for a finish line party on our race day of April 10. The official race dates were the 10th and 11th. The weather was a bit damp, but another beauty of a Virtual is that you can play with the time. 2 ladies decided to do their races the day before to stay dry and 1 was out of the area so she did hers solo but posted on our FB event page. We had coffee, donut holes, Ultima, water and bananas to celebrate after. 

And since I was technically RD for my event and manning the finish line I went out the next morning to put in my 10K at my favorite local trail. Again, Virtual Races = Flexibility.

My solo 10K the next morning

I was very impressed with everything about this Virtual Race. As far as the race management, they were super communicative and supportive. If you tagged them on social media, they always commented. They had a Facebook group for the event that encouraged lots of posting and even had photo tags to decorate your pictures. They held several giveaway events, one of which I won a visor. A friend of mine also won a visor as well so that was cool. One of the ladies was missing something out of her packet and sent them a message and it was immediately resolved. You could tell that they really cared about their racers. 

It was a great event and I'd for sure do it again. I am not sure what next year will hold, whether the event will go live or stay virtual, but either way, I would highly recommend this one. 

A Few Photos From Race Day

*You may have noticed, no disclaimer at the top of this one like many of my other race reviews. As a BibRave Pro, I get lots of great opportunities to run cool races for free in exchange for my honest opinion. This was not one of those opportunities. This race was one I chose to register personally for. Just thought I should mention that so there was no confusion. 

An Inside Look: Ready.Set.MOVE Box Subscription

"Disclaimer: I received the Winter Ready.Set.MOVE. Box to use and review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

If you are like me, you are all the time getting ads on your socials about different subscription boxes. They have them for everything now, books, food, beauty items, geeky things, sporty things, pretty much endless things! If you love something, you can get a blind box of it delivered right to your door. Well, if you know me (and if you are reading this blog, I assume you do) then you know that I love running gear. So I had been curious about the Ready.Set.MOVE boxes for a while. So when I had the opportunity to check out a few for myself, I was so IN!

What is the Ready.Set.MOVE. Box?

Ready.Set.MOVE is a quarterly subscription box created for those passionate about moving toward their fitness goals. Each box is filled with industry-leading products, always valued at $100+, that can be used during workouts and training. Boxes are curated quarterly and cost $49.99 each but you can save $20 by signing up for the whole year ($179.99 total). They ship out in January, April, July, and October.

I received the 2021 Winter box that was shipped to subscribers in January. You can start your subscription any time and when you do, you will be sent the current box and then fall into the regular shipping schedule. There are select numbers of the past season's boxes available on their website as well to order. They also offer occasional special holiday boxes for special occasions like Valentine's Day and Women's History Month. These specialty boxes are not a part of the subscriptions, but are optional added bonuses you can choose to purchase if you want. 

What was Inside? 

1. The Original SPIBelt
2. SPIbeams LED Hat
3. LaColombe Triple Draft Latte
4. Bracoo Calf Compression Sleeves
5. KT Tape Recovery+ Pain Relief Gel Roller
6. KT Tape Sample Pack
7. Floyd's of Leadville Mini Full Spectrum Lavender Blend CBD Balm
8. Floyd's of Leadville Single Pack Protein, Vanilla
9. Floyd's of Leadville Single Pack Protein, Chocolate
10. Trigger Point Nano LTE Foot Roller
11. Nuun Sport Fruit Punch Tube
12. Nathan Sports HyperBrite Strobe
13. Brooks Croakie
14. Brooks Greenlight Headband
15. Honey Stinger Honey Waffle
16. Honey Stinger Honey Organic Fruit Smoothie Gel
17. A pack of really cool Stickers 

17 ITEMS!! That's a ton of stuff in one box. And you know what, I used every single item. Which is a fear that has always kept me for ordering boxes like this, but no fear here, everything in there was super useful. And, I felt that there was a really great mix of items I knew and loved, items that I was curious about but never quite tried before and items I'd never heard of.

If you are curious about how I used and felt about each item in the box, I did a "Item of the Day" on my Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/runnerdgirl 

Here's a sort of highlight list though, based on a few commonly asked questions:

What is your favorite item?
Hard question, cause there is a lot of neat things in here that I use a lot, but probably have to go with the SPIbeams LED Hat. It's just so useful! I've worn it a ton since receive it. Way more comfortable than a headlamp and perfect for running right before sunrise where you can easily turn it off with a click of the brim when the sun comes up and you no longer need light. 

What is an item you've heard of and never tried but wanted to?

I have heard of CBD balms before, but never tried them. And ironically, it turned out to be something I really needed! I recently had a minor surgery to excise a basal cell carcinoma form my forearm. Y'all they cut out like half my arm I swear! 11 stitches. And there is a nasty looking scar left behind. Anyway, my PT mentioned that CBD balms are great on those kind of wounds and help reduce pain, swelling and scarring. I had no idea. So it's been getting a lot of use!

What is an item that you never heard of before?

I had no idea that KT tape made a pain relief gel. And I've used KT tape products for YEARS (crap knees, yo). That was an awesome find and I love it. Easy to apply and feels amazing on sore muscles.

What is an item that you've used before and love?

Honey Stinger gels are my go-to fuel while on long runs. I love them, and fruit smoothie is one of my favorite flavors so I was super stoked to see that in there.

Was there anything in the box you never would have bought for yourself but was glad it was included?

The Trigger Point NanoLTE foot roller is amazing and something I never ever would have splurged on myself. It now lives under the desk in my home office and I use it a lot during the day. It feels amazing!

Bottom line, I am super excited to receive the next box, which should be coming to me soon. I'm already excited by seeing some of the Spring box product reveal post on Ready.Set.MOVE.'s Instagram page (here if you are curious: https://www.instagram.com/readysetmovebox) 

Interested in receiving quarterly goodies for yourself from Ready.Set.MOVE.? Need a bit of extra incentive? You can order a yearly subscription and use discount code BibRave10 for $10 off the first box for all first-time subscribers! Subscribe here: https://p3rstore.com/collections/subscription-box/products/subscription-box