Men’s Health Urbanathlon

This was my first year doing the Urbanathlon and I will definitely be going back next year. I had never heard about it before and a friend finally convinced me to register. Having a couple marathons and halfs under my belt, I knew the running wasn’t going to be an issue (i did the classic distance, 11.2 miles) however, I had never ran with obstacles before and wasn’t sure what to expect.
A significant part of the course was running. We started at AT&T park, up the Embarcadero and up to Coit Tower, did a loop and came back. Most of the obstacles were on the second half of the course, Nonce of the obstacles were too intimidating except for the one towards the end where you have to climb the wall with nothing but a rope (it was the very last obstacle before the finish line). I didn’t get much time to train for this, but it ended up going well. I should mention they have alternate ways of going about the more challenges obstacles. For example, they have a ladder you can climb if you cant prop yourself up with the rope (which is nice because you have people of varying fitness levels).
I have to say, the obstacles were more fun than tiring (although make no mistake, I was tired after). The obstacle give you a nice break from running as well as a sense of accomplishment when you pass them. My absolute favorite was the taxi cabs. I never knew how much I needed jumping over taxi cabs in my life! The close second was climbing a net up on top of a school bus and then going down the other side. BUT, you also get to run the stairs at AT&T park (I didn’t even know that was on my bucket list until now) The run is along the Embarcadero and through Fort Mason with idyllic San Francisco views as the sun is going up. I like that the event starts so early. I had the whole day ahead of me after the event and got a great workout all before the time I would regularly be waking up. Thanksgiving will be guilt free after this race.
I will definitely be back next year!

Do it! It was my 1^st time doing this race. I thought overall it was well organized & well staffed throughout the event. I liked that there were opportunities for free photos along with purchasing photos online which are not cheap though. The beer garden was fun after the race — chatting with other finishers. My advice aside from signing up is to know ahead of time what kinds of obstacles you will have & the glorious hills… and train for it! That way you can enjoy the beer garden ;) Look at the blogs online that give you advice, I won’t try to give my own. Also dress for how warm it will be… not the temperature it is at the start, you will warm up once you get moving. I’ll be back for more in 2015!

I ran this race as a fun way to end the season. I don’t spend a lot of time in the gym, so I knew some of the obstacles would be tough. Still, it’s 11 miles of running, something that the cross fitters and body builders seemed to have forgotten in prepping for the race. I felt sorry for them as they walked up the hills hunched over like Quasimodo. That last wall climb almost did me in. Still, it’s a fun, well organized event. Everybody was smiling and having a good time which is the point. Well done Menshealth magazine!

My 2^nd time doing the SF Men’s Health Urbanathlon and a good course before the year comes to an end.
I had a great time from start to finish and did a whole lot better compared to last year. I didn’t burn out during that last stretch of running like before and cramp up. I’m glad this time I beat my time and finished strong. Didn’t really train much since just did the SF half marathon about 3 weeks prior.
There were some tweaks to the routes and obstacles this time.
The walk the line beam didn’t require you to hold a tire over your head.
There was one where you crawl under 2 Volkswagon that didn’t really seem like an obstacle and must of been kind of hard for the bigger folks.
The most difficult parts I thought is the cilmb up Coit tower especially those first 2 hills. After the first hill and you make a left and surprised with a even steeper hill.
The second challenging one is that last 4 miles or so of running along the Embacadero towards ATnT where the stairs of the ball park are waiting for you.
The climb up to the top of ATnT and going up and down the stairs inside the ball park is tough but quite a scene to take in as you’re staring out the empty stadium with the sun shining felt kind of epic.
Really grateful for all the volunteers and people working the event cheering on, encouraging, which was motivating and helpful as I needed that extra push in the end too.
Post Race
Finisher medal placed over your neck by a volunteer after the finish line.
So glad for the massage therapists that help stretch out your legs at the Equinox tent.
Used my free beer ticket inside the beer garden for a can of Tecate to celebrate a good finish.
Took some fun pics at the booths around. My favorite is the one with you on the cover of Men’s Health magazine that I can trick friends with.
All in all a good time and can’t wait to do it again in 2015

It was a good run, but a lot of things were crappy about it. First, let’s get the good stuff out of the way. The Urbanathlon is certainly tougher than your average half marathon, and way less douchy than your average mud run. It isn’t completely about overall fitness as you might think (more on that later), but it does add some extra excitement to the monotony of just running for such an extended period of time. It was also the easiest packet pickup ever (we had a three nickels, enough for six minutes on a meter — we made it back to the car with two minutes to spare); this is a big one for me, as I HATE the usual sales-​convention-​traps that organized runs typically call «packet pickup expos».
Still, a few glaring flaws with this run… Let us begin the scatherizing…
For starters, the SWAG. Everybody wants a bag of SWAG for their runs. It’s just that little something to make you feel better. Those little packets of protein, those random coupons for sports stores, those energy shots and gels, those polyester running shirts. Not the case here. Instead, we got exactly two things: a coupon for a free trial membership to TRX training (which they give you anyway if you ask nicely) and a 100% cotton shirt. Seriously?! Cotton?! You know who wears cotton while running?! Amateurs and people with no nipples, that’s who! Not to mention that the shirt was pretty much blatant trademark infringement. It had a giant «RUN THIS CITY» in it, in an all-​too-​familiar bold block font. Sound familiar? It’s because Nike’s been using a «RUN THIS TOWN» motto for their runs and products forever. And no, Nike was not a sponsor. Then there’s the fact that the shirts weren’t even city specific. I get it, it’s an event that is held across multiple cities. But a generic shirt for all three cities is whack. Also, the distance for SF came out to 11.9 miles, so a shirt saying «10 miles» is a bit disappointing. I worked for the extra 1.9, dammit.
Okay, I’m really hung up on the shirt thing. Let’s move on to the race itself. When I signed up, I was expecting an «overall fitness» type of event. Hardly the case. The winners are almost certainly going to be the runners. With only ten obstacles (two of them being simply running up inclines/​stairs), there isn’t nearly enough for somebody to go in with a «I’m going to make up my time during the obstacles» mindset and be competitive. Not to mention, there are lines for many of the obstacles anyway, so if you want to pull a decent time, you have to be willing to cut like I did. Messed up, but fat people don’t have feelings anyway, so whatever. And even IF none of the above was true, the obstacles themselves were a joke. «Hurdles» were a foot or so off the ground, making them ideal for a competition with your average leprechaun. No obstacle (minus the previously-​mentioned incline runs/​stairs) took longer than 30 seconds to finish, even if you moved pretty slowly. That’s pathetic.
Then there’s the fact that the run took place only along one major portion of the city (Embarcadero), and they couldn’t even lock THAT down completely! That’s just sad. There was another event for old people taking place along a portion of the route, and it was annoying trying to dodge their old, slow, bodies to keep up my pace.
All in all, it Urbanathlon was a good challenge, but fell way short of expectations as an event. I figured with the backing of Men’s Health magazine, there would be sufficient resources to make this event perfect. Sadly not the case. I would sign up again if the event was held closer (Los Angeles? San Diego?), but would not go out of my way again to run this race.

Want to test your fitness? Then Men’s Health Urbanathlon is up your alley!
10 Obstacles and a total of 11.3 miles. Starting & finishing at Lot D of AT&T park. 6 hydration stations. Running to Coit tower, along embarcadero and to Fort Mason then along back embarcadero with marine hurdles, police barricades along the way. Here is the breakdown of how it went down:
1^st obstacle: Police Barricades/​Jersey Barricades
2^nd obstacle: Black & Yellow Poles/​Fence Crawl
3^rd obstacle: Coit Tower Climb
4^th obstacle: Fiat Marine Hurdles & Balance Beam/​Tire Carry
5^th obstacle: Over Under Through
6^th obstacle: Tires/​Pallets
7^th obstacle: Black & Yellow Poles/​Camo Net Crawl
8^th obstacle: AT&T Park Stair Climb
9^th obstacle: Monkey Bars/​Parallel Bars
10^th obstacle: Finish Sequence (going over 4 taxi cabs, and going over a bus with a net that you have to climb over and down followed by a 8 foot wall you have to clear)
The hill run to Coit tower was challenging. Many folks were winded and the hill run was long and steep. I’ve ran hills before and continue to so this part was not as hard as it was for others. I witnessed people vomiting on their way up the hill because it was difficult to do. The next obstacles weren’t so hard but you did have to wait a little bit for your turn to come around. The Hurdles were pretty high and I’m 5’6″ so if you’re shorter than myself then you will have trouble. 20 burpee penalty for not doing any obstacles. Running back from Fort Mason was challenging. Most I’ve ever ran was 10 miles beforehand and my legs were starting to feel it. By the time I got to AT&T park my calves were feeling it. How many times can you run through AT&T park?! Especially if you’re a HUGE GIANTS fan!!! The stairs were a challenge because your legs are tired from all the running and it is a workout! I almost cramped up as I got to the parallel bars and I witnessed people collapse to the ground due to cramping. At the end I finished 2 hours and 9 minutes. Which I had accomplished my goal to do it under 2:30.
Lots of goodies at the event at the end! Taking pictures and them giving out awards and samples and massages. It was a great day! I’m interested on doing the ones n New York and Chicago! It is a great experience! a true test to your cardio and fitness. CrossFit has definitely helped me and prepared me for this! I can check this off my list! Give this Urbanathlon a try! You’ll be drained but feel good at the end!
Stay healthy my friends! Bring out your inner BEAST!

SO… want to know what I’ve been up too? Just embarked my last race of the year and I’m not going to lie it was challenging and tough. I only trained for two months which was basically running and core work outs, I recommend to train if you plan on entering the race.
Men’s Health Urbanathlon is a 11.2 mile race with 10 marine core obstacles. The race starts off across the street from AT&T park through the Embarcadero to Coit tower then onto the piers which lead into the marina by the entrance of Crissy fields. The turn about starts from Crissy fields all the way back to the ball park.
You are probably all wondering what was the hardest course:
For me:
1. 1 mile of running up to Coit tower-​left me winded, I am a runner but damn them hills are killer. For those of you who don’t know, Coit tower is the highest point in SF.
2. Marine hurdles– I am 5’1 and the walls were pretty high. First of all you if you can’t hop over the wall you get thrown into the penalty box oh and you cannot have anyone help you. Plus there is a man yelling at everyone to hurry up and hawking you. This is were the core exercises helped me, to lift my own body up.
3. Holding a tire on the balance beam. I’ve stopped crossfit for a while, and heavy weights so balancing that out and not falling is challenging, especially with other people on the beam.
4. AT&T park, that was already mile 9? my calves were on fire! So running up and down the park is a killer but hey I sucked it up.
As for the rest of the courses, I want to say it was cake only because I trained. If you look at the videos of the bus and taxi obstacle-​you have to climb over it, btw-​that was easy for me!
Definitely crossed off my bucket list. I finished strong even then I got a beat down. Literally my legs are bruised and every inch of my body is sore. It was totally worth it. If you are interested in challenging yourself, I would like to say Men’s Urbanathlon is the one race, you won’t regret. #BEAST

This was the first year we had the Men’s Health Urbanathlon locally. What attracted me to doing this was the fact that mud wasn’t involved. I did the research and went to their site and saw that it was all pavement, with obstacles. There is nothing worse than seeing runners on a mud run with mud on their legs, when they obviously have not hit any mud pit yet. I know this, from doing multiple marathons and half-​marathons, that some runners tend to shart (fart + shit = shart) their shorts, knowingly or un-​knowingly, and you can tell by the dookie stains on their inner legs or the caked brownie frosting running down their legs all the way down to their ankles. You are then plagued with the thoughts that you have to share the mud pit with them later. How many other runners Hershey Squirted their drawls and got into the mud pit before you did? So, there you are at the end of a mud run, layered in a combination of dirt, water, sand, and doodoo. Some of it in your eyes, and possibly your mouth.
Thank you Urbanathlon for not including mud.
This was «Men’s» Health Urbanathlon, but ladies were free to sign-​up and join. There is also the option of paying a little less by splitting the cost 3 ways with two of your friends, who are also in considerably less shape than the strong individuals such as myself, to help you in a relay by also splitting the race into 3. Weak.
Anyways, the running is tough. It’s San Francisco, and the way to the first obstacle was towards the hill where Coit Tower is, I think. I didn’t see it. F@ck that is a steep-@ss climb. I drank the night before so I was glad there was water at the top. They also offered Gatorade, since they were a sponsor, but I tried to stay away from it since it’s too damned sweet. Only sissies want sugary water.
There was an obstacle that involved jumping over plastic traffic dividers and then crawling underneath cargo nets. This is where I would recommend you bring some sort of hand protection, like full gloves or weightlifting gloves, since some of this crap is dirty. You will be placing your hands where other people dripped sweat and spit. I might possibly consider thin knee protection, too, since their is A LOT of crawling.
There is some running through tire crap. Then more running. Then a switch off for the weak@sses to trade off with their relay partner. Then you gott climb up these bars that are like 7 – 8 feet high. This is where all the girls that were busting their asses off running faster than me gave me a chance to pass them up. All those upper-​body workouts only at the gym paid off. Almost every girl struggled with the crawling over wall stuff. There is a Jeep sponsored part where you crawl under nice clean 4 door Wranglers right after.
There is also a parallel bar part where you have to inch your way forward. I passed up 2 girls here, they kept falling.
Then Monkey bars, where my monkey arms helped me pass even more people up as I was able to skip bars. Followed by another parallel bar.
Then, more running.
The toughest part was the stairs. You run up stairs to get to the upper deck of AT&T park. Then you run zig and zag up and down 4 – 5 sets of stairs (I lost count as I was busy trying to pass more people up). The stairs are like arthritis stairs, and if you’re tall enough you can easily skip every other step. (My right shin is hella sore still, 2 days after as that right leg is my launching leg).
Then more running along the Embaracdero to that stupid grade they ALWAYS include in every SF run. The McDowell Grade. This is the perfect opportunity to pass a few more people up, as it evens up and then gives you a nice downhill to sprint to the finish where a cargo net over buses, hopping over taxis, crawling under chain-​link, and hopping a final wall to the finish.
I got a little dirty and muddy on my hands under the chain-​link crawl. I got water and a fruity protein gatorade that I just threw away. It was too girly for my taste as I had just finished a MEN’S HEALTH Urbanathlon. I got a Medal and 2 free beers (Asahi).
The free shirt was tight fitting, I normally wear Medium but should have gotten a Large. It’s Hanes version of the American Apparel fit. The gear bag is much nicer than other races that offer one.
I took the fold-​out cologne samples from the multiple magazines laying around and rubbed them on my sweat-​drenched shirt. F@ck showers.