Chicagoans Jump Cabs, Climb Walls, Gawk at Challenger (& Make a Mean Hot Dog)

CHICAGO — After running more than 12 miles, climbing football stadium stairs, jumping jersey barriers, leaping over Marine Hurdles, negotiating a scaffolding maze and scaling a wall, you’d think the several thousand folks at the Men’s Health Chicago Urbanathlon would be about ready to call it a day. But a gleaming orange paint job inspired more than a few motoring fans to hang around for a while as they downed water and bananas attempting to recuperate.

Let’s be frank: this is not your average foot race by any means…it’s a bit more interesting. This year’s course started in the heart of Chicago’s Grant Park, snaking through the city, stopping only to conquer another obstacle in the urban streetscape. And just when the finish is in sight, a few drill sergeant types are waiting for you behind two NYC taxis (where the other Urbanathlon is held) that you’re supposed to hurdle before grabbing the rope and scaling a wall…all this after running for the better part of 2 hours. Most folks just got words of encouragement from the beefy gents by the wall, but just in case you needed it, they politely gave a few boosts if you simply didn’t have anything left to climb with. And on the other side of that wall, glory was found as the finish line gleamed in the sun. Suddenly, the beautiful morning along Lake Michigan seemed all the more incredible for hundreds of spent runners.

Some ran it alone, some in teams of coworkers or friends. But everyone came through with an appreciation for the difficulty of the course. Fortunately for them, Dodge had a few treats for them at the finish…not the least of which being a bright orange muscle car that brought a fresh smile to the faces of many weary competitors.

Take a peek at our huge batch of photos from the event after the jump…