photo by Matt Roy
On Thursday, December 5th I participated in what was, without a doubt, one of the coolest running events. The race was called Take The Bridge and, if you aren’t familiar with Take The Bridge, let me fill you in:
Take The Bridge is an unsanctioned road race that pops up in different cities. The race happens at night with female and male runners running in separate races. Runners don’t find out the race course until right before the run and, really, there is no specific race course. There are check points you must reach (you get marked at each one) and there is the “taking” of a bridge. How you get from the start line to the check points to the finish line is completely up the runner. Race is timed and the top 3 male and female finishers receive cash prizes.
I found out about this event through my lululemon store. Having heard of the event before (thanks social media!) I was excited about participating in it, either by volunteering for it or running it. I decided to run the event because it felt like it had been a long time since I raced anything just for fun.
The schedule for the event was 7:30pm to 8:30pm bib pickup at a downtown bar (Tomorrowland) with men starting their race at 9:00pm and women starting their race at 9:40pm. I had some theories of the bridge we’d be running based on the start location and estimated distance we’d be running (somewhere between 5K to 5 miles). I was so pumped when I heard it was the Port of Miami bridge as I had never run it before.
I ran with 20 other women and our race was the reverse of the men’s because of the police: our first check point was the bridge and our second check point was a statue near the Perez Art Museum Miami. I had two goals during this race:
Don’t get lost.
Don’t kill your legs ahead of a longer run on Friday.
To achieve goal #1 I kept the runners ahead of me in sight almost the entire time. Due to a lack of lighting by the Perez Art Museum Miami and because I stopped for hugs at the second check point, I ended up losing the person in front of me. There was a point, maybe about 1/3 of a mile away from the finish line, when I GPS’d Tomorrowland because I was disoriented. Thankfully, loud crowds at the finish line made finding my way back easy.
For goal #2 I challenged myself to run at a pace where smiling felt easy. Basically, if I was smiling, I wasn’t dying. After Richmond, I was eager to run a bridge, especially one that would have a pretty incredible view of downtown Miami. Thanks to great weather and my permanently place smile, running the bridge actually felt enjoyable.
photo by Matt Roy
Of the 21 total female runners I finished 16. My watch read 3.53 miles at an 8:24 per mile average. I didn’t get lost and I ran in a way that made my seven miles on Friday morning feel strong.
Goals met. Bridge taken. This race reminded me that I need to get more races in my life.
photo by Keith Montero
Pros:
Getting to see the men start and finish their races. There’s nothing quite like cheering on your fellow runners.
Feeling like a cheer squad and a racer at the same event.
Plenty of support staff on bikes to keep track of runners.
Unsanctioned race definitely adds an element of excitement; I felt like a rebel runner.
Seeing all the running friends I hadn’t seen in a while.
lululemon technical shirt.
The ability to create my own course: I ran along the train tracks and in the grass.
Free beer and food, with options for vegetarians.
Cons:
Not really a con because this is part of the Take The Bridge experience, but I’ll list it here: late start time.
I highly recommend participating in a Take The Bridge event, if they ever come to your city. The run pushed me out of my comfort zone and it was one hell of a good time. For more on Take Thr Bridge, visit their website: https://www.takethebridge.us/.
Next up for me is the MIA5K on Sunday, December 15. To register for the MIA5K, go here: https://www.mia5k.com/