Honey Stinger Contest Winners; Leadville Trail Video Mojo

Well, that was entertaining.

Thanks very much to everyone who entered the Honey Stinger contest and suggested sports for future consideration into the Olympic Games.  As the entries came in and I returned to scroll through the list a few times, the suggestions naturally segregated into a few distinct categories.

The first category is legitimate and/or somewhat mainstream sports that really do make you wonder: If sports like golf, water polo, and beach volleyball are included, why shouldn’t these other ones be?  If there’s any argument to be made against sports like lacrosse, baseball /softball (which were once there, but now are not), cross country, and even roller derby, I’d love to hear it.

In the middle lies the fringe category of activities that initially seem more like hobbies or niche skill sets than real sports … but considering that shooting, fencing, and table tennis are included, maybe they’re not so far-fetched.  Are events like kickball, skateboarding, dodge ball, hopscotch, pogo sticking, boomerang throwing, Frisbee golf or ultimate Frisbee really that different than the ones already included?  Their case for inclusion is strengthened even further (among Americans, at least) when you consider that most of these are playground games that American kids are still playing long after their Russian or Chinese counterparts have been sent away to gymnastics or diving academies, so maybe this is one way for the US to increase its medal haul.  Then again, maybe that’s precisely the reason they haven’t been included yet.

And then we had the purely “no way in heck” list of games that were completely preposterous, but made me smile just at the thought of them.  Cup stacking, milk chugging, catfish noodling (for the uninitiated, that means catching them with your bare hands), thumb wrestling, slip ‘n’ slide, staring, synchronized bowling … any of these would be surreal to watch.

Having said all that, we need to announce our winners.  BE, Steven Peterson, and Yo Momma Runs, e-mail me your contact info – you’ve won the sampler packs.  As previously mentioned, thanks very much to everyone else who entered, and especially to Honey Stinger for sponsoring the contest.

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I indicated yesterday that with less than two weeks remaining until I'm on the start line at Leadville, it’s probably time for me to start collecting my thoughts about the race.  I’m not quite there yet, but one thing I have been doing to build my mojo is browsing some YouTube videos that feature the race – and the one that follows is clearly one of the best. 

The clip was made by Salomon Running, who have also produced the brilliant Kilian’s Quest video series for the past couple of years.  This piece profiles Ryan Sandes, the Salomon runner who won Leadville in 2011, but also does a great job of capturing both the challenge and the allure of the event.  (In a sad side note, it also features a cameo from the late Micah True, AKA Caballo Blanco.)  I dare you to watch it and tell me you're not compelled to take part in some aspect of the Leadville race, or at least a little more appreciative of the metaphysical appeal of this crazy sport of ultrarunning.  

“Salomon Team – Leadville Trail 100 Miles” (click to play):

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