“The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear.” — U2, I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
I'm a big fan of a website called ridiculo.us, an online community dedicated to the encouragement, development, and execution of ridiculous ideas. I first learned of them from their campaign to fake a marathon. That’s right. People all over the world (including me and Kim) took and shared pictures of themselves stretching, running, and finishing a marathon. They were decked out in official race t-shirts and bib numbers. The only catch is that the race was 100% fake.
Here is a slideshow of our experience running "the greatest race that never was."
Kim was intent on wearing eye black. I don't know why.
She had some help from Lucy, who provided moral support and coaching.
Ben, on the other hand, seemed content to play the role of little devil on the shoulder. Here he his tempting Kim to take a little break.
I chose a more unorthodox race day preparation routine.
Perhaps you have heard of the Iron Man Triathlon? Well, I am convinced that it’s a race for wimps, particularly compared to the Run Free Race, which we ran in temps that felt like -4º. It may not have been the best choice for a first marathon.
Despite Ben’s best attempts, Kim was well-prepared and ran a strong race. Here she is at around mile number 18.
Kim ended up finishing in an impressive 3:13, good enough to qualify her for the Boston Marathon, if she wanted to run it. Afterward, she admitted that her best tip was staying hydrated.
I will admit that I had a more difficult go of it. But I did finish. Here is me trying not to overheat.
I’d probably need two jars of pre-race peanut butter next time.
Even the most Adultitis-free among us might wonder why someone would want to fake a marathon. But maybe the real question should be, “Why not?”
Our world is aching for silliness, which is why it doesn’t surprise me that the team at Ridiculo.us blew by their goal on Kickstarter by over 2000% or that Gangnam Style became a giant hit (about 2 BILLION YouTube views and counting). Unfortunately, silliness is in short supply.
Race cars are often required to have restrictor plates installed at the intake of an engine to limit their power. Adults are expected to have restrictor plates to limit their ridiculousness, if not banish it altogether. It’s seen as a sign of maturity, intelligence, and sophistication. If you have too much ridiculousness, your taste, your smarts, and your ability to take anything seriously are all called into question.
Heaven help us if we dare to dance in the rain, make ugly cookies, or eat with strange utensils.
We are supposed to fit in, not stick out. And so we make sure our clothes always match, our cars look pretty much like everyone else’s, and we paint our lives in hues of grey and beige.
Kids do not have a restrictor plate for ridiculousness. (If they did, do you think they would act or sing or dress the way they do?)
We need to be more like them, for we need more ridiculousness, not less.
Because only ridiculous people would entertain the notion of writing life-changing love letters to strangers.
Or outrageous enough to work on fixing the foster care problem in Oklahoma.
Or be preposterous enough to see to it that everyone in the whole entire world has access to clean water.