You know you’re dirty minded… and fitness minded… admit it!

Everybody wants to get dirty and call it fitness!

In years past most of the 30 to 40-ish population were 5k weekend warriors. To satisfy the increasing number of people who wanted to participate there were 5k’s popping up everywhere. Schools, clubs, memorials, fundraisers, teams and more got in on the trend and you can run any number of 5k’s ANY Saturday you want.

More recently there have been little tweaks to the normal 5k and races to get people excited about participating and to separate one 5k from another. Very successful. Especially one type of race has set itself apart – who knows why… The fitness marketing gurus identified a potential for revenue in the market and we’ve all seen this trend explode in a few years…

Dirty Minded Fitness Freaks

I’m referring about Dirty Events!

Recipe for making ‘dirty’ money:

1. Determine your desired level of fitness event
2. Add friends, work groups, families…
3. Sprinkle in some method of getting dirty (color, mud, foam)
4. Add a bunch of photos that can be posted on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter
5. Charge $50-$100 to enter

Voila! A ‘new’, ‘fun’, ‘different’ way to do a 5k or half marathon… but it is more than that because now you pull in not only the cardio freaks, but the muscle heads and divergents like CrossFit and Extreme type people. This recipe has proven to be a billion dollar market over the last 3 years.

Similar to the 40-ish population, dirty events come in all shapes and sizes:

• Warrior Dash (Mud, Sweat & Beer) – a 3 mile course with some obstacles that most anyone can complete, followed by a party! http://www.warriordash.com/
• Reebok Spartan Race – you better train for this one! http://www.spartanrace.com/
• Dirty Girl Mud Run – A 5k where women who spend $200 monthly at a hair stylist can splash some mud on their legs and feel dirty again. http://godirtygirl.com/
• Tough Mudder – Me and Average Joe are trying this out in about 60 days. This one was designed by the British Special Forces with military style challenges. Really train for this one! http://toughmudder.com/
• Dirt in Your Skirt http://dirtinyourskirt.com/
• Merrell Down and Dirty http://www.downanddirtyobstaclerace.com/
• REI Muddy Buddy http://muddybuddy.competitor.com/
• Mudderella http://mudderella.com/
• 5K Foam Fest http://5kfoamfest.com/
• Rugged Maniac http://www.ruggedmaniac.com/
• Savage Race http://www.savagerace.com/
• Death Race http://www.peak.com/death-races/
• Color Run http://www.thecolorrun.com/
• Zombie Mud Run http://www.thezombiemudrun.com/faq-zombie-mud-run-zombie-mudder

People are getting dirty everywhere

There are literally thousands of races across the country allowing people the opportunity to get dirty again. This trend is sweeping across America and really no other country. Why on in America?

1. We have the income to pay $50-$100 to enter an event
2. While most countries are trying to locate clean drinking water, we are looking to make mud with ours.
3. People just want to trade in their daily grind for a change to get dirty and grungy again!
4. Some things like this take time to catch on – you do see some popping up more often across the world… we’ll see if it becomes an internation trend or not.

Regardless of the length and obstacles, any fitness event beats sitting on the couch.

Any change to your fitness and exercise routine is good for the body and mind. If it takes getting dirty to keep you motivated, sign up.

Look for me at the Tough Mudder in June. I’ll be the guy at the finish line exhausted and probably bleeding….with abs covered in mud!

That guy