GWTC Extreme Challenge

Gulf Winds Track Club offers a full calendar of running events, various distances and running surfaces. In addition to the Summer Track series, the Club sponsors over 20 events throughout the year. Many of these events offer races of multiple distances. The Extreme Challenge is a boot camp only for those who have the physical and mental training to compete and finish.

Few meet the challenge. It will require you to carefully plan, train, and utilize your decision-making skills. To qualify, you must run all GWTC Club races within the same calendar year. If a Club race offers several distance events, you must complete the longest distance event presented at that race. You must complete the event within the race director’s established time limit.

No one finished the first two races of the 2019 Challenge; therefore, no one remains eligible to complete the 2019 Challenge.

Current GWTC Club races and the distance you must complete in that event:

• 20M Swamp Forest Trail 20-Mile Challenge, January 4th
• 5K Bowlegs 5k, January 11th
• 30k GWTC 15k/30k, January 18th
• Full Marathon Tallahassee Marathon/Half Marathon, February 2nd
• 12k Flash 12k/6k, February 15th
• 10k Springtime 10k/5k/1M, March 28th
• 5k Palace Saloon 5k, April 11th
• * Summer Trail Series: There are four races with only one distance offered at each race, and you must complete all four races. Trails and distances are subject to change annually at the discretion of the race director, and they are typically held between May and August. They vary in distance, and they are typically between three and seven miles long.
• 4M Potluck Bash 4, Mile June 13th
• 1M Breakfast on the Track 1 Mile, August 8th
• 8k Madness at Miller Landing 8k/5k/3k, August
• 5k Sickle Cell 5k, September 12th
• 5k Women’s Distance Festival 5k/1M, September 19th
• 5k Prefontaine 5k, September 16th
• 20k Pine Run 20k, October 3rd
• 1M Rex Cleveland Magic Mile, November
• 15k Turkey Trot 1M/15k/10k/5k, November 26th
• 10M Tallahassee 10M/5M Challenge, December 5th
• 50M Tallahassee Ultra 50k/50M, December 12th
• 6k Tannenbaum Trail 6k, December 19th

If you meet the challenge, you will be handsomely rewarded. Awards will be unique, because few are tough enough to conquer the challenge.

I will monitor and track your progress. All you have to do is be a member of Gulf Winds Track Club prior to the first race of the year, register for the races and complete the longest distance at each and every Gulf Winds Track Club race.

Beginning in 2020, members of GWTC are eligible to purchase “GWTC365” for $300.  GWTC365 offers a single discounted purchase price for all GWTC Club races for one year.  Members who purchase GWTC365 will still be required to register for individual races (100% discount will be reflected at checkout; participants choosing shirts or other add-ons will be charged for those at the same price charged to other registrants).  To learn more and/or to purchase GWTC365, visit the page at RunSignup.  Note: membership in the GWTC365 program is not required for competing in the Extreme Challenge, but it will save you money.

Contact Extreme Challenge Coordinator, Mark Tombrink (mat06@my.fsu.edu) with your questions.

• 2020 Finishers – To Be Determined
• 2019 Finishers – No One; Every GWTC member was no longer eligible through two races.
• 2018 Finisher – Mark Tombrink
• 2017 Finishers- No One
• 2016 Finishers- Mark Tombrink
• 2015 Finishers- Joel Piotrowski, Zack Scharlepp, Emma Spencer, Mark Tombrink

There are many reasons as to why a person may want to do this challenge. For me, I was already planning to do many of these races, and I just had to do a few extra races to get a special award. If you are passionate about this sport and can devote some time toward this activity, it isn’t nearly as difficult as it may initially appear. Think of this as a part-time job, a side hustle if you will. The only difference is that you can train whenever and however you want, so long as you can finish the race before the cutoff times. You can finish the 5k races in four hours if the race director will let you. Even better, this side hustle does not come with any birdbrained and difficult to please boss. Plan your annual and weekend vacations and trips well. You cannot skip a single race. If you need to leave town immediately after crossing the finish line of a race, then that’s what will be required of you. I’ve had to do that myself. If necessary, just make sure that part of your Saturday morning is devoted to a specified race or modify a trip so that it doesn’t make you miss a race. It is tricky at times, but the Extreme Challenge is both fun and fulfilling if you’re in the proper state of mind and plan ahead well enough.  We want people to be successful with this venture. Shuffle forth!