I hope they walk away with some sense of accomplishment.

Last Saturday I trekked up to Amesbury, Massachusetts to take part in the Spartan Race, “an international running series that revives the spirit of an adventurous age.” There were mud pits, barbed wire, jumping through fire, and that’s only 25% of the obstacles. I also received the opportunity to interview race director Brian Duncanson a few weeks before I embarked on the 3.2 mile journey up, over, and through.

Mark: How did the Spartan Race get started?

Brian Duncanson: Joe Desena, owner of peakraces.com and creator of the Death Race, thought it would be great to have something similar, but for everybody else. It’s meant to be a fun event, but also a way to call out and find the 1% for the Death Race. Ideally the top op 3 males and top 3 females would want to attempt the Death Race after getting their feet wet with the Spartan Race. We’re in the process of building that race up to the Spartan World Championships next.

We came up as the Spartan theme as an idea to wrap the event. We have people dressed in costumes, the events are physical, warrior-type challenges to give it a fun flare, while still being a good, challenging event for the majority of people.

M: There’s a rising trend in intense, non-traditional, cross training workouts, and this seems to fit right in. Is this the primary type of participant in the Spartan Race?

B: We seem to have a pretty broad range. Our sweet spot is people who do CrossFit bootcamp style training sessions. We really seem to be striking chord with that type of crowd, but at every race we’re finding those who are less active attracted to the fun.

M: What’s the most important thing you want participants to walk away with?

B: As a competitor and race director, I hope they walk away with some sense of accomplishment. Did I make the top 20? Did I finish? We have people drop out. Our team category is becoming really huge, with people bringing their colleagues from work and having a great time (Note: I came because a co-worker convinced me to do it and along with one our bosses.).

So there’s some seriousness there and there’s also an element of fun in constructing a giant playground for people to come out and have a good time. We’re expecting 2,000 competitors for our first year. We’re really pleased with it and it’s the max we’re going to go with due to parking.

Thanks to Brian Duncanson for his time. Next up: I take on the Spartan Race and am reminded why they’re called “obstacles.”

Just having a goatee can’t make you evil, right?

When my girlfriend (http://www.ruderunning.blogspot.com) decided to run the Nike Women’s Marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I decided to do whatever I could to help her reach her fund-raising goal of $3,000. It’s a great organization working towards a great cause, so they deserve every dollar they get; and if you or someone you know has ever suffered from any type of cancer, you don’t need me to tell you that.

If you have the means & inclination, please donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through my girlfriend’s page – but it’d be wrong & lame for me to just sit here, link to her page, and wait for the good vibes to come a-rollin’ my way, wouldn’t it? We don’t say it often enough, but we at the soundtrack deeply appreciate the time and attention you spend here – and I recognize that I ask for you to make a financial contribution on top of that, even if it’s to fight cancer, it’s only fair that I bring something more to the table. So: without further ado, I’d like to welcome you to my first-ever “The Beard-Off”!

… well, yes, it’s more of a goatee, really. But while I’ve never tried to grow & cultivate any facial hair before, I’m giving it my best shot. For charity.

Here’s the deal: I’m going to keep growing this goatee until my girlfriend gets to her goal of $3,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – and when she gets there, I’m going to shave it off!

Exciting, no? I’m actually already a little wistful about shaving it. A lot of co-workers have already complimented me on it. And, yeah, a few friends have expressed their concern that it makes me look like my evil twin, but that’s just a pop-culture myth. I mean, it’s just a goatee. A goatee can’t make you evil. That’s just something they do on cheap melodramas, like Star Trek:

Seriously, a beard, making you evil … who even says stuff like that? So what if dogs bark whenever I pass? What do they know? I mean, generally, I like dogs – puppies, especially. So … small, and innocent. So helpless, … so … kickable. Huggable.

And, aside from it being a tad itchy, I haven’t noticed any problems. In fact, I rather like it. It makes me look distinguished. More sophisticated. More … powerful.

I find myself stroking it, sometimes, absentmindedly. Somehow, it seems … precious …

… Sorry. I … I seem to have gotten off the topic.

In summary: “The Beard-Off”! I’ll be growing this goatee until my girlfriend reaches her $3,000 goal & I have to … (shudder) shave it off; and until then, you can follow my trials & tribulations in facial-hair-management right here on the soundtrack. So if you don’t like it, and you want to see it gone fast, you can vote with your wallet & hasten the arrival of VOTB Day (that’s Victory Over The Beard) by going to my girlfriend’s page & making a donation.

And if you do like it, back me up in the comments, so I can rub it in my stupid friends’ stupid faces.

Something that’ll kick your case of existential, mid-week angst square in the jaw.

Continuing on the theme of musical mixes Mark started Monday: have you heard of the Bootie Blog? It’s by the DJs behind Bootie, “the first club night in the U.S. dedicated solely to the burgeoning artform of the bootleg mashup” – or so says they. In any case, they’re on a mission to spread the gospel of bootleg mash-ups: two (or more) songs spun together by DJs looking to create something new (and probably illegal) that’ll instantly find a home in your ear. You know, like The Grey Album:

BoingBoing recently brought this blog back to my attention by posting this clip of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, with lyrics by Eazy E – and if you’re looking for something that’ll kick your case of existential, mid-week angst square in the jaw, they’ve got it:

“Take Me On The Crazy Train” (Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” & a-ha’s “Take On Me"), by MadMixMustang

“Pressure Time” (Queen & David Bowie vs. MGMT), by Mighty Mike

… and my current favorite, with high marks on innovation, energy, craft, and oddity: “Imma Stop Loving Drugs” (Ke$ha vs. Glee Cast vs. La Roux vs. Black Eyed Peas vs. Iglu & Hartly), by Titus Jones.

Careful, though: take something like “Smells Like Rockin’ Robin” (Nirvana vs. Michael Jackson), by Go Home Productions, too early in the day, and your brain might just reboot. And “Abba Alpha Beat Beet Roots Of All Evil” (ABBA vs. The Bloody Beetroots vs. Alphabeat), by Thriftshop XL, will just turn left on you & drop off the table into madness. But maybe that’s just what you need this Wednesday.

I’d freely admit that some of these aren’t as catchy as I’d like, but even the least compelling seem interesting for the facility with which they’ve been mixed – and on a base level, I still enjoy some solely because the artists billed sound like a fight I’d pay to see. (The guys from MGMT are young & spry … but you can’t tell me Freddie Mercury & David Bowie circa 1981 wouldnt’t put up a fight.)

At any rate, throw some headphones on & check out some great mash-ups. So when someone comes by later this morning to complain about the day of the week, you can say, “yeah, sure, Wednesday – whatever. Listen to this: it’s utterly wrong … but so very, very right.”

Monday is hard. Free stuff can make it better. Canadian rap n’ roller K-os dropped “The Anchorman Mixtape” a couple of weeks ago and it’s just over 30 minutes of fresh, genre-blending hip hop with Ron Burgundy providing inspiration and sound bites from Anchorman across the album.

Go get yourself some by clicking here. I don’t know how long this will good for, so act now and support this lyrically creative, musically restless artist.

It’s Friday, I’ve logged more than enough hours this week and I’ll tack on a plenty more today, but it’s a nice day out and I dug up a great mid-90s performance from the Bare Naked Ladies with their breakthrough single, “Old Apartment".

There’s so much to like about this video: it’s Late Night With Conan O’Brien in the heyday of alternative music and BNL rock the spot, which is harder than you would think. I’ve seen a lot of bands that I like muff their shot on TV. They’re not necessarily bad, or turn people off, but I think it can be hard to hit the TV and light it up when you’re used to the concert atmosphere and finding your groove. BNL nail this song with an energy like you’re right in the middle of a show, Ed Robertson is dancing around, and the bassist is stomping the ground while doing his best Carrot Top impression.

Good song, good clip, good mood. Watch at least 3 times and throw one back for the soundtrack to life when you hit the weekend running.