I had to share something with you today that I encountered. Something that disrupted my usual morning doom scroll. Something that, to be perfectly honest, I find beautiful.
It’s an ultramarathon.
It runs through Northern Virginia and Washington DC. It’s free, it’s non-competitive, and it has no set route, but there are nine check-in points that need to be hit in the correct order.
All nine check-in points are Taco Bell locations, and you need to eat a menu item at each one. You can eat whatever you want at each location (“eat,” specifically — drinks don’t count), but by the fourth stop you must have eaten either a Chalupa Supreme or a Crunchwrap Supreme, and by the eighth stop you must have a Burrito Supreme or a Nachos Bell Grande.
And here’s why I find it beautiful.
It’s not sponsored by Taco Bell.
This event doesn’t exist because of a marketing exec who decided it would be good publicity. It exists because some people thought it would be fun to run a route of Taco Bell locations and eat along the way. And it’s happening for the second time this year, because people liked it so much last year.
Look, you don’t need me to tell you that things are terrible right now. And in a moment like this, a moment that you can just smile at something and say, “That’s fun,” is kind of important.
And, yes, you could critique this event for a lot of things. It may not be sponsored, but it is centered around a corporate product. It may be an ultramarathon, but it’s also an event around junk food.
But, to me, none of this changes the fact that it is a fun thing that exists just because people wanted to do it, and it’s kinda silly, too.
In a world of the kind we currently inhabit, joy can be subversive. Fun can be revolutionary. And silliness can be sublime.
Now, will I be running the ultramarathon? I… don’t know. It’s tempting. I’d have something to train for, I’d have a fun time, and I know I can pack away the Crunchwrap Supremes.
But whether I decide this event is for me or not, it is a fun thing that exists just because people wanted to do it, and it’s kinda silly, too.
And by virtue of that alone, it has made my day infinitely better.
Featured image by Thiwanka Dilminda from Pixabay