Race Review: Run to Escape - Mission Mount Olympus ⚡

Disclaimer: I received an entry to Run to Escape: Mission Mount Olympus to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Over the last few weeks I participated in a super incredible new running escape room experience called Run to Escape: Mission Mount Olympus! This is a first of its kind virtual running experience that combines both running and puzzles to put both your mind and body to the test and it is SO STINKING COOL, GUYS! Based on Greek mythology, the Run to Escape series consists of 6 different virtual races ranging from 3 miles to 10 kilometers in distance, and 6 different puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty. In order to unlock the next race in the series, you have to solve a puzzle by listening to audio clues while you run. Honestly, it is so much fun and I am pumped I had the opportunity to try it out as a BibRave pro!

How It Works

Once you pay your entry fee, you will be given access to your first race. Using the RunKeeper app, you'll run the distance of the first race and at various points during your run, one of six Greek gods on Mount Olympus will give you clues to the puzzle that you'll need to solve once your complete your run. When you're done running, Hermes sends you a post-run email with additional clues to your puzzle, and once you have solved your puzzle you will enter the code word to unlock your next run! It continues on through 6 different races until you reach the Pantheon Party at the very end!

Me & my lil Cerberus after completing all 6 of the challenges!

What I Loved

Hints Galore! One of the things I was worries about when signing up for this challenge was not being able to figure out a puzzle, and then I wouldn't be able to advance to the next race. Luckily, the RTE team thought about this and provided several hints on how to figure out each puzzle (outside of the puzzle clues) and even provide the answer if your get *really* stuck. These hints and answers definitely saved me from getting stuck a couple of times throughout this series so I really appreciate that I had a way to advance through the series whenever I couldn't figure something out!

Audio Clue Quality is TOP NOTCH! The voice actors did such a fantastic job with creating the characters of Dionysus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hades, Athena, and Zeus! They were all such great characters and definitely made me feel like I was immersed in the world of Mount Olympus while I ran through the streets of my neighborhood. I absolutely loved it!

RTE Team is VERY Interactive! I posted about each of my RTE runs on Instagram and the RTE team commented and interacted with every single one of my posts! It's so cool to see that interaction by the organizers of the race your running. It makes you really feel like they care what their participants are up to! Definitely love it when community can be created in a virtual setting!

Great Communication & Direction! Because this is such a new approach to virtual racing, I am so appreciative of the abundance of directions and communication that the RTE team provided for participants throughout the experience. Any time there was a problem or any type of confusion, the RTE team was so responsive in addressing the issue. I think that is HUGE, especially for a brand new running experience like this.

Incredible Virtual Pantheon Party! Once you finish all 6 races and puzzles, you'll be admitted into the Pantheon Party which has so many cool little features! There's playlists and recipes based on each of the gods, and there's even giveaways you can enter into for prizes from Asics, Knockaround, and Aftershokz! I love the dedication to creating a fun finish line experience, which can be so challenging in a virtual environment!

How to Sign Up

Head over to runtoescapeseries.com and click "Register" to sign up today! Your entry fee will get you access to the first challenge, and you'll start the series from there! 

Use code "BIBRAVE10" for 10% off your registration!

Vlog of my experience!

Because this was a brand new running experience, I wanted to vlog it to share with all of you! It's a rather long video, but hopefully it will give you a better idea of what the experience is like. Don't worry, there are no puzzle spoilers!

Honestly this was such a great experience and I cannot say enough great things about it. It is so awesome that the RTE team is venturing into the brand new version of virtual racing and I cannot wait to see what they come up with next. The future of virtual racing is evolving and I am HERE FOR IT!

🌞🏖️📚 Summer Reading List 2021 📚🏖️🌞

One of my reading goals for 2021 was to *not* create any TBRs, but lately I've been feeling like I want to break that goal of mine and make ALL THE LISTS OF BOOKS. Now that the academic year is over and work will (fingers crossed) be much slower over the next four months, I wanted to make myself a summer reading list of sorts. Kind of like the summer reading lists you would be assigned in school, but with books I'm actually excited about. 😂 

Some of these titles have been on my TBR shelf for YEARS, and some are newer to the collection. There are quite a few on here that I've been specifically been saving for this time of year and for one reason or another I haven't yet gotten around to them. You might also notice that this list is quite heavy in the contemporary/romance department, but honestly it's the best time of year for that genre in my opinion! 

My goal is to read through all 20 of these titles by the end of the summer (which, in my higher ed employee mind, is September 1st), while also giving myself some wiggle room to read other things that may strike my fancy. I'll do a check in at the end of the summer to let you know how I did. If I'm able to read all 20 books, maybe I'll treat myself to something exciting as a reward. Wish me luck, and let me know if you're going to be reading any of these titles this summer!

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai
Dreamology by Lucy Keating

Everything All At Once by Katrina Leno
Freshmen by Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland
Meet Cute by Jennifer L. Armentrout et. al.
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

Our Pal Mikey

A few weeks ago, we sadly had to say goodbye to our pal Mikey. He came into my life when I was 16 years old and has been a part of our family for 14 and a half wonderful years. He was a gentle soul and was always just happy to spend time with his big sister Kiwi and his people, no matter what we were doing. He was there through my final years of high school, all through college and graduate school, enjoyed life on the lake in New Hampshire and moved to Florida with my parents to live out his golden years. Always by our side and there with a wag and a smile when you walked through the door. While it's always so hard to say goodbye, I'm so glad he was given a good life and we take comfort that he's now reunited with his sister. 🌈

We'll miss you, Mike-a-Bikes 💖

Calm *After* the Storm // Star Wars Rival Run 10K Recap, Getting Vaccinated, + Snowy Photo Spam

 

Happy May, friends! The academic year has finally wrapped and the peacefulness that has followed these last few INSANE weeks has been so welcome. I am currently in my very last 5-day work week until August (summer Fridays, baby!!!), and in my last work week before I take a nice lil staycation next week. When WFH started last year I really didn't think I'd ever want to take time off work if I wasn't specifically going anywhere since I'd already be home. However, after this crazy year, I am SO THRILLED to be having a week to myself. It'll also be my birthday next week, so I'm really looking forward to being able to spend the week doing things that make me happy. That's all I want for my birthday!

A few weeks ago, Snowy (or SnObi-Wan Kenobi) and I ran the runDisney Star Wars Rival Run Virtual 10K! (We made a cute lil TikTok during our run!) I dressed up as Princess Leia and we had an absolute blast (pun intended?). I specifically wanted to run this race so I could get my hands on the 10K medal which features Leia herself, and it finally came in the mail last week! I can't wait to hang it up on my wall. I am so psyched to have it be a part of my collection!

runDisney virtual packaging is top-notch

Such a cool medal! It's fairly big as well - about the size of my palm.
Not bad for a 10K medal!

I also got my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine a few weeks ago at Gillette Stadium! It was a super easy process and the volunteers there have the clinic running like a well-oiled machine. As I waited the required 15 minutes post-shot, I was able to sit and look out onto the field which was so cool. I haven't been to Gillette in AGES so it was really so nice to return. I'll be back later in May for my second dose, and then hopefully the next time I'm there I'll be attending a game! 🤞

The day after my vaccine I attempted to participate in Dewey's, but I was so tired that it made reading extremely difficult 😂 I shoulda known! Regardless of how much I read during that 24 hour period, I did make it a priority to return to my book instead of watching TV or scrolling TikTok, which I think is a personal win. Here's somewhat of a reading vlog from the last two weekends, including my failed Dewey's attempt:

Now that the academic year is over, I really want to prioritize reading where I can! I'll be participating in Bout of Books 31 next week (TBR to come!) and I'm hoping to do a couple other fun reading projects during the summer months. I'll of course keep y'all posted!

I wanted to close out this lil life update by SPAMMING y'all with Snowy pictures. If you look through my photos on my phone, it's pretty much exclusively running related photos or Snowy photos. At least I'm on brand? 🙃 She's just so cute! I CAN'T HELP IT! (And honestly, can you really complain about a Snowy photo spam session?) Anywho, enjoy this pup's cuteness:

Laying on the floor with Daddy as he plays games

I got Snowy this teddy bear the last time she got her nails trimmed and she LOVES HIM 😍😭

There was an ADORABLE 2-month old Husky at the park yesterday and Snowy LOVED playing with him. 😭😭😭

Idk why she was sitting like this but it was adorably funny 😂

👁️👅👁️

Cute post-run selfies with my girl 💖

Just always bringing the sass

We're also sitting our neighbor's dog Harper while she is away and these two are like two peas. I will say that Snowy does get a bit territorial of her stuff and of Brett and I when Harper is over (only child syndrome!) but they absolutely love playing together. It's so cute to see them interact with one another!