Okay, okay, I’ll admit it. After a year+ of virtual races, I needed to take a little break from them. It’s difficult to self motivate and try to to best myself outside of in-person races.

That’s why I was intrigued when I heard about Run To Escape‘s Mission Mt. Olympus experience. Not a race, an experience! Their slogan is Listen. Solve. Run. And I have been doing just that.

Described as an escape room on the go, Mission Mt. Olympus’ storyline theme is based on the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Atalanta, the Goddess of Running (natch) is trying to become the 13th major deity of Mt. Olympus.

You don’t need to know anything specific about Greek mythology to participate, the audio clues you receive through RunKeeper™️ are not specific to established knowledge. Instead, the clues you receive along the run lead you to puzzle answers.

The clues show up at timed intervals throughout your outside run (treadmill runners, you’re going to have to head outside for these miles!). When you return home you are able to review the audio clues to solve the puzzles, which are provided through email. Once you solve the riddle, you are able to move on to the next challenge.

As someone who loves to solve things, this is my jam! Some of the clues are solvable as you runs, others you’re going to need to look at the puzzle that goes along with it to do so.

Since starting in mid-April, I’ve been getting out to the paths and trails about every other weekend to get my specific distances completed. There are 6 experiences with a total of 27 miles so no run is longer than 6.2 miles.

I also love that there isn’t a set time or date for the experience to start or end. You do what works within your schedule.

There’s a great community online of those participating so it’s easy to connect with others. The RTE team also checks in if someone is having an issue or just to chit chat – they’ve been fantastic about responding promptly, which ranks highly in my book.

Since it’s not a race, you don’t have to worry about going fast or slow, it’s all about getting the distances done!

The one thing I might suggest for future RTE experiences is the OPTION of swag. I know it’s not a race but some people like representing a job well done.