This Race Makes People Eat 2 Slices of Pizza While Running a 5K

There are few things more diametrically opposed than pizza and rigorous physical exercise. This is a constant in life, an inalienable law governing all human existence that reaches further back into history than comfort permits. Unless of course you're talking about the New York City Pizza Run, which sees the two clashing forces unite in a harmonious showing of solidarity, cheese, and running shoes. 

As fortune would have it, the event is returning for the 8th consecutive year on September 17, giving would-be pizza warriors the opportunity to elevate their training regimens to a new degree.This year, the race is moving from Manhattan to Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn. Participants run a 5K -- just over three miles -- but have to eat a slice of pizza at two different checkpoints along the path. It is a lazy athlete's dream, and a bacchanal catering to the shameless, pizza-devouring millennials who clog your Instagram feeds with shots of margherita and mouthwatering Sicilian pies. What's more, it looks like one helluva a great time. 

Admission is $60, and comes with a slew of pizza-centric swag, like a tote bag and a t-shirt. In a gesture of goodwill, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. There's an after-party following the race at German beer garden Die Stammkneipe, so you can let loose, ideally with more pizza and the aid of steadily flowing Gatorade. That of course, will follow the crowning of the event's winner, who gets to bear the prestigious title of NYC Pizza Run Champion™. 

Event organizers claim that no participants have ever fallen ill during the race, despite shoveling down two slices of pizza and running for miles directly thereafter. Let's hope, for your sake, that it stays that way. 

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Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist. He's also a martial arts and music nerd who appreciates a fine sandwich and cute dogs. Find his clips in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club and Esquire. He's on Twitter @Blumnessmonster.