Outside: Why Do Rich People Love Endurance Sports?
By flooding the consciousness with gnawing unpleasantness, pain provides a temporary relief from the burdens of self-awareness ... [snip] ... When leaving marks and wounds, pain helps consumers create the story of a fulfilled life. In a context of decreased physicality, [obstacle course races] play a major role in selling pain to the saturated selves of knowledge workers, who use pain as a way to simultaneously escape reflexivity and craft their life narrative.
Better than handicapping fingertip towels in home decor stores.