Death Race V. WTM

Ok, so let me start off this post by stating that I've never actually done a Spartan Death Race, so take what I'm about to say with a huge grain of salt: I think I would actually hate doing a Death Race.  The idea of a competitive race that has no clear start or stop time, where competitors don't have the slightest clue beforehand what it will entail (aside from long hours and manual labor), and where you can be DQ'd at any time for either missing a cut or more arbitrary reasons doesn't sound all that fun to me.  There's something to be said for jumping into the unknown and doing something that you know will test your limits and make you uncomfortable, but I kinda like to know what the parameters are for these kinds of things.

Now, having said that, it would be kinda cool to try it once, but I am absolutely positive that I wouldn't finish.  I find the idea of being messed with to be a bit tedious.  The idea of having to find pennies in the snow, or building an ax, or pushing porcupine quills through logs, or carrying a bucket of water up and down a hill without spilling any, or any of the other crazy things that they're asked to do all seem fun individually, but stacking them on top of each other with no clear sense of purpose or completion time sounds like a test that I don't necessarily need in my life.

I'll stick with WTM.  I know what to expect from that - at least in the broadest sense of the word.  True, I don't know details about the course, but I know that it's a question of surviving for 24 hours.  As with most things in life, understanding the parameters of the challenge makes it much more likely that you'll succeed.  Having an unclear understanding of what the process will entail, and constantly having to battle for every little victory, only to have that victory be unappreciated and followed by another random challenge...all of these things are a recipe for failure.  Unfortunately, it seems that often we have to deal with this type of structure when we deal with everyday life.  I don't think it's because we HAVE to (after all, there's nothing inherent in life that makes it chaotic and frustrating - perhaps that's debatable, but it's not what I believe).  I simply think that we sometimes don't know how to do things any other way.  We get so caught up in reacting to our situations...putting out fires as they start...and "dealing" with things that happen to us when what we should be doing is creating our own situations...starting our own fires...and making things happen for ourselves.  But doing that means that we have to have a vision for what we want to accomplish and have a strong understanding of the process involved to get there.  Now, which of the two events (Death Race versus WTM) sounds more like my ideal?  Which sounds more like your ideal?

Plus, we get to go to Vegas, baby!

PS.  Just to be clear, I completely respect the folks who are willing to undertake the Death Race.  There's a special kind of madness involved with it, and anyone who signs up to participate (forget about finishing...) deserves respect.