Agri-Fit Challenge - 2018!

We had to do this on a course, so I'm guessing this was about the 12th time I was flipping it, due to my expression!

This weekend was my absolutely favorite race - the Agri-Fit Challenge!  Why is it my favorite?  Because it really IS a challenge!  

My boys and two of their friends were a part of it!  They had a ton of obstacles and just a little shorter run than the adults.  These cross country runners and friends did an awesome job, making up the top five!

Another thing I love about the race is it's doing activities that my kids, as farm kids, are used to doing.  Moving tires?  Yes.  5-gallon pails?  Yep.  Running as fast as possible?  Yes, sometimes after heifers that are out.  

After the kid race, it was time for Kris, our friends, and I to start our heat.

Our race was:

Jumping over round bales - I somehow did this flipping over my back.  Unplanned, but it worked!  Some people leaped over it like gazelles.

Running through tires - Like a football drill.

Crawling under ropes - Kris' cousin Jess was right behind me at this point, but I didn't know it was her.  Someone running behind you in the woods does make you go faster!

Climbing up boxes - Hard to do gracefully.

Climbing wall - It was made out of metal fencing, so climbing it was easy, since we do this all the time!

Carrying a bale around a circle - I was happy it was straw and not hay.  Kris ran with his like it was nothing.

Pulling a tire - When I started, I thought, I don't know if I can actually move this.  It was huge, but I got it going.

Flipping a tire down a course - See picture of effort this took!  Ultimately my favorite obstacle.

Carrying a 5-gallon pail of water - All in a day's work.

Crawling under barbed wire - One year I tore my shirt, but not this time.

Walking a balance beam over manure - I didn't even know it was manure until after.  I thought it was mud.  Kris thought we were supposed to run through it at first, and thought nothing of it.  It's a challenge, after all!

Climbing up a grain truck through sugar beets - This was fun!

Running through a pond - Mucky for sure.  Kris half-swam through it to go even faster.

...plus a 5k through the woods!

The toughest part for me was the tire flipping. Putting tires on the pile all summer was great training! You had to flip it about 15 times down a course, and then roll it back.  My parents and kids were cheering us all the time, giving me helpful advice like, "Catch it when it bounces up!"  (I did a few times, but really that was harder.)

We all had chocolate milk after, and celebrated Team Chocolate Milk.  Our friend and  Kris' fellow MMPA board member Gertie Van Den Goor was there, and she's also on Team Chocolate Milk!

I ended up second woman overall and first in my age group, and Kris got second in his age group!  (He also beat me - he essentially trains every day in more ways than one.)  It was a spectacular day with our friends and family.  My parents were as always a great support and took the nice action shots.    

The more the merrier - I hope to see you all there next year!  See race updates by liking the page here.  

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