Confronting life’s obstacles reaches new heights
“IT’S under, over or through, and find someone to help you along the way.”
No, it is not a metaphor for life’s challenges, although it may as well be.
It is Ocean Grove’s Amanda Walker describing the unthinkable Spartan obstacle courses that she frequently tackles with her two daughters.
Rocked by heartbreak and adversity, Amanda Walker, 47, launched into an unfamiliar sport with her daughters Paige, 24, and Aspen, 17.
It was not long ago both Paige and Aspen were horse riding at 2-star level with jumps of 1.15m, hoping to get to the pinnacle 4-star level, which is Olympic standard jumping at 1.20m. However, when tragedy hit, returning to riding proved to be insurmountable.
“Aspen’s horse had a brain haemorrhage and died in front of her,” Amanda said.
“We started (Spartan) racing because we needed something positive to work towards.”
Despite multiple other familial difficulties, Walker said the loss of Aspen’s horse was the toughest thing.
Determined not to let hardship quell their ambitions, Amanda, Paige and Aspen decided to jump into an ongoing fitness challenge.
Similar to Tough Mudder, but with fitness punishments for course incompletion, Spartan obstacle racing presents challenges as long as 70km and as lengthy as 12 hours.
“The running is through quite tough terrain. You’ll be running up mountains that are nearly un-runnable and through creeks and across dams,” she said.
From Townsville to Malaysia, Melbourne to Tanzania, and Perth to Africa, the family’s new fitness regimen is seeing them conquer challenges further and wider than they could have dreamt.
In 2017 alone, the three competitors overcame 14 races together, including two “ultra trifecta” 70km courses: one in Bright in October, and in Perth one month later.
Just as impressive as the challenges themselves are the rankings of the three competitors, only 18 months into discovering the sport’s existence.
In Bright, Aspen came first for the under-18 female category, Paige second in the under-25 class and Amanda second in under-50s.
“We run from Ocean Grove to Barwon Heads with our water backpacks on, and sometimes even bigger packs because we’re training for the hikes and things,” Amanda said.
“We train at the local council gym. We haven’t spent a million dollars.
“We don’t have a heap of professional people pushing us. It’s just self-driven and we’ve given it a crack.”
It’s a story of humble beginnings and hard work.
Both Aspen and Paige have been homeschooled through their childhood and their parents own a small family busi- ness, Filia Signs.
Aspen is working at a local KFC while finishing her diploma of children’s services, while both Paige and Amanda work in childcare.
Still chasing new feats, the trio is on a mission to climb even higher.
“We’ve decided to attempt the seven summits, so we’re going to Africa for seven weeks at the start of February,” Amanda said.
Included in the hikes is Mt Kilimanjaro, as well as mountains in Kenya, Uganda and more at heights above 5000m.
True to form, Amanda, Paige and Aspen plan to complete a Spartan race in Melbourne the weekend after they return.
“We’re just everyday people,” Amanda said.