All smiles in muddy challenge
Mud and shoulder-high freezing water is no match for 77-year-old Colleen Sloane who aced the Tough Guy and Gal Challenge at Linton Military Camp.
The Palmerston North woman was one of about 700 participants who conquered the ultimate obstacle course at the event on Saturday.
The Tough Guy and Gal Challenge is run nationally but Manawatu’s event has a special twist as civilians have the chance to take over the army camp.
Sloane took on 30-metre-long tunnels and poles so high she had to be lifted up by soldiers. It’s her fifth event for the year, with a final challenge in Rotorua mid-august.
The fitness fanatic, who goes to the gym every morning at dawn, said age was no barrier and the Linton course was one of the easier courses.
It has the advantage of being flat. Keeping positive, Sloane said she even got to wash off some of the mud when she pushed through a waterway that nearly reached her neck.
‘‘I quite enjoy the mud and water. You just put your head down and bum up and crawl through.’’
Sloane set herself the challenge of completing six events in 2017 as she wanted to live life to the fullest, she said.
Event manager Amy Gregory said about 60 per cent of participants were women.
The event was great as it catered to people of all shapes, sizes and ages, she said.
Saturday’s event was for people 13 years old and over, but there was a children’s Tough Guy and Gal Challenge on Friday that brought in 1400 competitors, she said.
‘‘It’s about getting out there and having fun. You’re putting yourself in an environment that you’ve never been in before.’’
Linton Military Camp had the added advantage of allowing people to experience an area that usually had restricted access, she said. For some, it was all about competing and others just wanted to have fun, she said.
The next Tough Guy and Gal Challenge is in Rotorua on August 19.