COURSE CRASHED
Locals conquer grueling YMCA ‘Reviver’ course
LINCOLN — It would be an easy assumption to make that at the end of a grueling, 2.5-mile combined race and obstacle course with challenges including a tire mountain, cinderblock carry and tire pull that the sweat-soaked participants would be out of breath and exhausted.
But at the Reviver Challenge at the MacColl YMCA on Saturday morning, those who finished were all smiles. Some were even asking when the next race would begin.
To see those bright, beaming smiles on the faces of the participants who crossed the finish line was all Cat Reyes needed to know she had yet another successful year of the annual challenge.
Reyes, a North Smithfield resident, created the Reviver Challenge nine years ago with the objective of
providing residents of the region with a “fun but challenging obstacle course where you raise money for great causes.”
“When we first started, we had maybe 50 people run and we threw a couple of walls and tires out to create obstacles,” Reyes said of the challenge’s earliest days. For Saturday’s installment, there were close to 200 racers of all ages – some as young as four or five years old.
“This was our biggest purpose – to make it for all ages,” Reyes said. “Most are for 15- or 18-year-olds and up, but today we have some as young as four or five years old.”
“It’s been a great response this year. They have a blast. This is what I want them out here doing,” Reyes added.
The 2019 Reviver Challenge featured 10 unique obstacles over a 2.5-mile course that extended around the MacColl YMCA’s grounds and into the adjacent woods and back. The obstacles included a tire mountain, 10-foot wall, water gauntlet, cinderblock carry, tire pull, monkey bars, cargo nets, and a pyramid wall. As they came to the finish line, the 200 participants cooled off with a refreshing splash on a slip-and-slide to conclude the race.
Funds raised from the 2019 Reviver Challenge benefited the YMCA’s youth and camp programs for low-income families, Central Falls’ Kids in the Canyon, and Evan’s Crew, named after 11-year-old Evan T. Mandeville, who died in 2012 after a battle with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.
Jeff Jakulevicius of North Providence had just crossed the finish line on Saturday morning. Soaked in a combination of his own sweat and the cooling waters of the slip-and-slide, he said that he participated in the Reviver Challenge because of his appreciation of the YMCA.
“It’s my second time … I love supporting the YMCA and I believe in the mission,” he said. “It’s a fun event.”
He described the cinderblock carry as easily the most challenging aspect of the 2.5-mile course, but said his hard work was rewarded in the end with a refreshing splash at the finish line.
“They make it challenging enough and fun at the same time,” he said.
Stevan Reyes, a 16-year-old North Smithfield resident and Cat Reyes’ son, said he’s been involved in the challenge every year since its inception, meaning he was running, jumping, crawling, and climbing back when he was five years old.
“My favorite part is seeing the happy faces when they cross the finish line,” he said. “It’s really cool. The race grows every year and I’m seeing more and more people do it.”
As for the portion of the challenge that gave him the most struggle, Reyes said it was easily scaling the pyramid wall at the very end of the course, saying it’s “the last thing and you just want to be done.”
But being able to splash through the finish line directly after the pyramid wall? “Oh, it’s the best feeling ever,” he said. “I just want to sit in there.”
Hearing these positive reviews of the course would surely put a smile on Cat Reyes’ face, as she admitted that she was “a little nervous” before the start of Saturday’s challenge.
“You never know how it’s going to come out … The smiles make it all worth it, especially with the younger ones,” she said. “Look at how much fun they’re having.”