That’s what a group of Oliver women learned firsthand during the grueling obstacle race at Covert Farms on September 20.
Katie Amos, Darcel Giesbrecht, Lisa Collins and Melissa Fowler had to shed their vanity and makeup to participate in this crazy race that was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. In fact, it’s surprising they didn’t have real monkeys there.
The four ladies completed the event, which featured 21 obstacles spread over 15 kilometres.
Amos said it was a blast, but physically demanding – everything from carrying sacks of potatoes to crawling through mud.
The Amos team called themselves “Win or Lose, We Booze: The Drunken Scarecrows.” (Don’t ask.)
Amos said they prepared for the race by running a lot. They also tried to find monkey bars in town to train on, but that was a challenge.
One Freak’n Farmer obstacle consisted of two ladders set up as monkey bars. Those who fell (and many did) landed on a soft pile of . . . sheep poop.
“One girl fell off and broke her ankle. She was just laying in it (the poop),” Amos recalled.
The easiest obstacle was jumping over a fence, she pointed out. The hardest was scaling a big wall just before the finish line.
The mud bog saw people crawling under barbed wire before entering a big mud hole. Then, participants had to totally submerse themselves in muddy water to complete the challenge.
Kathy Orioli from Okanagan Falls took one look at that situation and said there was no way she was going under there. So she hopped over the log instead. Her husband Tony Orioli didn’t hesitate being a fish in the mud; he closed his eyes and held his breath before disappearing.
Amos said there was a lot of running between obstacles. During one activity, she almost rammed her head into one guy’s butt.
Along the way, she witnessed one lady pulling several cacti out of her arm.
Lyndie Hill, owner of Hoodoo Adventure Company that organizes the race, said this year’s event attracted a record 350 people.
She admitted the race was longer this year, which is something they have to review for next year. (Some people said it was too long.)
Hill said the goal is to open up the event to franchising opportunities.
The race received some unique media exposure from National Geographic photographers from China. And a Quebec film crew took some footage for their food show.
Hill was proud to report there was very little garbage left over from the event, noting that 50 per cent of it was recycled.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
