The Osoyoos team representing the Okanagan Hockey Camp completed the exhausting Freak ’N Farmer course at Covert Farms in Oliver in just under two hours and 30 minutes Saturday morning. Team members include (from left) Josh Viera and sister Brittny Viera and Nina and Derek Ruck. A total of 320 participants took part in the third annual outdoor obstacle event organized by Covert Farms and Hoodoo Adventures. (Keith Lacey photo)
In three short years, the Freak ’N Farmer has become one of the most popular outdoor obstacle race events in British Columbia.
A total of 320 participants tackled the grueling 12.5-kilometre course this past Saturday morning at the sensational Covert Farms property owned by Gene and Shelley Covert in Oliver.
For an event that attracted only 65 participants in 2012, the Freak ’N Farmer has grown quicker than she could ever imagined, said Lyndie Hill, owner of Hoodoo Adventures out of Penticton, the company responsible for organizing and running the event.
“I met Gene and Shelley at a Tough Mudder competition in Whistler and they knew about my business and said they wanted to bring a similar event to their property,” said Hill. “We worked together to bring this event to their farm and things have taken off from there.
“We started with a very small event in 2012 and we thought it would grow, but to have 320 participants in only our third year is just exceptional.”
There will be further expansion next year if the popularity of the event continues to grow, she said.
“We’re hoping to get as many as 500 on board for next year and I think we’ll have no problem getting those numbers considering how much outdoor obstacle racing has grown in B.C.,” she said. “But then we’ll have to sit down and assess what we’re going to do because then we’ll have to decide if we have to limit the numbers or maybe expand the event over a full weekend to accommodate everyone.”
The scenery and beauty provided on the Covert Farms property matches any in the country for this type of sporting event, said Hill.
“It’s an incredibly beautiful, but very, very difficult course,” she said. “It’s a real challenge and you had better be in good shape or you won’t be able to finish.
“To finish this course provides a real sense of accomplishment for all of the competitors because it really is a difficult event.”
Most of the participants enter in teams of four in the recreational division, but there is an open competitive division that attracts some amazing athletes in the solo competitive division, said Hill.
Hill said she’s already looking forward to organizing a bigger and better Freak ’N Farmer event next September at Covert Farms.
“I’ve been in this business for quite a few years, but I’m still learning new things,” she said. “We want the event to continue to grow, so everyone involved in organizing the event continues to learn and continues to add new elements to the event.”
The Osoyoos team of Derek Ruck and his wife Nina, along with good friends Josh Viera and his sister Brittny Viera, finished the course in just under two hours and 30 minutes.
It was the second-consecutive year this foursome competed in the Freak ’N Farmer representing the Okanagan Hockey Camp, which Ruck has operated in late July in Osoyoos for the past several years.
Nina Ruck said this year’s obstacle course was extremely challenging.
“It’s extremely tough,” she said. “It’s fun and we train very hard for this event, but it’s absolutely exhausting and we were glad to finish with a slightly better time than last year.”
Some of the obstacles in this year’s race include climbing a steep face of the McIntyre Bluffs mountain range, flipping huge tires, climbing several retaining walls, running through a muddy pit, carrying large cartons of tomatoes and several other difficult physical tasks.
There are 18 obstacles spread over the course and all four members have to complete each task.
“We do a lot of crossfit training and running stairs to get ready for this race and it pays off because it would be really hard to finish if you didn’t train hard,” she said.
Any elite athlete looking for a challenge might consider entering this race in the future because it’s a real challenge, she said.
All of the participants were treated to lunch following the race. There was also a live band, games for the kids and beer and wine garden on site.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
These three teenagers from Kelowna were all smiles as they slid across the finish line at the 2014 Freak ’N Farmer race this past Saturday at Covert Farms in Oliver. (Keith Lacey photo)
