On the 17th of July 2016, Warriors woke up bright and early to participate in the second Warrior Rucksack Run Challenge held at Pearl Hill. It was a very diverse group, with participants ranging from the ages of 16 to 60. The route was to be a very steep 6.5 km interspersed with 6 workout stations. In case that was not difficult enough, during the challenge, all the ladies had to carry 5 kg rucksacks, while the men packed 10 kgs in theirs. This was definitely a challenge to push their physical and mental limits.

 

The morning started off with participants signing in and warming-up with a great routine from Coach Chin Lee.

This was followed by a briefing on the challenges ahead and the workout stations the participants were to face. At 7:30 AM sharp, it was flag off time for the men, with the ladies staggered 5 minutes behind.

 

After a steep climb up the hill, the first station encountered was 20 Marine Push-Ups (without the rucksacks) before participants were allowed to continue up the hill. At the second station, Warriors were required to do a Farmer’s Carry of weights. The third station was all the way at the temple gates, with a very challenging 20 Belly Burpees. No discounts or options were given to anyone- whether advanced or beginner, male or female, fit or not-so-fit, 6-pack abs or 1-pack abs- everyone had to touch their bellies to the ground for each repetition to count.  After a quick downhill U-turn, the participants arrived at the fourth station where they had to perform Walking Lunges uphill. Just in case that had not killed them yet, there were still two more stations- a Sandbag Carry and finally, 20 Shoulder Presses with their rucksacks.

 

Despite the tough challenges faced, no one was scared away, and amazing performances were given by all. The Fun Run category runners (running without rucksacks) came in first with the first female, Ving Leong, arriving at just over 33 minutes. Male winners #1 and #2 came in neck and neck at under 35 minutes. The fastest runner for the Rucksack Run Challenge was superwoman Claire Lacey, clocking in at just under 40 minutes. She was followed closely by the fastest male runner, Joost van den Berg.

 

After all the winners received their medals and prizes, the award for Best Warrior Spirit was presented to Khoo Hsiang Hsiang, as voted by the coaches. Hsiang Hsiang, a successful participant of our Operation Transformation 3.0, never gave up at any point during the race and tackled the hill happily, even with 5kgs on her back.

 

The morning wrapped up with a Lucky Draw that saw many participants walking away with prizes ranging from Warrior T-shirts to 3-class tokens. Although intense, the Rucksack Run was also a fun challenge for everyone, as they worked all their major muscle groups, burned lots of calories and developed their mental toughness. Congratulations to all our winners and we hope to see you again at the next Warrior Event!

 

Commit, Focus, Believe, Achieve!

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