Tough As Nails Urban Challenge Puts Athletes To The Test
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WHEELING -- The reasons for competing in the annual Tough as Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan varied. What was consistent among basically all finishers Sunday afternoon was that the event lived up to its name in terms of being a challenge.
The challenge featured 523 entrants who took to the streets of downtown Wheeling for the event that is part of the Ogden Newspaper Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine.
The revised course included a little more than a six-mile run and 27 obstacles varying from climbing 500 steps to running through the former Ohio Valley Medical Center building while dealing with bags full of linen.
Though the event is untimed and not competitive in terms of officially declaring a winner, competitive juices still take over during the event, which was broken down into five starting waves. The first three waves had some 150 entrants in each and went off 15 minutes apart.
Chadd Morris of Pittsburgh was the first athlete to make it back to the finish line. He did so in just under an hour. As you'd expect from someone who just completed an obstacle course, he was obviously quite sweaty and he had several minor scrapes on his shins.
"There are some really challenging obstacles and probably the 498 steps is probably the worst," Morris admitted. "There were a few new obstacles this year, which were nice."
Morris, who is 55 years old, said the "Splashover," a new obstacle that has people jumping inflatable pads at Grandview Pool, was nice and running through a former hospital was "just wild."
This was the first time that Morris competed in the Urban Challenge and actually liked the setting as compared to most obstacle course events, which feature mud and more rural settings.
"I really like obstacle course races and this is a really nice, local event," Morris said. "I hate it, but I really enjoy it."
As for the scrapes on his lower legs, it was nothing that was going to slow him down and nothing that he's not come to expect in these types of events as he does two or three a year.
"I figure if I didn't fall at least once, I wasn't trying hard enough," Morris laughed.
Despite there being no formal prize for being the first entrant to finish, Morris still took it as a personal challenge to be the first one back. So much so, that he lobbied to get into the first heat that went off at high noon rather than the third wave at 12:30.
"I asked them to switch me to the noon group because I am one of those really competitive guys who is trying to win even if there isn't any award or trophy," Morris said.
Some 10 people later, Anna Endrizzi of Woodbridge, Va. became the first female to cross the line.
She was a part of the field last year, but was in the second or third wave and couldn't truly gauge how well she stacked up against the earlier sections.
She's no stranger to the Ohio Valley. Though she was born in Parkersburg, she has numerous family members still living in Wheeling and it was an annual Memorial Day weekend reunion that brought her back to the valley.
"I was coming up last year and (a family member) pointed out about this race, and I said 'heck yeah! I'll do it,'" Endrizzi said. "I think the course is great, well done and very creative. I also like how they bring the local treasures."
Endrizzi, 43, pointed out the obstacles that included carrying buckets of nails as well as in the early portion of the event it goes through the Wheeling Newspaper building where competitors had to "jump over newspaper reels" and the "Stairway to Heaven."
She, like Morris, thoroughly enjoyed the portion of the event that took her through the former OVMC.
"That was very interesting because you just don't get to go through (former) hospitals too often," Endrizzi said.
Endrizzi also knew throughout the race -- with the help of some of the event workers -- that she was the first female to come through certain points.
"A lady said, 'oh, you're the first female' and I looked at her and said, "yeah and we're going to keep it that way,'" Endrizzi joked.
Both Morris and Endrizzi -- barring something totally unforeseen -- plan to be back in May of 2024 to see if they can meet the Urban Challenge once again.