Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend Puts Ohio Valley to the Test
Nick Henthorn Trending
WHEELING -- Sunday's events at the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine kicked off with participants pedaling through the city in the morning during the Wheeling Heritage Trail Bicycle Tour. In the afternoon, athletes climbed, ran and jumped to the finish line during the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan.
Both events saw high turnouts, with about 200 people hopping on their bike saddles to participate in the 15-kilometer, 50-kilometer and 100-kilometer courses. Around 600 participants headed out to the Tough as Nails course to test their different athletic abilities and willpower on more than 20 obstacles across the five-mile course.
The day began bright and early with the 7:30 a.m. takeoff for the 100-kilometer bike ride, which saw participants ride out to Bethany College on a course filled with loops and hilly roads. The less challenging 50-kilometer course and 15-kilometer course departed at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., respectively.
The Tough as Nails Urban Challenge began at noon, with three heats departing every hour to conquer the course.
Apart from classic challenges like the "Wall Climb" sponsored by WTRF and "Stairway to Heaven" sponsored by Braunlich Orthopedics, a couple of new obstacles were added to the course this year.
The main attraction was the new "Slip N Slide," sponsored by Dean's Water Services, where a slip-and-slide track was created at one of the upper levels of the Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Center at the bottom of Main Street.
Tough as Nails veteran James Hurley, who has participated in the event twice before, said this year's course was notably more difficult than in years past.
"I'd say this year was definitely harder because doing the 'Stairway to Heaven' right from the start was a little bit challenging," explained Hurley. "Usually the stair climb is later on in the course when you're a little warmed up. Hitting those steps right from the get-go is pretty tough."
Hurley's favorite addition to the course this year was the "Monkey Bar" sponsored by the West Virginia Northern Community College welding program. He explained the obstacle allowed him to implement his upper body strength on the course.
Apart from being able to test his athletic abilities, Hurley said he keeps coming back to compete because of the camaraderie between his fellow competitors.
"Everyone is just here to challenge themselves so everyone is supportive of each other," added Hurley. "Overall it's a really great experience because of that."
Eric Anderson, Tough As Nails director and publisher of The Green Tab, the Tyler Star-News and Wetzel Chronicle said adding the new obstacles paid off. He noted that registration numbers were "up over last year."
For Anderson what sets Tough as Nails apart from other obstacle courses is its "uniqueness," remarking that there "aren't too many races similar to this in the region."
"The key word is that it's unique," said Anderson. "It's unique, and that's a draw for people. It challenges them in more ways than any other race around. This exercises your full body and allows people to have fun doing it."
"We appreciate all the volunteer support and all the sponsors that make this thing happen each year," Anderson continued. "It was a beautiful day, and we just wanted people to have fun."
After wrapping up a weekend filled with the hard work of participants, Perry Nardo, general manager of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, drew attention to the hard work of those who organized and ran Wellness Weekend.
"I think it speaks volumes about the volunteers, our employees and the commitment of our sponsors and the City of Wheeling," said Nardo. "They have just worked really hard since we had the COVID shutdown. We came back in 2021 and kind of got our feet underneath us, but we’ve made a commitment to really improve it. Every year, we sit down and think, what can we do?"
The expansion of Wellness Weekend to include the Tiny Tot Trot presented by WVU Medicine Children's is an example Nardo gave of how the weekend continues to evolve.
"We’ve gotten the Pittsburgh Pirates and a lot of other community people involved and we just keep asking how can we make it better?" remarked Nardo. "I think that’s been the mantra of the employees, the volunteers, the sponsors and the city."
Nardo noted their efforts to improve the events have paid off, recalling that on Sunday morning he heard a woman who was on the Wheeling Heritage Trail Bicycle Tour say, "'Oh, I’ve been doing this now for three years. Every year they try to make it better, and they get new obstacles. And I’m always trying to tell people to come down.'"
"I think what we have done has planted the seed for word of mouth to really help grow this," added Nardo.