No barriers to fitness: the growing appeal of obstacle course challenges

Obstacle challenge courses have skyrocketed in popularity. Think you've got what it takes?

Competitors clear the wall, left, while top left, they scramble across the ropes close to the finishing line. Victor Besa for The National.

Desert Warrior. Wadi Adventure Race. The Sand Pit. They’re just a few of the UAE’s most popular race events to catch the attention of a whole new generation of thrill-seekers. But these aren’t your standard-fare fitness challenges. Marathons, move over. Triathlons, your time is up. Obstacle challenges are the new wave of competitive endurance feats designed to test a contestant’s mettle as they run, clamber, jump, bounce and tumble their way to the finish line – and it looks like they’re here to stay. Today’s obstacle challenges originated from the “Tough Mudder” style of boot camp endurance races, inspired by the type of training you would normally only undergo in the military.

Yet while these first challenges emerged purely to test the strength and discipline of a seriously hardcore subset of top-ranking men and women, today’s incarnations hold much wider appeal.

You’re much more likely to see laughing superhero-costumed teams helping each other across cargo nets, and happily-mud-smeared entrants swinging across monkey bars and falling down waterslides, than crumpled, broken competitors lying motionless in a pool of sick just after the finish line.

In spite of their more accessible feel, these events should not be underestimated as mere amateur events. Today’s obstacle challenges may focus on health, fitness, variety and fun – but they also play on those age-old fears of fire, water, heights, and extremes of heat and cold, to push competitors beyond their usual limits. So if you like the idea of scrambling up a towering quarter pipe skateboard ramp nicknamed “Everest”, bonding with your team during a balance-plank challenge or diving face-first into an icy river designed to give you a full-body “brain freeze”, consider yourself the ideal candidate.

Troy Gillham, managing director of Dubai’s Desert Warrior Challenge, explains how its own particular brand of fitness challenge came about.

“We wanted to deliver more of a community-based sporting event to the region, and many of our obstacles are designed so that participants have to use teamwork to overcome them,” he says. Camaraderie above solo effort is clearly a defining feature – and it’s a major drawcard for contestants like 41-year-old content marketing agency director, Claire England, who entered last year’s Desert Warrior with a team of eight from her office. “For us, Desert Warrior was a fantastic opportunity to take part as a team. There’s definitely a strong bonding aspect to it, as you help each other over walls and encourage each other to dig deep, and keep going,” she says.

“I did quite a bit to prepare. In the run-up, we went to weekly boot camp sessions in the park, as I really wanted to try and develop my upper-body strength.”

Gillham is similarly impressed with the impact of the Warrior on overall fitness levels since their first event (which attracted more than 1,800 entrants) launched last year. He says: “We have a lot of stories of people who started their own personal fitness journey with our event, and made a complete lifestyle change – and we’re especially proud of that.”

Yet it’s the sheer sense of accomplishment contestants feel when they cross the finish line that Gillham reckons is the moment they enjoy the most. “We call this the Warrior Reward,” he says, “and it’s this feeling that really draws people to these types of events time and time again”.

Clinical psychologist Valeria Risoli offers another perspective. “We’re hardwired to seek out sensations and emotions,” she says. “We want to feel good about ourselves, and we crave a sense of self-satisfaction”.

Her theory is that life nowadays is often so comfortable – pedestrian even – that many of us need to seek out more and more extreme challenges in order to feel challenged, motivated and “alive”. Added to this is the pressure to tell the world about our successes in today’s landscape of office water-cooler stories and social media tweets and posts. “The more unusual, extraordinary, challenging and successful our lives are, the more excited we are to share it,” she says.

Sometimes there are some personal reasons behind an individual’s decision to go through a “warrior challenge” – as Claire England reveals.

“I’d done the River Rat race in London the year before, and I took up running after my 40th birthday in an effort to get fit, but I thought these types of events added a new challenge, compared to running a flat 10km. But for me, taking part was also motivated by knowing I would soon face a major operation after discovering I had cancer. So this made me feel really strong, before going into something I knew was going to be really difficult.”

Is she glad she took part? “Most definitely. I would encourage anyone who’s feeling a bit down, or going through difficult times, to do this … there’s a massive sense of achievement after you finish. It’s taught me a lot about what I’m capable of – and that realisation turned my collection of scrapes and bruises into badges of achievement I was very happy to wear.”

Get the heart racing

The Sand Pit

The 10-kilometre obstacle run at Al Barari in Dubai is on November 20. The obstacles will challenge physical and mental strength and include climbing up cargo nets, crawling through pipes and under barbed wire, jumping over walls and swinging. Register at www.thesandpitrun.com

Rush-A-Way

This urban scavenger hunt on December 11 will test participants' physical and mental strength as well as their team work. Working in pairs, participants race to the finish, but must complete challenges along the way. It's not a fitness challenge, but good physical conditioning will be an advantage. Visit www.rushawayuae.com

Talise Sandstorm

Held on the beach at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, this 4km obstacle race involves a series of challenges that will have entrants climbing, crawling, running and jumping in the sea and on the sand. Registration costs Dh600 for a team of three and can be done through www.fitnesslink.me

Wadi Adventure Race

This popular obstacle challenge will be held at Wadi Adventure in Al Ain on January 16 and March 26.  Choose from 5km, 10km or 15km courses and prepare to swim, climb, crawl and run your way to the finish line. Register at www.premieronline.com; more information at www.facebook.com/wadiadventurerace

Wadi Bih Run

Not for the faint-hearted, next year's Salomon Wadi Bih adventure race along the Khasab Road in Dibba, Oman, will be split over two days – February 5 and 6. Solo participants can choose from 30km, 50km or 72km; teams can choose from 50km or 72km. Runners battle heat, dust and an altitude of 1,000 metres. Register at www.premieronline.com

Desert Warrior Challenge

Dates have not yet been announced for the 2016 editions of the Desert Warrior Challenge, but the popular events are worth adding to the fitness calendar. Editions are held at various locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Visit www.desertwarriorchallenge.com