'Obstacle-heavy' race coming to Naperville
Flipping tires, walking on balance beams, crossing monkey bars, scaling walls. Sound like fun?
How about dribbling basketballs, sprinting with soccer balls or tossing footballs?
There's a race coming to Naperville that incorporates all of these obstacles, sports and more into one event - the Varsity Rush family fitness challenge.
Varsity Rush, scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, is the second annual obstacle race to take place at Frontier Park in Naperville.
It's designed as an active occasion for kids and their parents to get moving and compete together, said Sean Hastings of Naperville, who is putting on the race along with obstacle race industry leaders and CrossFit trainers John Ziegler and Sarah Pozdol.
"We're all about getting parents and their kids out and doing things actively together," Hastings said.
The race has two distances - a 1-mile course and a 3.1-mile course known as a 5K - and various waves for participants of different ages and skill levels. Each distance has at least a dozen obstacles, including "DaWasher," a tunnel draped with fabric from a real car wash.
"It's relatively obstacle-heavy," Hastings said about the course.
A competitive wave begins at 8 a.m. with prizes for the top three male and female finishers. The first wave will be followed at 9 a.m. by a kids-only wave open to children between 4 and 15 years old, with a family wave at 9:30 a.m. A special needs wave also will be offered for participants who need support from volunteer teammates.
With several more waves starting every half-hour, Hastings said many participants go through the course twice - once to race for a good time and once to goof off with family or friends.
New obstacles this year will incorporate elements of traditional sports such as basketball, soccer and football into the challenges racers must complete along the course. That way parents can find familiar activities, like dribbling a basketball around a court, and introduce those motions to their children - all as part of one obstacle race.
"We're blending obstacle course racing and fitness with something that kids can actually sign up for through the park district or through school," Hastings said. "That's definitely unique."
For those who want even more of a fitness challenge, Varsity Rush will offer several heats of a circuit exercise race called a Competitive Workout of the Day.
Inspired by the Reebok CrossFit Games on ESPN, Hastings said, the Competitive Workout of the Day requires racers to complete specified repetitions of four exercises as quickly as possible: kettlebell swings, box jumps, burpees and running. Ten people can compete at once, and the fastest finisher in each heat gets a plaque.
"I guarantee that people will be tired after they do that," Hastings said.
After the race, 20 vendors focusing on healthy foods and products will be gathered in the park, 3380 Cedar Glade Road. Last year, 900 people completed the race and roughly 1,500 were on hand, including spectators and cheerleaders.
Registration at varsityrush.com is $25 for the kids wave, $45 for adults and $40 for the Competitive Workout of the Day.
"It's a blast," Hastings said, "to see kids smiling and parents having a good time."
If you go
What: Varsity Rush family fitness event
When: 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1
Where: Frontier Park, 3380 Cedar Glade Drive, Naperville
Cost: Obstacle race $45 adults, $25 kids ages 4 to 15; Competitive Workout of the Day $30 adults 18 and older
Info: varsityrush.com or events@varsityrush.com