'Miners' blast through obstacle course

For most of June, the extent of Sudbury MP Glenn Thibeault's fitness regime was standing up and down as he voted on bills in Parliament.

Keeping this in mind, participating in the Miner's Mayhem race June 23 was somewhat of a shock to his system. The event included nine obstacles spread across a four-km trail, wrapping around Adanac Ski Hill and Rotary Trail.

“My wife and I have been working pretty hard at trying to get ourselves active and living a healthy lifestyle again,” a wet and muddy Thibeault said after completing the race.

“This seemed a great way to start the process and kick off summer. I just got back from Ottawa yesterday. We signed up for this a month and a half ago.

“It seemed like it would be something different and something new. It's tiring and exhausting and a lot of fun at the same time.”

Thibeault said the worst part was climbing Adanac Ski Hill. He said he slowed down towards the end, and was overtaken by a Greater Sudbury Roller Derby team, who were also participating in the event.

“The roller girls were coming up and goated me in,” he said. “It's a move they do in roller derby. When they goated me in, I couldn't pass. I ran all the way with them to the end. That was a lot of fun.”

The race was organized by Donna Smrek and Lise Edwards, co-owners of TriStyle Inc., a fitness studio in New Sudbury.

They'd signed up for a similar event in Barrie called the Warrior Dash, which takes place in July. After registering, they decided to put on their own version of the event here.

“Because we were a mining town, we only figured a mining theme would be appropriate for this venue,” Edwards said.

She said the course set up for the event was quite challenging, including a run along the Rotary Trail, scaling a 10-foot wall, climbing 84 stairs, crawling through a muddy “tailings pond,” climbing up the ski hill, running through a maze of tires and sliding down a wet plastic slope.

At the end of the race, they dig through a pile of dirt for some “ore,” and then they're home free, Edwards said. Hose-wielding volunteers sprayed off the muddy contestants at the finish line.

“The prize is pride,” she said. “They all finish and get a wonderful miner's helmet.”

A portion of the funds collected through registration will be donated to the Vale Hospice.

Edwards said she's thrilled with the response to the race — 275 people registered, with many phoning her the night before the event to see if it was too late to participate.

For the Lucketts, the Miner's Mayhem race was a family affair. Deb Luckett participated in the event with her brothers and her son.

“It was very challenging in some spots — more than I thought it was going to be,” she said. “I thought 'It's four kilometres, it can't be that bad.' ... The tires and the climb, that was wicked.”

Deb's son, Eric Luckett, said he's participated in the Warrior Dash in Barrie in the past, but thought the Miner's Mayhem was just as fun. “The event was awesome,” he said.

Among the participants were none other than Northern Life sports and lifestyle editor Laurel Myers, and her boyfriend, Darren Bomhower.

Myers said she thought it was a “great race.”

“The organizers really put together a fun obstacle out there,” she said. “It was physically trying and just a whole lot of fun in general.”

She said she's looking forward to participating in the event again next year.

Bomhower said for him, the hardest part of the race was ascending and descending Adanac Ski Hill. “It was steep, the climbing going up, and with the rocks going down, it was pretty slippery.”

Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen