Hell and Back Challenge

Posted By Megan Durkan on Oct 18, 2014

Getting ready to go to HELL and Back!

Last Saturday a group of twenty one Swinford ladies and gents set off on a journey to Hell BUT they made it BACK! Here to tell the tale is the lady who brought it all together…. Karen Clynch.

Karen and Mary

Having been part of Kirby Fitness for the last few years, I decided i needed to challenge myself. So when i saw that the Hell and Back Challenge was coming to Sligo, I asked a few of the fitness group if they would like to join me on it. I thought that maybe five or six would do so, but was thrilled when i got twenty one people to sign up. And i didn’t have to twist any ones arms either…well ok, maybe just one or two. Money was collected and registered quickly so no one could pull out, and our journey began…

A group of over 20 people from Swinford took on the hell and back challenge. Visit Swinford.ie for more info

Hell and Back training began in September every Friday evening for the next few weeks. Pat turned a field into a mini Hell and Back, running through a field over ditches, up and down hills, climbing over a five foot high branch, over more hedges and crawling through muck. What a laugh we had.

Finally the 11th October arrived. Twenty one Hell raisers headed off with supporters to Temple House in Sligo….And the fun started, like excited kids we queued to get our faces painted then off we headed to warm up. We didn’t stay warm for long as the marshalls soon got us ready to jump into when Hell freezes over…OMG..what a shock! But we didn’t have long to think about the cold as off we headed to a 12k course…into streams of slime, over branches, more rivers under fences, boggy water, numerous mucky hills, up and down a hill carrying heavy logs, under barbed wire, over a ten foot wall, through electric fences and many many more…But boy was it worth!!!

Happy Swinford faces at the finishing line of the Hell and Back Challenge. Visit Swinford.ie for more

Back from Hell

The feeling crossing the finish line was phenomenal. It was the toughest thing I have ever done, but oh that feeling of accomplishment… that twenty one of us started the challenge and all twenty one of us finished it. I am so proud to be part of this amazing group of people and Pat Kirby’s fitness group.

Following this fantastic feat, these ladies and gents had a WONDERFUL well deserved celebration in The White House. The excitement, high spirits and sense of accomplishment was clear to be seen. These twenty one people are no longer people meeting up at a fitness class, they are team mates, co-workers, but most importantly loyal friends.

Pat Kirby hosts a full schedule of fitness classes and I am sure, these twenty one people would be delighted to head off to Sligo next year as a group of forty or more so contact Pat or Karen for more information.