Maggie Ramold | Sports Co-Editor
During the month of February, 45 participants decided to take part in the third annual Iron Beaver Challenge, which is hosted by the Human Performance Student Organization (HiPSO). Each participant has to complete distances of an Iron Man on their own pace and time.
“Our goal is to get people active in more than one mode of exercise for an extended period of time. It gets people in the pool, on the treadmills, and on the bikes over the course of a month,” junior HiPSO President Lesa Turquist said.
Three years ago, HiPSO wanted to find a fun way to get people to exercise. The group decided to incorporate the Iron Man competition in which Assistant Professor of Exercise Science and Director of Human Performance Matt Hanson competes in professionally. Since then, around 200 participants have completed the challenge.
Sophomore Callie Hoffman is one of the 45 participants competing in this year’s challenge, and she has been enjoying the rewarding experience.
“Fitness is important to me, and I wanted to challenge myself. For me, the most challenging part is the swimming. I’m not used to doing that for physical activity; its’ usually just for fun!” Hoffman said.
If the participants finish each section of the Iron Beaver Challenge, they will be entered into a drawing to win prizes such as various nutrition products, iPhone and Android phone arm bands, goggles, and other triathlon related goodies.
Since the challenge is on an individual basis, each participant is responsible for scheduling out a time to complete the running, biking, and swimming parts of the challenge.
“I tend to be very organized, so I have my workout for each day planned. The Iron Beaver has added some stress, but if I do a little every day, it’s not too bad,” Hoffman said.
After completing distances, each participant enters the amount into a binder at the front desk in the Siebens Fieldhouse.
“I think the best part about it is people can do this event on their own time, which doesn’t limit the number of people who can participate based on their schedules,” Turquist said.
