Streetsboro -- Part obstacle course, part cross country race, the Tough Towner will offer area racers a fun, messy event on April 20.
The 4-mile race will take place at Streetsboro City Park and include 25 obstacles, including a wall, a bog and a variety of others. The winding course will take runners throughout the park and school campus, according to the event's webpage, www.toughtowner.com.
"What inspired it originally was me running the Warrior Dash," said race organizer Matt Campana, owner of Corporate Motivation, which is organizing the event along with Grand Dynamics and the city of Streetsboro. "The theory behind our race is to involve the community and really challenge people to overcome their own personal obstacles."
Campana said the event is similar to the Warrior Dash but longer and more community oriented.
Streetsboro Parks & Recreation Director Greg Mytinger suggested participants begin training for the event soon, adding there are some obstacles which require the cooperation of another racer to overcome.
There's a fast race, which will begin at 10 a.m. April 20 and a fun run, which will begin at noon, said Campana.
If racers want to compete in the fast race, Campana suggests a workout mixing upper body, lower body and cardio exercise. He said doing push-up to jump squats, carrying a log for a mile, mixing in 15-yard Army crawls into runs and chin-ups will prepare racers.
"If you do the fast class, you have to do every obstacle to win," he said.
The fun run is intended to be a bit less serious.
"You can wear costumes and just really have fun with it," said Campana, adding a party is planned at Stringz & Wingz after the fun run in which all the runners get a free drink.
Campana said the Tough Towner is intended to be a gentler event than the Tough Mudder, a 12-mile race with obstacles.
"Our race is much more community oriented, and it's more mud-centric," he said.
Suggestions for obstacles can come from any age group, he added.
"We had one out in Jackson Hole that was inspired by a kid," said Campana. "He said we should use the monkey bars, and we did -- that was input from a 6-year-old."
To submit an idea for an obstacle or get inspiration for an idea, visit http://www.toughtowner.com/obstacles/.
Early registration for the event is $39, and a portion of each registration fee benefits Portage County Habitat for Humanity, which is the event's benefactor.
For more information, visit www.toughtowner.com or call the Streetsboro Parks & Recreation Department at 330-626-3802.
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