CrossFit is a difficult sport.
Most of us have enough trouble with pull-ups, burpees and kettlebell swings. Now pause for a moment and imagine rotating between those movements blindfolded.
That was essentially the task that five athletes from non-profit group Runninghour tackled at Reebok CrossFit Enduro’s annual fundraiser event on Saturday, 18 October. A group that uses sports to integrate people with special needs, Runninghour made headlines when several of its visually impaired members completed a triathlon last year. Runninghour’s intrepid athletes left yet another group of spectators in awe by taking on – and acing – a CrossFit WOD.
“They just inspire me,” said Carol Chok, an Enduro trainer who served as each visually impaired athlete’s guide during the WOD. “I think that they’re amazing. We always complain that we can’t do this and we can’t do that. They can’t see and yet they go for it. They just do it.”
That was the general sentiment among a record crowd at Enduro’s annual event. Named after the Hindu philosophy of giving, Project Dana united about 100 athletes from Singapore’s burgeoning CrossFit community. The participants, representing 10 boxes, were backed further by sponsors Reebok, BSN and online retail outlet WINBACK, and together they raised more than $7,300.
Enduro previously gathered CrossFitters to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation, Children’s Cancer Foundation, Hope for Kenya initiative and victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
All proceeds from the latest effort will go to Runninghour, which will channel the funds towards organising its first national race on 22 March next year. Named Runninghour 2015 Run So Others Can (http://www.Runninghour2015.com), the event aims to encourage more people of special needs to take up sports and to promote awareness about this group of people.
As they demonstrated with Enduro’s 17-minute “Fight Gone Bad”-style WOD, they can accomplish a lot when they put their minds to it.
“CrossFit is one of the toughest and most demanding fitness programmes I have experienced,” said Stuart Francis, one of the Runninghour athletes. “The challenge is both physical and mental. The support of the Enduro team and the determination of fellow Runninghour heroes drove us through. A combined victory for CrossFit and Runninghour!”
~ by Kelvin Ang
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