STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With temperatures climbing out of the 30s and a light wind blowing, the High Rock Challenge had a brisk start, especially since it began with runners taking off their shoes and running a few yards barefoot from the start to put them back on.
"That was mean," laughed Lisa Cueva of St. George. "Runners are very particular about tying their shoes. To have to do it in a rush was a curve ball." Covered in mud and dressed in tutus, she and her Staten Island Athletic Club teammate, Dan McSwiggan, brightened what was also a gloriously sunny day.
Over the course of 2 1/2 hours some 440 two-person teams rolled out in a staggered start from Henry Kaufmann Camp Grounds on Manor Road to traverse a 10K course over and under obstacles on the Greenbelt trails and loop back to the camp to wheelbarrow their partners in to the finish line festivities.
"You walk with your hands with the wheelbarrow," said Jay Duskin, whose teammate David Sloan is an Albany Law School buddy who came from Boston to compete. "My feet were done by then. It was a welcome break." Duskin and Sloan were leading the over 55 category.
Before they even left the campgrounds, runners completed a series of obstacles that included monkey bars, a paper toss, an inversion wall and a crawl over cargo nets.
Out on the trails, contestants were met with 50-pound sandbags to carry uphill, a "jail break" involving memory and fine motor skills, and kayaking.
"I thought about leaving him chained to the tree," joked Eugene Saladis, who came in first in the men's category with Tom DeAngelis, both members of the FDNY. They also train together at Monkey Bar Gym.
"You think you know your partner until the water slide," DeAngelis said. They finished in about an hour and 16 minutes.
Monkey Bars had a strong showing with the top male, female and co-ed teams all members of the Travis gym.
"It's a great event, a great day on Staten Island," said Kerry McCole, who said she would be washing off the mud before going to her son's First Communion. A physical therapist and mother of four, she placed first with her Monkey Bars Gym partner, Nicky Winston, an occupational therapist, in a little over an hour and 26 minutes.
Chelsea Aronica and Jim Lopez lead the co-ed team category.
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The kayaking was a memorable challenge for the father-son duo of Robert and Robbie Arpaio of East Brunswick, N.J.
"We'd never done before, so we were uncoordinated," dad said. "That's where the listening and teamwork came in."
"Yeah, there was some screaming in the canoe," laughed Robbie.
Experienced obstacle course racers, New Jersey residents Lauren Cisneros and Liz Piscetelli were competing as a team for the first time. And they loved it.
"It changes it up. It's not all about me," Cisneros said. "You rely on each other's strengths and weaknesses." Definitely planning on returning, she is part of Women of Obstacle Racing, a group that encourages women to get into the sport.
Held in memory of NYPD Officer John Kelly, the High Rock Challenge is presented by Greenbelt Conservancy, NYC Parks, and King of the Mountain Events.
Proceeds help support Greenbelt trail maintenance and environmental education programs. Support from sponsors helps the funds go further. Northfield Bank, Richmond University Medical Center, Manhattan Beer Distributors and One on One Physical Therapy are among the major sponsors.