Inverary woman returns home to hero’s welcome

Catherine Reynolds | Oct 26, 2016

Kelli McRobert has come home to a hero’s welcome after representing Canada in the World Obstacle Course Race Championships on the unforgiving Blue Mountain.

A resident of Inverary, McRobert competed against some of the greatest obstacle course racers in the world in Collingwood, Ontario on Oct. 14.

“That alone would have been a dream come true,” said McRobert, more than a week after returning home. “But it was even more spectacular as I arrived at the Blue Mountain Resort and saw the quaint village set-up with a myriad of fantastic full-size obstacles for me to tackle at the World Obstacle Course Race Championships as a Masters participant.”

According to McRobert, more than 40 countries participated in the competition, creating a nervous energy that motivated racers and spectators throughout the weekend. McRobert completed 15 obstacles over three kilometres.

“It was difficult to sleep the night before and I found some comfort online with other insomniacs as we texted back and forth to alleviate some of our fears,” she noted. “The following morning came way too early. We headed down for a quick warm-up before our heat, and before we knew it, we were at the start line getting pumped-up with a motivational speech by Coach Pain.”

McRobert called the 3K mountain climbing course incredible.

“The obstacles challenged our deepest fears, including heights,” she admitted. “We leapt across deep divides and clung desperately to a thin pole on the Dragon’s Back. Then, as a test of strength and endurance, we climbed the mountain and up a set of stairs with 50lbs of sand on our shoulders. Up and back we went, relieved as we dropped the bags to race onto the next unknown.”

A member of the Canadian team, McRobert said racers displayed patriotic pride as they wore their Canada jerseys and clung to monkey bars, ropes, rings and suspended skulls while shimmying their way to the finish line.

“The final wall was a great spectator point and you could hear the crowds cheering us on as we climbed the rope vertically, scaled down the other side and raced with a full sense of accomplishment towards the finish line and our finisher medal,” said McRobert proudly.

Bruised and sore from the challenging course, McRobert said she is comfortable with her ranking of 33rd in a division for females 40 and older.

“I may even set my goal for 2017 to improve my placement to the top 20,” she said with optimism. “Who knows what the future holds.”