3rd Annual Lakes Games Kick Off Friday In WinonaWINONA LAKE – The third annual Lake Games is calling all athletes to come and compete for cash prizes this weekend in Winona Lake.
All proceeds from the Lake Games go to Heart Soul Mind Strength primary boarding school in Jeremie, Haiti. Warsaw native and Grace College alum Lindsay Anderson founded HSMS and lives there full time running the school.
“Basically, I worked with Ryan Hill out of CrossFit Haymaker (Warsaw) and we started talking about putting on a big athletic event to bring the community together,” Todd Anderson, the brother of Lindsay Anderson, said. “So we started talking with?Matt Metzger of Metzger Outdoors, and we came up with this.”
There are four events and an ultimate challenger event. The obstacle course race is 7:30 to 9 p.m. Friday at Grace College Miller Field. Registration opens at 5 p.m.
Registration and all athlete check-in is in the Gordon Rec Center at Grace College. All athletes need to be in the Rec Center one hour before the start of the event. After checking in, all athletes remain at the center until being escorted to the start and finish lines. Awards immediately follow the conclusion of the event back at the center. Athletes competing in any outdoor events need to bring a change of shoes because only clean shoes are allowed inside the rec center.
The obstacle course is for athletes of all skill levels but does include some difficult obstacles, Todd Anderson said.
“But there’s people that bypass. A lot of kids do it, actually,” he said.
Participants should expect to get muddy and wet, thanks to the Winona Lake and Leesburg fire departments who show up to spray water over part of the course.
The obstacle course race winner gets $500 and qualifies for the ultimate challenger event.
On Saturday, the CrossFit competition goes from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., with registration starting at 5:30 a.m. CrossFit awards are 1:15 to 1:30 p.m., with the winner taking home $500 and qualifying for the ultimate challenger event.
The bike race through the Winona Lake trails is 4 to 6:30 p.m., and the 5K trail run race is 8 to 8:45 p.m. Winners of those events take home $250 and qualify for the ultimate challenger event.
The ultimate challenger event takes the best athletes from each event to compete against each other. There are individual and four-person teams for the ultimate challenger. The individual overall champion wins $500, and the overall team champion wins $1,000.
Todd Anderson said about 260 people participated in Lake Games last year, raising $12,500 for his sister’s school.
Participants can register for any or all events at www.lakegames.org and cost is $35 per event.
Todd Anderson said more than 100 people have already signed up and he expects about 350 participants for this year’s Lake Games.
“There’s some really good athletes that show up,” he said. “And it’s a lot of fun to watch.”
For more information, visit the website or call 574-933-4008.
