THRILL OF THE CHASE: Giving It Their All For Paws
June 26, 2018
Adventure Race Benefits Veterans, Service Dogs
By JUSTIN McILWEE
Daily News-Record 6/25/18
HARRISONBURG — When participants get ready to take part in an adventure race, they anticipate obstacles during the run.
On Saturday, however, as racers and guests started to arrive at the Harper-Presgraves Training Facility, the training grounds for the Harrisonburg Police Department’s SWAT team, for the third annual Fine Earth Adventure Race, they were treated to an unanticipated obstacle: a flooded bridge.
Due to all the rain that’s hit the area in the last week, water was rushing over an entrance bridge, forcing competitors to wade through just to get to the starting line. But compared to some of the obstacles they’d be facing along the course, a little water was nothing.
“It’s just going to make the course more muddy,” said Chad Layman, one of the owners of Fine Earth, the company that puts on the race. “I think people are going to have more fun; it’s going to be awesome.”
This year, close to 700 competed in the race, raising more than $127,000 for K9s for Warriors, an organization that pairs veterans with service dogs.
“We heard about this veteran suicide epidemic and we wanted to do our part,” Layman said. “We’re raising money for an organization we believe in.”
At Saturday’s race, participants had the choice of one of three course levels in which to participate: SWAT team, intermediate and walking.
The SWAT course, which is the most grueling, is the exact course that police tactical teams all over the state must complete during training. The obstacles include an Army crawl in which racers must crawl underneath barbed wire and through a large corrugated pipe before climbing a large mountain of hay bales to get to the finish line.
“It’s kind of like American Ninja [Warrior] on TV,” Layman said. “No running, mostly obstacles, it’s intense and fun to watch.”
There is the Spec. Trevor Banks Intermediate Team Course, named after a veteran who lost his fight with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2013. This course is a 3-mile run/walk though many of the same obstacles as the SWAT course, without the same difficulty. It’s designed so that 80 percent of registered participants can complete it.
The final course is the Walk for Warriors, a one mile walk for those wishing to participate without the intensity or obstacles.
Mark Coffren, a Northern Virginia native and first-time racer, said it was K9s for Warriors that made him come out this year. And as long as he could walk away from the day, after taking part in the intermediate course, he’d consider it a success.
“I just wanted to support the cause,” Coffren said. “We really appreciate all the soldiers and everything they do so it’s just a little something we can do to help out.
“We’re at the very bottom of the intermediate class, trying to beat the walkers.
Anything with the water and mud, I’m looking forward to. I know I’m going to get hurt, muddy and bloody, but it’s worth it.”
All the money raised this weekend goes to K9s for Warriors, a nonprofit organization based out of Ponte Vedra, Fla., that rescues dogs from kill shelters. The dogs are trained as service animals for veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury or sexual trauma as a result of military service after Sept. 11, 2001.
“We have a procurement team that goes out to rescue shelters and they find dogs that meet our criteria,” said Jason Snodgrass, chief operating officer of the organization. “After their health screening and temperament testing, we have a team of dog trainers that start training them. The more advanced training comes after that.”
In all, dogs go through 120 hours of training to become a service dog.
Snodgrass said that a service dog costs roughly $30,000 to train. But because of events like Fine Earth’s Adventure Race, which has raised close to $600,000 in the race’s three years, veterans don’t incur any of the cost associated with procuring a service dog. But just as important as the fundraising aspect, Snodgrass said that having an event like the Adventure Race is important because it shines light on an important topic.
“It’s a lot about awareness,” he said. “Not only does this event raise money, it raises awareness to the veteran-suicide epidemic, K9’s for Warriors and the value that service dogs have in the mitigation of symptoms of PTSD.”
There was also a Ride for Warriors motorcycle ride that took place on Sunday. The event started at the Harper-Presgraves Training Facility and took riders 105 miles through Court Square and then onto Brandy Wine, W.Va., and back into Virginia, before ending back at the training facility.
Layman said he anticipated around 100 riders would take part in the ride.
ABOVE: The K9s for Warriors team races to the finish line with their service dogs on Saturday during the third annual Fine Earth Adventure Race at the Harper-Presgraves Training Facility in Harrisonburg. BELOW: Anthony Cala of Lakeland, Fla., and his service dog, Judie, wash off in the creek after completing the course. The race benefits K9s for Warriors, an organization that pairs veterans with service dogs.
The U Fit Gym team holds hands as they head for the finish line at the third annual Fine Earth Adventure Race on Saturday. Close to 700 racers turned out this year.
By JUSTIN McILWEE
Daily News-Record 6/25/18
HARRISONBURG — When participants get ready to take part in an adventure race, they anticipate obstacles during the run.
On Saturday, however, as racers and guests started to arrive at the Harper-Presgraves Training Facility, the training grounds for the Harrisonburg Police Department’s SWAT team, for the third annual Fine Earth Adventure Race, they were treated to an unanticipated obstacle: a flooded bridge.
Due to all the rain that’s hit the area in the last week, water was rushing over an entrance bridge, forcing competitors to wade through just to get to the starting line. But compared to some of the obstacles they’d be facing along the course, a little water was nothing.
“It’s just going to make the course more muddy,” said Chad Layman, one of the owners of Fine Earth, the company that puts on the race. “I think people are going to have more fun; it’s going to be awesome.”
This year, close to 700 competed in the race, raising more than $127,000 for K9s for Warriors, an organization that pairs veterans with service dogs.
“We heard about this veteran suicide epidemic and we wanted to do our part,” Layman said. “We’re raising money for an organization we believe in.”
At Saturday’s race, participants had the choice of one of three course levels in which to participate: SWAT team, intermediate and walking.
The SWAT course, which is the most grueling, is the exact course that police tactical teams all over the state must complete during training. The obstacles include an Army crawl in which racers must crawl underneath barbed wire and through a large corrugated pipe before climbing a large mountain of hay bales to get to the finish line.
“It’s kind of like American Ninja [Warrior] on TV,” Layman said. “No running, mostly obstacles, it’s intense and fun to watch.”
There is the Spec. Trevor Banks Intermediate Team Course, named after a veteran who lost his fight with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2013. This course is a 3-mile run/walk though many of the same obstacles as the SWAT course, without the same difficulty. It’s designed so that 80 percent of registered participants can complete it.
The final course is the Walk for Warriors, a one mile walk for those wishing to participate without the intensity or obstacles.
Mark Coffren, a Northern Virginia native and first-time racer, said it was K9s for Warriors that made him come out this year. And as long as he could walk away from the day, after taking part in the intermediate course, he’d consider it a success.
“I just wanted to support the cause,” Coffren said. “We really appreciate all the soldiers and everything they do so it’s just a little something we can do to help out.
“We’re at the very bottom of the intermediate class, trying to beat the walkers.
Anything with the water and mud, I’m looking forward to. I know I’m going to get hurt, muddy and bloody, but it’s worth it.”
All the money raised this weekend goes to K9s for Warriors, a nonprofit organization based out of Ponte Vedra, Fla., that rescues dogs from kill shelters. The dogs are trained as service animals for veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury or sexual trauma as a result of military service after Sept. 11, 2001.
“We have a procurement team that goes out to rescue shelters and they find dogs that meet our criteria,” said Jason Snodgrass, chief operating officer of the organization. “After their health screening and temperament testing, we have a team of dog trainers that start training them. The more advanced training comes after that.”
In all, dogs go through 120 hours of training to become a service dog.
Snodgrass said that a service dog costs roughly $30,000 to train. But because of events like Fine Earth’s Adventure Race, which has raised close to $600,000 in the race’s three years, veterans don’t incur any of the cost associated with procuring a service dog. But just as important as the fundraising aspect, Snodgrass said that having an event like the Adventure Race is important because it shines light on an important topic.
“It’s a lot about awareness,” he said. “Not only does this event raise money, it raises awareness to the veteran-suicide epidemic, K9’s for Warriors and the value that service dogs have in the mitigation of symptoms of PTSD.”
There was also a Ride for Warriors motorcycle ride that took place on Sunday. The event started at the Harper-Presgraves Training Facility and took riders 105 miles through Court Square and then onto Brandy Wine, W.Va., and back into Virginia, before ending back at the training facility.
Layman said he anticipated around 100 riders would take part in the ride.
ABOVE: The K9s for Warriors team races to the finish line with their service dogs on Saturday during the third annual Fine Earth Adventure Race at the Harper-Presgraves Training Facility in Harrisonburg. BELOW: Anthony Cala of Lakeland, Fla., and his service dog, Judie, wash off in the creek after completing the course. The race benefits K9s for Warriors, an organization that pairs veterans with service dogs.
The U Fit Gym team holds hands as they head for the finish line at the third annual Fine Earth Adventure Race on Saturday. Close to 700 racers turned out this year.
