No obstacle big enough for Catherine
NGN speaks to former Our Lady of Fatima pupil who is making a name for herself in the Warrior Race circuit.
AN obstacle course lies ahead of you. You have the monkey bars to swing across, climb objects, crawl through mud while making sure not to touch a wire fence and battle up slippery slopes. This is all part of the Jeep Warrior Race. If that sounds daunting, don’t sweat it, the race caters for all fitness levels.
Just ask local resident, Catherine Robson. The former Our Lady of Fatima pupil is hoping to seal a place in the top three positions in the ‘black-ops’ section in this year’s warrior race in Ballito.
Last July, in the same event, Robson was the third woman in and the 21st out of 1 400 participants. In January this year she took part in her first black-ops elite event, and has been in the top six.
She is training hard for the Ballito course and hopes to come in the top three. Incredibly, she also rides for a living and currently works for Langley Equestrian Centre and Foresyte Stud in Shongweni, where she teaches showjumping.
She now looks after about 60 horses in the yard and has her own Piante, which she had entered in this year’s Nissen Winter Classic.
“I’m quite active in my job, and I think working with horses has given me the upper body strength some women struggle with. Warrior courses are based on endurance and army obstacles. When entering any of these competitions, I always try and aim for a top five spot. It’s a great measure to see where you are psychically. I’d really love to win the Ballito race, seeing as it is a home race,” she said.
While her performances may suggest that she has been participating in the sport for years, Robson only entered her first event last year.
“My friend entered me into a race and I think I came fourth in that race. The rest is history, I was hooked. I think it offers something for everyone, whatever fitness level you are at. You are more than capable of doing it and I hope to see more people and more girls getting involved. It’s like being back in your childhood – swinging on monkey bars and climbing ropes. The only thing I don’t like is the mud crawling,” she laughed.
Warrior race classifications
Brats: (Ages 5 -13 only) Multiple laps of 300m. 8 obstacles
Rookie: 6.5km 15 obstacles
Commando: 10.6km 23 obstacles
Black-ops: 18km 32 obstacles
