Recreation services hosts first ever Iron Man called the IRONRedhawk Challenge

There are many things that go on at the Southeast Missouri State University's Student Recreation Center-North, but this year something new is taking place that has never happened before. The recreation center will host its first ever Iron Man called the IRONRedhawk Challenge.

"[Recreation services] trying something different," Sara Wagganer, assistant director of fitness and wellness, said. "Your goal is to do an Iron Man in five weeks."

An Iron Man is swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles. Normally, an Iron Man is completed without a break.

"We always give our students about two or three weeks to sign up for things, and we thought we would do it from that three-week point to right before spring break," Wagganer said. "It's kind of the perfect amount of time."

The challenge is open to all people in the Southeast community.

"Faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a member SRC can do it," Wagganer said. "I would like to add if you don't like to do one of those three activities -- swimming, biking and running -- there [are] other things you can do in place for it. Once everybody signs up I am going to send them a conversion chart; let's say you hate swimming well... you can do an hour yoga class."

Participants have to keep track of their progress during the challenge on their honor.

"We will keep a log at the front desk for people that don't want to go online or we will send them a Google document and they will be able to record it all by going on the Internet," Wagganer said. "Every program I do is an honor system thing."

The IRONRedhawk Challenge is an event that has those who participate put forth greater effort toward earning a reward. There is no one individual champion when it is all finished.

"There will always be someone who goes the most miles," Wagganer said. "It is an incentive. If you do the incentive, you get the prize."

The prize if one completes the IRONRedhawk Challenge will be a special IRONRedhawk T-shirt and a place for his or her name in the IRONRedhawk Hall of Fame.

"We will make a sheet of everybody that completed it and keep track of it as more people accomplish it throughout the semester," Wagganer said. "We will post the names on the bulletin board and throughout the course of the five weeks we will put names and how many miles everybody has gone once a week."

There is no limit to how many people can sign up.

"We have around 40 right now and we usually had around 60 in cardio club," Wagganer said. "It doesn't surprise me because of course cardio club is just cardio in general and this is a little bit more defined and a little more challenging."

Wagganer said the reason the recreation center hosted the IRONRedhawk Challenge this year was because it was something new and different from Cardio Club, a challenge hosted in previous years. The chance to sign up for the IRONRedhawk Challenge was from Jan. 20 through Feb. 6. Now all the participants are off doing their swimming, biking and running.

Wagganer said the student recreation services might put another one on after spring break, depending on how the IRONRedhawk Challenge goes this semester. Staying motivated is a struggle and "People just need somebody checking up on them to stay motivated sometimes," Wagganer said.

Recreation center personal trainer Josh Perreault was motivated enough to participate in the IRONRedhawk Challenge.

"I want to live the active lifestyle," Perreault said. "Eventually I want to run in a triathlon without breaks."

Hearing about the IRONRedhawk Challenge from the personal training staff, Perreault has decided to try it out.

"It is not impossible," Perreault said. "You just have to put in the time."