Rain Can’t Dampen First Erie Hero Challenge!
How fitting that Colliers Hill residents honored military veterans last weekend by launching the community’s first Erie Hero Challenge in Serene Park! (Photos by Bill Masure/Artair Photography)
The rainy weather proved to be no obstacle for The Challenge, with more than 100 men, women and children taking part in the event, designed to raise funds for military heroes. The Challenge is tied to the infamous MURPH – a workout created by Michael Patrick “Murph” Murphy (May 7, 1976 – June 28, 2005) to build and maintain endurance and strength.
Murphy was a United States Navy SEAL officer who was awarded the U.S. military’s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions during the war in Afghanistan. He was the first member of the United States Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War. His other posthumous awards include the Silver Star (later upgraded to the Medal of Honor) and a Purple Heart.
His workout, originally called Body Armour, was a grueling one-mile run, followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, and a one-mile run to finish – all while wearing a 20-pound weighted vest. The workout has been nicknamed The Murph in Murphy’s honor, and that was the focus of last weekend’s Colliers Hill event.
Hometown Heroes Launch Non-Profit
Casey Clement — one of three Colliers Hill residents who co-founded the Erie Hero Foundation – spoke at the event and explained how participants would be competing.
Many of the challengers have been training for the event over the last six weeks in their garages, basements and at gyms. People could choose to break up the workout by tag-teaming with a partner(s), or modify it based on individual fitness levels. The whole workout took individuals between 35 and 65 minutes to complete and at last weekend’s challenge, started in the morning with weather that ranged from drizzly to full-blown thunderstorms.
A bevy of sponsors turned out to show their support, and there were food and beverage trucks on hand to keep participants hydrated and fueled for the stamina test.
After a young woman galvanized the crowd by singing the national anthem, the first heat went off at about 9:30 a.m. Says bystander Emily Harnden, “There was a good-sized crowd of men and women taking the challenge — and a lot of families and friends watching and taking pictures.”
Lightning broke up the event in the park later in the day, but the remaining heat(s) moved to a local gym – Cannon Mine Fitness in Lafayette — to finish. Even with inclement weather – the first Erie Hero Challenge was a roaring success!
The Close-Knit Community of Colliers Hill!
If you happened to visit the master-planned community of Colliers Hill last weekend you might have seen what residents know firsthand – that life is just better on the Hill! This fast-growing new home community in Northern Colorado has lots of exciting amenities and the beautiful model homes from KB Home, Century Communities and Richmond American Homes – and coming soon, Boulder Creek. It’s still a great time to buy a home priced from the high $300s – without crazy competition and frustrating bidding wars!
