If there is such a thing as ‘challenging but fun,’ then that is the description of the first ever edition of ‘Waka Warrior Race’, Rwanda’s version of popular obstacle course races like ‘Wipe Out’ and ‘Ninja Warrior’ which are popular on television. 

Organised by the Kimihurura-based gym, the inaugural Waka Fitness race took place at Masaka Farms on Saturday starting at 9am.

Teams consisting of two or four people participated in six race categories, like a two-man race or four mixed team race. The teams had to race over a total of 15 obstacles over a 1.5 km long course that involved running, climbing, jumping, crawling, carrying, balancing and more with volunteers to guide the competitors.

The toughest obstacle of the day was the slippery wall climb that tested the creativity and persistence of the teams.

However, the other obstacles, like the barbed wire crawl, pole climbing and wading in the stream that run across the farm which is low, did their work to give the close to 300 participants a thorough endurance test. However, it was pure achievement when they reached the finish, which was a climb on an edge and a slide into an ice cold pool.

Eats and drinks were on sale, and there was also music and a mini obstacle course for the children. A troupe from child rehabilitation centre, Les Enfants de Dieu, entertained attendants with traditional Kinyarwanda music and dance.

Winners in different categories including the fastest teams, the best dressed and the toughest warrior were given prizes including air tickets, electronic gadgets, products, gift vouchers and more from the various sponsors.

Dennis Dybdal, the managing director of Waka Fitness told The New Times that the support and turnout was incredible, considering it took five weeks to plan the race.

"It’s been remarkable to see how many people have supported us, volunteers and sponsors, and people who showed up. We managed to do this in five weeks, imagine what we can do in one year, that’s the next step,” he said.

He added, "Rwanda deserves it and we think it has great potential to attract tourists. Next year it will be bigger.”

editorial@newtimes.co.rw