{"id":934667,"date":"2026-10-16T02:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T02:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934667\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T02:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T02:34:10","slug":"friends-make-impressive-finish-at-international-fitness-competition-steinbachonline-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934667\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends make impressive finish at international fitness competition – SteinbachOnline.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, friends\u00a0Dara Toews\u00a0of Niverville and Vanessa Petsch\u00a0of Ste. Anne competed together at the HYROX fitness race held in Toronto.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Competing in the ladies’ open doubles, the pair tied another team for 43rd\u00a0place out of 1536 entries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HYROX\u00a0<\/p>\n

HYROX is a running and functional fitness race with competitions held all year long all over the globe.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Short for hybrid rockstar, the first HYROX event took place in Germany in 2017. It has since established itself as the fastest growing fitness sport in the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Toronto event alone drew in 16,000 racers throughout all categories,\u00a0along with an additional\u00a017,000 spectators.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s fun because you get a lot of people that like to run, but also like to work out,” says Toews.\u00a0“So, this is a good combination of both, and you have to be\u00a0[good at both] If you want to get\u00a0a competitive time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The competition\u00a0<\/p>\n

The HYROX fitness race contains\u00a0interval challenges. Competitors run a kilometer and then complete a timed workout at a workout station. By the end, they’ve completed eight kilometers of running mixed with eight different workout\u00a0sessions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

HYROX workouts include SkiErg, sled push and pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The training equipment\u00a0needed, Toews says, is available at many local gyms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hooked on HYROX \u00a0<\/p>\n

Toews has been interested in weights and weight training since she was a teenager. She picked up running about three years ago, in her late twenties.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It wasn’t until March of this year that she entered her first HYROX race, together with her brother in the mixed doubles category.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

New to the competition, Toews says they ended up doing more than the necessary number of reps at one station, which cost them some\u00a0valuable time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We [finished in] an hour and 13 minutes,” says Toews.\u00a0 “So, we still did really well but we did too much of one station because, if you don’t do enough, you will be penalized. The adrenaline just\u00a0got to us, so our time wasn’t what we were hoping for.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two months later, Toews was back at it in the ladies open singles in Ottawa where she competed solo. Her husband and one-year-old son accompanied her to the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI did just under an hour and 24 minutes. But the baby kept me up all night for a couple\u00a0of\u00a0nights before, so I was very tired when I started. I actually think that was my easiest race because I was doing it by myself, so I could just pace myself.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following their doubles\u00a0competition in Toronto,\u00a0Toews and Plesch\u00a0wasted no time signing\u00a0up for another\u00a0HYDROX happening in Phoenix, Arizona. \u00a0<\/p>\n

One has to be on the ball, Toews says, because the tickets sell out fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Turning it into a family affair\u00a0<\/p>\n

In December of this year, Toews is entered for her second time in the solo category,\u00a0this one in Anaheim, California.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her husband and four kids will accompany her this time, making a family vacation\u00a0out of the adventure. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Anaheim will also be the location where Toews’ eight-year-old daughter competes for the first time in the HYROX Young Stars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe thought it looked like fun. She really likes the sleds, especially a sled push. She’s done a 200-pound sled push before. She\u00a0was\u00a0seven.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Working out with the kids\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toews is a regular at Prairie Roots Fitness in Niverville. It’s a smaller, more personal kind of\u00a0gym,\u00a0she says,\u00a0where it’s okay to\u00a0bring the kids\u00a0along.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you’re Toews, taking kids to the gym is a win\/win. She is not as restricted in her workout time, and the kids get to climb on the equipment, making fitness a normal family activity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI always bring my kids to the gym with me. I almost never work out without at least one child there. Vanessa and I, training, had seven kids with us at the gym at one point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Friends who share much in common\u00a0<\/p>\n

Toews and Petsch began meeting at runs in communities\u00a0around the southeast. Both young moms, they had much in common, including the pace they keep during a run.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a duo in a competition like HYROX, Toews says they complement each other nicely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There’s a few things that Vanessa and I are very even on. I’m a lot quicker on the SkiErg than her. But she’s better on the rower than I am.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0a warmup and cool down at their Toronto competition, the pair decided to walk the13 kilometers\u00a0from their hotel room to the event venue and back, just because they could.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"Dara
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