It was 8am – and very cold and frosty – when the first of the RRT team members turned up at the Woodhill Sands Equestrian centre.

Just 40km west of Auckland city centre, this beautiful setting was to hold the Tough Guy and Gal Competition.

Approx. 1800 people attended

This competition consists of a gruelling run around a track full of obstacles. From deep mud, to steep climbs, to water crossings, to even crawling under a web of live electrical wires! Certainly not an activity for the faint hearted!

This event is fundraising for Cure Kids, a charity that funds researching into cures and treatments to the many health conditions that affect our kids.

The RRT team set up a tent site and cranked up the BBQ’s to feed the boisterous crowd of 1800 brave competitors who turned up.

Sausages sizzling beneath a cloudless sky! Set up, waiting for the hungry folk!

At 11am the first runners got away, under what had turned out to be a beautiful winters day.

They’re off

2 hours later most of the competitors had dragged themselves back, dripping wet and literally coated from top to toe in mud!

Get a little dirt on your hands and everywhere else! Some folk dressed up, and down!

What a sight to see! We talked to some members of the NZ Air Force who had done the race in uniform including full lace up boots!

RRT meet the Air force

Once everyone had cleaned up, the appetite kicked into gear and the RRT team was almost run off their feet with the rush of hungry participants.

Young and old, hungry and thirsty

We had a lot of fun serving and talking to them all and there were a lot of repeat customers! One man ended up ordering 24 sausages for him and his friends!

The event finished on time at around 3pm and we started cleaning and packing up. A quick tally up revealed that we had given away around 700 water bottles and sold about 1200 sausages, with proceeds going to Cure Kids.

It was a very satisfying feeling being involved with the team at RRT who are contributing to such a great cause!

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