Extreme Owls and Grapevine Snails showed their grit at the race in Tobolsk
22 june 2021
Tobolsk played host to a unique extreme race called the Character of Steel. In addition to tons of positive emotions and an adrenaline surge, each competitor who entered in the race held at the Abalak compound on June 19 took away with them a finisher's medal.
Tobolsk was chosen as one of ten Russian cities to host the 2021 series of summer extreme races known as the Character of Steel. After Tobolsk, the race will be hosted by Tomsk, Omsk, Tyumen, Nizhny Novgorod, and several other cities.
Race competitors were offered a choice of 4 race courses and 20 obstacles of varying difficulty. One of the obstacles, nicknamed the Container, proved to be one of the most challenging obstacles to clear. Plain and simple, it would be impossible to clear it without the help of one’s teammates as assistance would be needed not only when climbing onto it but also when climbing down off it. Individual competitors could really have run into an impasse here had it not been for the project’s overall generous spirit making everyone who came to run the course a part of a bigger team. As a result, the Container was successfully cleared by absolutely everyone.
The participants of the headline extreme event were very pleased with their experiences. As the names of the racing teams competing in Tobolsk suggest, the Character of Steel race is not only a competition with one’s self, a test of strength and a way to overcome one’s fear, but also great fun. On this wonderful day, members of Extreme Owls, If not us then not us, Grapevine Snails and many others had a chance to get a boost of the project’s energy.
About 1,000 sports enthusiasts hailing from Tobolsk, Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Khanty-Mansiysk, Muravlenko, Noyabrsk, Tyumen and about a dozen other cities turned out at the race to test themselves and attempt to clear the obstacles prepared for them by the organizers.
This is not the first time we have traveled from Tyumen to Tobolsk to take part in an extreme course race. And on each of those occasions we get lots of positive emotions and impressions! I really like the venue: the vicinity of Abalak is very picturesque. The course itself is interesting not only because of the vistas it offers, but also because of the terrain and the natural obstacles one finds along the way, including steep descents and climbs, and swampy areas. All in all, all of it was 100% extreme! Artyom Kuzmin, a regular race competitor representing the Office Plankton team, shared.
This project in Tobolsk, implemented by the Foundation for Supporting Sports with the assistance from Tyumen Oblast’s regional government and SIBUR’s Formula for Good Deeds social investment program, has been ongoing for the fourth year running. The extreme race is conducted in strict compliance with the recommendations issued by the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, or Rospotrebnadzor, in respect of measures that prevent the spread of COVID-19.