Two area women compete in gruelling fitness event in nation’s capital

Laura Meadows, left, and Kelli Buragina recently competed in the Hyrox fitness competition in Ottawa after a gruelling training regiment at Tavistock’s Built Fitness. Contributed photo

By Lee Griffi

Two area women recently competed in a gruelling fitness competition in Ottawa.

Laura Meadows of Tavistock and Kelli Buragina of Shakespeare are both 47 years old and describe themselves as everyday moms.

“Working full time, managing households and kids' activities, fitting training in around real life,” said Meadows who is a nurse in the corporate world as well as a health and fitness coach.

Buragina is a finance coordinator for Saputo Dairy Products Canada in St. Marys.

The pair competed at Hyrox, a global indoor-fitness racing competition that combines running with functional workout stations. It was created in Germany in 2017 and has grown into one of the world's largest fitness-racing series. Athletes run one kilometre, complete a workout station, then repeat the sequence eight times for a total of eight kilometres of running and eight workout stations.

“Imagine pushing a 225-pound lion on a sled for 50 metres, then turning around and pulling it back. That's stations two and three, with five more stations and kilometres of running still ahead. The format sounds manageable on paper, but it feels very different by station five,” said Meadows.

“Fatigue compounds. You are running on compromised legs from the stations. These are not isolated gym movements, they are endurance-strength challenges performed on an already exhausted body. We strategically broke down each station based on our individual strengths. The race format is identical at every event worldwide, meaning athletes can directly compare their times and work toward global leaderboards and the World Championships.”

Over 13,000 athletes participated over four days of the competition, and the pair credits Built Fitness, the new gym in Tavistock, which is where they trained.

“Though not an affiliated Hyrox gym, we are grateful the owners brought in the equipment required to train for this sport,” Meadows said.

Despite the fact Meadows is also a personal trainer and nutrition coach, the pair hired a coach to guide their preparation.

“Even coaches need coaches. Having a coach meant our training sessions, recovery and nutrition were all approached strategically and intentionally, the way an athlete would. We had to think like athletes to prepare for this,” she said.

“We both faced significant health challenges five to seven years ago and have spent that time since intentionally rebuilding our strength. This race was a chance to see how far we've come. It was a chance to put that hard-built strength to the test, to challenge ourselves and see what our bodies were truly capable of.”

The women used the mottos "compete to complete,” “I can do hard things,” “I can, I will, watch me,” and “don't think, just do."

They started training in September of last year. When Meadows first started running, she could only manage one minute before having to stop and walk.

“The community might remember just six years ago when they came together to support me while battling an illness that left me under 80 pounds and fed by feeding tubes. I’m still grateful for the support and encouragement I still receive daily from the community, even though I’m past my illness,” said Meadows.

Both women went into race day managing injuries, and also their expectations, and utilized a "compete to complete" motto. Meadows said their strategy was to start slow, stay consistent and protect their bodies enough to finish strong.

“We finished in 1:54:44, under our revised two-hour goal. The training was the hardest part. Race day was the chance to let it all come together.”

The pair are already registered and training for Toronto Hyrox in October and their goal is to beat their time in Ottawa. Meadows said it’s a sport for everybody and hopes others feel inspired to give it a try. Meadows said anyone interested can reach out to her. 

“We are deeply grateful for all the support and encouragement from so many people, including friends and family throughout this journey, but we’re just getting started.”

She added crossing the finish line in Ottawa was more than running a race. It was a memory in the making as a celebratory milestone.

“Our health battles are in the past, and we spent years putting in the hard work to rebuild our health. This race was finally our chance to take it to the next level. To test our strength, shatter our own beliefs, test our limits and see what we can accomplish. To anyone in the community who is currently fighting their own quiet battle or wondering if it’s too late to start building their own strength, your body and mind are capable of rewriting your own boundaries. The strength comes from within. You just need to dig deep to find it.”