BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) – From high ropes, to low ropes and different obstacle courses, you’ll find plenty of ways to test your fitness and fears while also having some fun at Iron Coyote Challenge Park in Bloomington.
“I do like obstacles and a whole bunch of other stuff,” said nine-year-old Anakin Penkwitz. He isn’t new to these “ninja” courses, as they’re called.
“It likes gets a lot of like exercise in me. Like a lot of energy out,” he said.
Even at such a young age, Penkwitz shows no signs of fear when it comes to navigating the intricacies of the obstacle courses or heights.
He said, “I’m running up stuff like [the warp wall] or rock climbing.”
Assistant Manager, Justin Beeman sees firsthand the fears students face and the progress that they make.
“I always tell them when you get up there, don’t think about it. Count to three and just go,” Beeman said. “When you conquer different obstacles like our giant warp wall right here— I mean, once the kids nail that, they get so excited because they conquered something that they didn’t think they could do.”
“A lot of times you’ll see a lot of kids in here. But I always get excited when I see somebody my age or like the college kids come in here and everything. Everyone has this preconceived notion it’s just for kids. We literally have something for everybody.”
Justin Beeman
Beyond staying safe, Beeman said the experience is all about enjoying yourself.
“Genuinely, it’s just fun. I mean it’s fitness but on a fun level. Right? It’s functional fitness. I mean you still have to actually work out to get stronger. You’ve got to train your agility,” he said.
Iron Coyote Challenge Park is located at 4113 Oakland Ave. in Bloomington.
