All four members of the Buckeye Bandits couldn't help chuckling as they spoke of the humorous juxtaposition not only during a break from the contest one December afternoon but also throughout the filming of "Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge," a new NBC reality show in which three dozen teams are battling for obstacle-course supremacy and $250,000.

Staying at an Atlanta hotel with 35 other teams vying in an endurance-testing competition, the squad from central Ohio stood out.

�We were the team eating pizza in the lobby,� Kelsy Wiggins said with a laugh.

All four members of the Buckeye Bandits couldn�t help chuckling as they spoke of the humorous juxtaposition not only during a break from the contest one December afternoon but also throughout the filming of �Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge,� a new NBC reality show in which three dozen teams are battling for obstacle-course supremacy and $250,000.

The series premiered last week, but the Bandits � consisting of Wiggins, 26, and husband Jeff, 32, of Sunbury; and their friends Brady Berlin, 35, of Westerville and Summer Hale, 26, of Galena � will be featured for the first time tonight as one of six teams competing.

As the episode plays out, three teams race in each of two preliminary heats on specially designed courses. The winners of each heat, plus the runner-up with the lowest time, race again to determine which team advances to the finals, which will air later this summer.

The show, inspired by the obstacle-racing brand Spartan Race, resembles the popular �American Ninja Warrior� � with one key difference: �Ninja Warrior� pits individuals against one another; � Spartan� requires teamwork.

The seriousness of many participants, according to the Bandits, was reinforced by the strict diets and exercise regimens they followed.

The Bandits, Jeff Wiggins said, approached the experience with a team motto of �Take the competition seriously, just not ourselves.�

Their �fun-loving� attitude marks a key reason that producers tapped them as contestants � and why they could become audience favorites, executive producer Anthony Storm said.

�They are genuine friends who wanted to test their bonds on our course,� he said by email. �We also admired their civic pride and their desire to represent Columbus on a national stage.�

The friends, not without their share of athleticism, learned about the casting call by email, Mr. Wiggins said.

�I told Kelsy: �Let�s give it a shot. I�m going to ask Brady. Who do you want?� Her immediate answer was Summer.�

Hale, a Westerville South High School math teacher, played basketball and volleyball at Ohio Dominican University.

Berlin, a consultant, is known as an avid climber.

Mr. Wiggins, a behavioral consultant at Nationwide Children's Hospital, competed last year on � America Ninja Warrior� (although his footage never aired).

And his wife, a preschool teacher, is able to dead-lift 312 pounds despite her petite frame.

All four had run at least one obstacle race.

Deciding to enter the effort a day before the application deadline in September, they rushed to complete lengthy forms and create individual three-minute videos.

Each had his or her own reasons for wanting to take part � with Hale, for example, foreseeing an unusual way to inspire her students � while also being driven by an overarching goal.

�One part of this is �Can I do this?� � Berlin said. �The other part, and probably more than most would like to admit, is �Am I too old to do this?� �

To their astonishment, the Bandits were selected by producers � meaning they had only a month to prepare themselves.

The four, already in good physical shape, worked on team activities, such as running on hills around Hoover Reservoir and training on the climbing wall at Scioto Audubon Metro Park.

They traveled Dec. 7 to Atlanta, where interviews and the competition were filmed for five days.

First, though, they met their team captain (each group was paired with an �elite athlete�): Andrew Jones of Houston, Texas.

The central Ohio teammates hit it off with their new Southern friend, who helped them throughout the endeavor.

And help was definitely required.

�Every obstacle had a team aspect,� Berlin said. �They had a standard wall, but it was too tall for one teammate to climb by himself.�

Lucky for them, the Bandits had practiced climbing a wall in a parking garage the night before � allowing them to determine the best way to tackle heights.

They approached each obstacle similarly, whether throwing a spear at a target controlled by teammates carrying a 350-pound log or negotiating wooden beams in water so cold that it �grabbed your chest and made you feel like you could not breathe,� Mrs. Wiggins said.

�Our team was built on, besides being 15 minutes apart at home and that we know each other � we had strategy, and we knew what we were going to do when we got to an obstacle,� her husband added.

Even with a focused game plan, the course still challenged them all � physically and mentally.

Mr. Wiggins struggled with the cold-water obstacle, and, as heard in the trailer for the show, Hale was recorded screaming.

All left the course bruised and bloodied, and returned home to the Columbus area with scars still visible six months later.

�Summer looked like a banana thrown down the stairs,� Mrs. Wiggins said.

She also likened the experience to a week at summer camp with best friends: The four expressed much gratitude for the shared experience.

They wouldn�t hesitate, they said, to compete on the show again � which producer Storm said could happen in the second season.

If they were given another chance, the Bandits would be better-prepared � as they have tackled several races together.

Berlin cited one of the greatest benefits of having done the show: �I think I finally found people to run a race with.�

His teammates, meanwhile, don�t mind overcoming the obstacles with him.

�Brady is used to leaving people behind,� Mr. Wiggins said, �but there�s no way he�d ever leave one of us behind.�

award@dispatch.com

@AllisonAWard