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Allison Tai is a dedicated runner and triathlete who has recently found a passion for obstacle course racing.

“Running is my background. It’s my passion, it’s my love. But it just gets a little boring after a while,” Tai said. “For obstacle course racing, you’re running along and just never know what’s going to be around the corner.”

Tai recently opened Vancity OCR, Metro Vancouver’s first obstacle course gym.

Obstacle course racing has been around for decades and its popularity has exploded in recent years. More than six-million people took part in obstacle race event – like Tough Mudder or Spartan Race – in North America last year.

The popularity of the U.S. TV program American Ninja Warrior, which sees competitors race through a seemingly impossible obstacle course, hasn’t hurt.

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The Port Coquitlam gym offers so-called “ninja training” for adults and kids.

“We’re super family-oriented,” Tai said. “We have classes from when kids are one [year old] and just learning how to walk. We have a custom-made toddler ring. There are all these fundamental skills for physical literacy.”

One of the toughest challenges are the warped walls, which force competitors to scale a steep incline. The highest warped wall at Vancity OCR stands more than four metres tall, a height few adults can reach.

That didn’t stop this 14-year-old Carsen Hallgren, who managed to make it to the top.

“I just went for it and got up there, it was a big relief,” he said.

Tai said the goal of the gym is to turn fitness into play.

“You get a full workout and you don’t even feel like you’re exercising,” she said.

– With files from Lynn Colliar