Soap stars mixed it up in the mud in Midrand at first Warrior race

during the ‘Soap War’ of the Warrior series at Stoke City in Midrand, the actors in South Africa’s favourite Afrikaans soapies, namely Villa Rosa, 7de Laan and Binneland, showed that they truly understand what it means to have guts and to enjoy yourself. Without the assistance of stunt men or camera tricks, they struggled on their own, at times having to crawl through obstacles that consisted mainly of mud.

 

Their climbing and balancing skills were also put to the test.

 

The fun and games eventually turned into a truly down and dirty business and some of the actors began to look as if they were playing the role of war victims in some movie.

 

But they were having fun and no one was complaining. The main winners of the day were definitely the kids of the Abraham Kriel Kinderhuis.

 

The actors of the three different ‘soapies’ set up a jackpot, stipulating that the team who was first in getting four participants through to the finish, could decide which charity should get the money.

 

Due mainly to the efforts of Dawid Louw, Jaco Vermeulen and Andries van der Merwe, who managed to stay and work together as team throughout all the obstacles, the ‘manne’ from Villa Rosa were the victors. The actors of 7de Laan and Binneland kept the famous slogan of the Three Muskuteers, ‘One for all and all for one’, in mind.

 

The obstacle that was responsible for most of the day’s drama, was the one where participants had to do a five metre jump into a small waterhole. For many this was a true test of courage and some even referred to it as ‘a leap of faith’. For the small Mari Molefe van Heerden (Villa Rosa) it truly turned out to be a leap of faith.

 

It took some serious encouragement from her fellow actors to persuade her to do the jump.

 

She eventually took the bold jump while holding on to a hand of a colleague. However, it proved to be too much for her. The moment she came out of the water, she started to hyper -ventilate due to shock. “It was definitely one of the most difficult things I ever had to do”, Van Heerden gasped afterwards.

 

Even though she tried very hard to do the jump, Elma Postma (Binneland) could not do it. She ended up crying as she climbed down again. “I am just so scared of heights,” she confessed.

 

Neels Clasen (Binneland) thoroughly enjoyed himself. “Competing in a Warrior obstacle race is better than going to the gym and run on a treadmill for an hour. What I enjoyed about the Warrior race, was the sense of achievement I experienced after every obstacle. In the end, after I had finished, I felt like a millionaire. I certainly want to compete in some of the other Warrior events. It is much better than just watching movies on a Sunday.”

 

When Nadia Valvekens (Binneland) was asked if she minded getting so dirty, she answered that she had a blast. “I think it is sometimes necessary to chuck out all the rules and simply enjoy oneself.”

 

According to Francois van Rensburg (7de Laan) what he enjoyed most about the Warrior race was the camaraderie. “I realized within the first 100 metres that in a Warrior race it is not just about winning. To be able to finish, you need to work as team. It was amazing to see how everybody was prepared to help one another. If somebody fell, there was immediately some athlete available to help him getting back on his feet again. It was a very special event.”

 

Full event details are available on the official event website at www.warrior.co.za and for regular updates and juicy news, you can also follow the Warrior Race Facebook page (the Warrior Race).

 

If you like things a bit more visual, go check out the Warrior video on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR4Wb-9GBZ4