On Friday, Sept. 17, Greenfield Retirement Home was transformed into a place full of possibilities as seniors competed in their first-ever Spartan Challenge.

Obstacles were set and ready for the seniors to test their limits. And test them, they did.

How did they get this idea? After hearing that Lynn Olds, Greenfield’s administrator, had signed up to do a Spartan event in Attica, Ind. the residents became inspired to do their own challenge.

Training groups started small on June 8 with only four or five residents attending. But, over time, the group grew larger as interest peaked.

On the day of the competition, 14 residents completed the training sessions and 13 completed the race.

The activity team and Olds took real Spartan obstacles and modified them for safety, and had weekly training classes. Classes focused on mobility, fall prevention and nutrition.

The obstacles in their own event included: Hercules Hoist, Bucket Brigade, Tire Flip, Sand Bag Carry, The Gauntlet, Twister, Spartan Ball Toss, Sled Pull and Fire Jump.

“This was an amazing experience for all of us,” Olds said. “When the residents first asked me about the Spartan, a few of them said they would like to have done something like that. But, they thought they were too old to do it now. I told them we are never too old to do the things we enjoy. We just might have to do them a little bit differently. From there, the Senior Spartan was born.

“I can’t describe how wonderful it was to watch everyone evolve as we went through this. Their strength and confidence increased. They grew as a team. They supported, encouraged and cheered each other. They had fun while doing it. I think a lot of them realized they are capable of more than they thought. For me, that was the biggest win of all.”

“I can’t describe how wonderful it was to watch everyone evolve as we went through this. Their strength and confidence increased. They grew as a team. They supported, encouraged and cheered each other. They had fun while doing it. I think a lot of them realized they are capable of more than they thought. For me, that was the biggest win of all.”