So – what do you get when you take an all inclusive golf resort with plenty of land, family activities and the kind of “getaway” feel you last saw in the movies, then merge it with the evil genius behind our favorite Shale Hill Adventure Farm obstacle course?
You get the Sunny Hill Resorts first annual Viking Race, held on September 28th. Click the image to register.
http://sunnyhill.com/vikingobstaclerace
It’s worth pointing out – this is NOT a fluffy, light weight course – you will be challenged (but, of course, new racers will be totally welcome!). Rob Butler of Shale Hill is designing it – and they are planning 5 miles and 20 obstacles. If you’ve been to Shale Hill, you’ll be aware that we’re not going to be coddled. You will be challenged, and you will be rewarded for it at the finish!
Sounds pretty amazing. Check TripAdvisor, check Facebook – they *are* amazing, with a 98% approval rating and over nine decades in business. I asked the Race Director to tell me a bit more about her event (she also owns the resort – her family has for 94 years)
Sunny Hill is celebrating our 94th season this year. It was a working farm purchased by my great grandparents. They came over to America from Norway (hence the name Viking Obstacle Course) and slowly took in boarders from the city and eventually turning the farm into a vacation destination in the Catskill Mountains. We are now in our 4th generation of Nicholsen’s partaking in the family business. We are 2 hours north of NYC, 3 hours west of Boston and 30 minutes south of Albany.
We are an All-Inclusive family friendly resort. All 3 meals are included and served family style in our dining room overlooking the Catskill Mountains. We have a pool, junior pool and splash pad. There are 7 playgrounds located on the property. A full list of daily activities including shuffleboard, lawn bowling and ping pong tournaments for both kids and adults. We have tennis courts, volleyball, a large lake with fishing, kayaks and paddleboats. We provide transportation for the planned daily excursions. There is nightly entertainment including live bands, DJ’s, Bingo and our own version of Horse Racing. We have scheduled times that we bring out our rock climbing wall, inflatable obstacle course and Cliff Hanger inflatable slide. The highlight for many is our evening “Just for Fun” rides. These rides include a Monster Truck, fire truck, road train, a collection of military vehicles including a tank, the doodle bug and bumble bee. We have an 18 hole resort style golf course, driving range and day spa. Next to the Sunny Hill property we have a second 18 hole championship style golf course called Thunderhart.
Race entry will include a T Shirt, Medal, beer ticket, lunch and an after party by the lake. Top 3 elite wave male/female prizes, age group (under 55 and 56+) prizes, and a team based prize (all teams must be co-ed) – and of course, a costume content. No parking fees, no spectator fees, rides for spectators to visit the obstacles mid-race – and if you stay at the resort, free childcare too!
We have several style hotel units available with varying rates. We will be offering a 5% discount on rooms to registered racers. As resort guests and racers you will receive all of the amenities that the resort has to offer. Kids 4 and under stay for free and we have a kid friendly menu available in the dining room.
Rob Butler designed our course and used his notoriously devious obstacle building skills to come up with some creative and challenging obstacles. The course itself is carved into the woods and fields that surround the resort. We used a lot of our natural rocky terrain and beautiful landscape for the design. Between Sunny Hill and Thunderhart we have about 800 acres of land. The course is 5 miles long and we plan to add distance and more obstacles in the future. The majority of our 20 obstacles are permanent and we plan to use the resort and course to hold several training camps and corporate challenges in the spring and fall.
We are so excited to introduce this course. We are proud of what our tough Norwegian ancestors began 94 years ago and hope that we continue to embrace that Viking spirit and warm hospitality.
Check out the venue’s promo video – and just imagine an OCR right there? I can’t wait!
Who’s skipping Rugged Maniac for this?
Where did you say this place was again? Looks a Little familiar.
Sounds great!
This would be the most awesomely epic way to spend my big day this year, but of course it's not in the cards as I will be running Rugged Maniac with some of the most important people in my life and of course money and the little baby waiting for me at the finish line play major parts too! But next as for year, I really need to start saving for the best vacation EVER!