skip to main content

IRELAND’S FITTEST FAMILY

Ireland's Fittest Family Coaches with Mairead 21 Image Name: Ireland's Fittest Family Coaches with Mairead 21

Derval O’Rourke’s Dinans from Cork, Anna Geary’s Ui Bhraonains from Carlow and Davy’s Hogans from Wexford take each other on across two extreme events in an effort to avoid the eliminator.

One family will leave the competition while the remaining two will make it to the grand final in Croke Park. The semi-final’s events consist of a gruelling race called Cargo Chaos with a female-nominated start and fan favourite Hanging Tough is back.

The two families with the lowest points go head to head in an incredibly difficult eliminator course in the battle to stay in the competition.

Cargo Chaos

Cargo Chaos is a head to head race where all families participate and it is all about team work.

Three members of each family waits on the first container while the nominated female starts the race at the balance beams. When the race starts the nominated female runs down through the course where a tyre awaits them. They them must flip the tyre back up and drop it at the allocated drop off point and from here they must then roll the tyre and weave it through the barrel to the end point to release their other 3 family members. Then the 4 members must move 25 bags to the top of the container towers. They must work together to move the sand bags over the balance beams and over the wall and to the top of their respective container towers. If a family member slips off the balance beam or fails to get over the wall they have to go back and start again with the bags they are currently carrying. All 25 have to be on top of the container and the race ends when all 4 members are also standing on the top of the container stack.

Hanging Tough:

Hanging Tough is a test of sheer will power and endurance, the clock starts when the families feet leave the ground, each family member must hang over 6 metres or 20 feet above the freezing water for as long as they possibly can but this isn’t about the last person up there, the times of the 4 family members will be combined so every second counts.

Eliminator:

This eliminator is as tough as can be and is the ultimate test for our families in the semi-final. They begin by nominating one person to pull a 2.5 tonne pickup truck 125 meters, then they take on a series of bars before releasing their families as they all navigate a bungy maze and collect five 10 kilo sandbags and throw these on top of the container. Next they have to get over a container pyramid stack, each of which is over six metres high. The next obstacle is the cargo net climb, then onto balance beams, they are 2.9 meters above the ground, testing their agility and nerve and then finally they take on the ramps, they’re 12 foot high or just under 4 meters, the first family standing at the top of the ramp wins and goes through to the final.