Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Blairgowrie’s Braw Fitness Games bounce back stronger than ever

Competitors will tackle rounds including bear crawl, tyre flips and farmers' carry

Group of men giving thumbs up outside Blairgowrie Rugby Club premises
Survivors from the first Braw Fitness Games. Image: Rhys Spackman

Only the toughest will be put through their paces in Blairgowrie at the end of this month when the town hosts the second Braw Fitness Games.

Blairgowrie personal trainer Rhys Spackman organised the first games last year as a bit of fun to bring people to the town.

The contest was such a hit he’s brought it back – only with four times as many competitors.

Almost 80 teams of two have signed up for the event on August 31.

Challengers will compete over 10 300m runs and 10 tests of endurance.

And with names like ‘bear crawl’, ‘sandbag walking lunges’ and ‘200m farmer’s carry’, it’s not for the faint-hearted.

man and woman holding beer kegs above their heads
Challengers at last year’s Braw Fitness Games. Image: Rhys Spackman

Blairgowrie Rugby Club is hosting the games at its grounds on Coupar Angus Road.

Military teams will be among the contenders.

And local stone-lifter Mark Sheriffs will be bringing some of his stones along and encouraging visitors to put their strength to the test.

Blair businesses, such as Magic 5 Pizza and Kath’s Cake are on board.

And Rhys and fellow organiser Ellie Mckearnon have also secured sponsorship from Highland Spring and the Highland Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association.

Rhys is hopeful that the Braw Fitness Games will continue to go from strength to strength.

Rhys Spackman in black shorts and shirt standing in front of tractor tyres
Rhys says the Braw Fitness Games are a community effort. Image: Rhys Spackman

“I want to help local businesses promote what they do,” he said.

“We’re part of a great community in Blairgowrie, and this is a great opportunity to bring people in to the town.”

Games all part of Braw Fitness story

Rhys set up his Braw Fitness personal training business at the start of 2023.

He started out offering fitness bootcamps.

Then, when a unit became available at Skirmie Park he set up a permanent base last October.

Since then the business has flourished, and the Braw Fitness community has grown to include members of all ages and all shapes and sizes.

Group of women in fitness gear standing in front of Blairgowrie Rugby Club clubhouse
Competitor’s from the 2023 Braw Fitness Games. image: Rhys Spackman

“We’re packed out,” said Rhys.

“I don’t think I could squeeze another person in.”

He says it was always his dream to open a gym, where he could provide high quality coaching and guide people through their fitness journey.

“We’ve seen people whose fitness has been completely transformed in the last 18 months,” he added.

“The way we do things is to coach people in a way that meets them where they are now, so no one feels they are being left behind.

“We’ve got a great little community going.”

Entries for the Braw Fitness Games close on August 25. Click here to take part.

Conversation