ST JOHN'S Hill School and Wanganui Intermediate retained their places at the top of the heap, when it comes to obstacle racing, at the fifth annual Mitre 10 Mega Tough Kid event at Cooks Gardens yesterday.
The 1.5km course around the park involved navigating webs, making like worms to crawl under ropes, leaping fences like gazelles, and getting wet like a walrus through the fire hoses and slippery slides.
A reasonable breeze, picking up in the afternoon during the team races following the individual events that morning, added to the challenge for the sodden youngsters.
"They're pretty cold when they're finishing, but they're getting changed straight away, so it's all good," said Sport Whanganui events manager Rachel O'Connor.
For the afternoon events, the best of each school would create a four-person team, travelling together with hands on a hula hoop.
Once again, St John's Hill School came home to win the Year 5 to 6 race, as well as the Year 3 to 4 event.
"This is our fourth year winning it," said Maggie Jones, as their group has come through the two age levels with just a couple of changes in that time.
"It gets larger each year, that's probably the hardest.
"When you're in a team, you can encourage each other. The mud is not fun."
Of this team of four, three finished either first or second in the individual races, which all helped St John's to hang on to the crown for Toughest School in the Junior division.
It was a similar tale for the Year 7 to 8 team race, as Wanganui Intermediate led from start to finish, although there was a real fight behind them for the minor placings between St Anne's and St George's.
Connor Hoskin, who also won the boys individual race, said getting through the netting was the hardest.
Like his schoolmates, at the end of a tough day, he was looking forward to sitting down and watching the traditional teachers and parents race which concludes the event.
"Our teachers are defending the title," Hoskin beamed.
In the end, Danyon "Sooty" Stent was the first adult home, followed by Robbie Power and Wanganui's national kayaking champion Aiden Nossiter, who was feeling it after a morning training session.
-Results
Year 3 - 4 Boys: 1. Connor Rees (Westmere School); 2. Tawai Pinnock (Churton School); 3. Ethan Gilmore (St George's School).
Year 3 - 4 Girls: 1. Teresa Rennie (Castlecliff); 2. Triata Ormsby (St John's Hill School); 3. Jaime Thompson (Ngamatapouri School).
Year 5 - 6 Boys: 1. Jonty Tripe (St John's Hill School); 2. Morgan Murray (Westmere School); 3. Chase Moreeth (St John's Hill School).
Year 5 - 6 Girls: 1. Maggie Jones (St John's Hill School); 2. Josephine Perkins (St John's Hill School); 3. Mia Maraku (Tawhero School).
Year 7 - 8 Boys: 1. Connor Hoskin (Wanganui Intermediate); 2. Adam Lennox (Huntley School); 3. Lee Dobbie (Westmere School).
Year 7 - 8 Girls: 1. Jessica Johnstone (St George's School); 2. Renee Teers (Westmere School); 3. Marguerite Hazelhurst (St George's).
Year 3 - 4 Teams: 1. St John's Hill School (Zara, Trista, Mitch, Thomas); 2. Castlecliff School (Theresa, Carrie, Pauro, Aubrey); 3. Durie Hill School (Lyric, Te Ari, Jacey, Liam).
Year 5 - 6 Teams: 1. St John's Hill School (Hunter, Maggie, Josephine, Jonty); 2. Westmere School (Lana, Elias, Morgan, Paige); 3. Tawhero School (Te Roku, Keanu, Mia, Jeff).
Year 7 - 8 Teams: 1. Wanganui Intermediate (Emily, Makaia, Connor, Jakob); 2. St Anne's Catholic School (Sebastian, Temasi, Natalia, Maggie); 3. St George's School (Ben, David, Sarah, Jessica).
Toughest School Junior: 1. St John's Hill; 2. Westmere School; 3. Durie Hill School.
Toughest School Senior: 1. Wanganui Intermediate; 2. St Anne's Catholic School; 3. Westmere School.