CrossFit challenge tire flip

Published July 24, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Lauren Pitts
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Only the best come north, and the best are built tough.

What originally began as a dream workout, changed to working out a dream when Minot Airmen had the idea for the ultimate CrossFit challenge: Flipping an 800-pound tire 11 miles to raise money for wounded veterans.

"My goal was to flip the tire downtown," said Staff Sgt. Cody Lytle, 5th Operations Support Squadron. "Everyone thought it was silly. But I thought, why not?"

The idea for the tire-flip started with Lytle, a CrossFit enthusiast, looking for a more challenging workout.

"I always loved challenges," said Lytle. Whenever somebody says something is impossible, he said he sets on a journey to make it happen.

As time went on, and the idea for the tire-flip continued to grow more support, Airmen and members of CrossFit Minot helped turn the dream into reality and turned the event into a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project through the Clebe McClary Association.

For Lytle and everyone interested in the challenge, the idea of helping to raise money in conjunction with a great workout made everything better.

"I can achieve my goal of flipping the tire, and we can raise money for a great cause," said Lytle. "It was too perfect."

For $5, participants could flip as much as they wanted, for as long as they wanted, until they reached the finish line at Ask Fitness in Minot.

On July 13, the tire flip challenge was finally underway and open to anyone who wanted to join in at any time. Starting at 6 a.m. at the base's Main Gate, Lytle and a few of his friends began the 10.7 mile-long mission. It wasn't long before more and more people began to show up ready for the challenge.

Lytle predicted only approximately 15 people or so would stay the entire time, and assumed everyone would leave as the afternoon dragged out. Fortunately, that was not the case.

"There were at least 20 to 30 people there the whole time, always pushing," Lytle said. "If somebody left, somehow, someone would always come back."

The only rules to the challenge were to stay on the shoulder of the highway, stay hydrated, and never flip alone.

"Every time someone new came in, I approached them, introduced myself, and then I flipped the tire with them to show them the proper techniques," said Lytle. "No one got hurt, and the tire never failed us. There was always a flip on that tire."

It took a total of 82 people to flip the tire 6,890 times down the stretch of highway and only 13 hours and 21 minutes to complete. This was half the estimated completion time. The efforts raised approximately $4,000.

After hours of nonstop flipping and pushing, the tire had made its way to the Highway 83 bypass.

"You could see the emotion on everyone's faces," said Lytle. "Hitting that road was a dream come true."

Aside from being an ultimate cross fit challenge, the tire flip was a huge community builder.

"There were military, civilians, oil workers, farmers, you name it...it was a team effort," Lytle said.

This opportunity to raise money for a foundation such as the Clebe McClary Association brought the Team Minot community together in one of the finest examples of the Wingman concept.

"Out of everyone flipping the tire, if one person got tired and needed a break, someone else had to have to take over," said Lytle. "It was a huge team building exercise. If you want to talk about teamwork, that was it right there."