Sailors from NAS Whidbey Island recently joined firefighters, police officers and military personnel from all over the Pacific Northwest to participate in a charity, family-friendly, fitness event benefiting the Northwest Burn Foundation.

The event, sponsored by Kirkland Crossfit, was open to all area first responders and consisted of four CrossFit style workouts: a two-man team event, a four-man team event, a strongman event and an individual event. All supported the Northwest Burn Foundation.

Lt.j.g. Eric Johnson from NAS Whidbey Island, Lt. Chad Hamm and STG3 Austin Hiracheta from Naval Ocean Processing Facility Whidbey Island, PR1 (AW) Jason Ethridge and PR2 (AW) Blake Sewell from Fleet Readiness Center Northwest and AO2 Justin Hendren from Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 10, collectively representing “The Shed,” traveled to Northwest College to participate.

These Sailors, each an assistant command fitness leader at their respective commands, have dedicated numerous off duty hours a week toward their physical fitness through exercise, nutrition and intelligent recovery.

Each event consisted of a compilation of sprints, Olympic weight lifting, kettle bell and bodyweight exercises. Sewell and Hiracheta’s two-person team came in first out of the 24 teams participating. In the four-person team event, these two Sailors plus Johnson and set a blistering pace and once again finished out front. 

The Strongman competition consisted of Olympic lifts with a steel “log,” 100-pound sand bag carries and heavy “fat bar” dead lifts. Sewell decided to compete at the eleventh hour and ended up coming in first, beating the second place finisher by 12 seconds.

The final event of the day was an individual competition in which Hiracheta, after a series of events, topped the field and closed out the day with four victories in four events for The Shed and Navy athletes.

Relying on one another for encouragement, motivation and competition, these Sailors, already fit by Navy standards, have turned their love of fitness into a fun, healthy lifestyle. Supporting a great cause and building camaraderie within the PNW community made the day that much more special.

Northwest Burn Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting burn victims in their recovery and improving their quality of life through programs, education and research. You can find more information about this organization at http://www.nwburn.org{{PERIOD}}