METCON Rush Flourishes in Its 9th Year as Elite Athletes Flock to Maryland Competition
What started on a whim has turned into one of the most popular fitness competitions on the East Coast.
METCON Rush is in its ninth year and hosting its biggest roster yet, including former CrossFit Games athletes and notable Semifinalists.
Tim Kellinger, the owner of CrossFit 301 Elite, started METCON Rush as a small, Tough Mudder-style event for his gym alone. But during the third year of the event, rain forced Kellinger to host the event indoors at his affiliate, and the rest is history.
- “It was never meant to be a competition. Had it never rained that day, maybe I never would be where I’m at today, honestly,” Kellinger tells Morning Chalk Up.
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The details: The CrossFit-licensed event takes place July 20-21 at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown, MD. This year, METCON Rush has 310 athletes and a completely sold-out event.
Kellinger’s vision is to run the competition at a high level and continue to grow in all aspects, including the competition roster, prize money, workout variability, etc.
- “We put a lot of effort into the experience for the athletes. Regardless if you are a Games athlete or someone traveling from down the street, you feel like you’re at a high-level event and experience,” Kellinger says.
There are no qualifier workouts for the event. Instead, Kellinger uses the CrossFit Open and Quarterfinals as a qualifier and as a starting point as he seeks out individual athletes he’d like to see compete in the elite division.
All other divisions’ athletes can freely register.
For instance, some of the more notable individual athletes competing this year include Brittany Weiss, Scott Tetlow, Nick Mathew, and Jorge Fernandez, among others.
Ninety individual athletes are competing this year, which is due in part to word of mouth and Kellinger’s effort to personally invite certain athletes.
- “Not everybody knows who we are, for sure, but we are on some radars,” said Kellinger.
The total prize purse for this year’s competition is $19,500.
There are 12 divisions, including Elite men and women, Rx men and women, Rx men and women teams, Scaled men and women teams, 35-44 men and women Rx teams, and 45+ men and women intermediate teams.
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One big thing: The competition has become somewhat of an off-shoot for Semifinalist athletes who didn’t make it to the Games and want to continue competing throughout the summer.
Instead of off-season training, these elite athletes can turn to something else to work towards and prolong their season.
- “I’m in year nine, and I would say it’s been three years of real big-time success and everything is getting bigger and bigger. For me, I firmly believe the community will always be the reason why I have a good competition,” Kellinger says.
He’s worked to make the competition as professional as possible by bringing in judges from the Association of Fitness Judges, along with many volunteers from his affiliate to help him put on the event.
The bottom line: The event and all that goes into it is a passion for Kellinger and a family affair.
- “My son loves to help set up. My wife does athlete control. My brother is a huge part of the design, the engineering, the testing of the competition. My mom and dad help make swag bags and ticket sales. We have family interest across the board,” Kellinger said.
He adds he’ll continue to put on the event for as long as he is passionate about it and doing it “the right way and for the right reasons.”
His goal for next year is to extend into a three-day competition and add more divisions, but it will depend on several factors, such as resources, location, and volunteers.
- “I love it for the athletes. It’s all about them. We do it for the athletes’ experience. We do it for the spectators. We do it for just the community. That’s the main focal point.”
Something special that Kellinger does is he makes a social media post for every single athlete and team. It gives every athlete “that moment.”
Featured image: Icon Imagery, @theiconimagery / Instagram