When the time came, the kids began their race by crawling through dual holes. Then they jumped over a ledge and leapt into one larger hole. After that, inflatable arms repeatedly collided with their bodies, slowing them down before they grabbed hold of ropes and pulled themselves up a tall incline. Finally they slid down to the bottom before running back to the beginning and getting in line to do it all over again.

That was the scene last Tuesday in the Trigg County Middle School gym as students of all ages spent their physical education classes braving a giant inflatable obstacle course brought there by the Kentucky National Guard. Todd Pearson, of the KNG, said they had been planning to bring the obstacle course to the high school gym but there was no ground floor access. The only way to bring it in and out would have been down the steep bleachers.

“Getting it down there wouldn’t be a problem, but getting it back would’ve been another thing,” Pearson said.

Another KNG representative, Jason Morrison, said that the KNG takes the obstacle course around to lots of schools and community events like the Ham Festival and the middle school’s Fall Festival, which will be held tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. It has also been available for use at the State Fair.

“It’s a public service we provide, but it’s also a recruitment tool,” Morrison said. “It draws attention to us and encourages any questions people might want to ask us. It gives us a way to have an open-air, laid-back way of talking to people.”