Photo by Eric Ayres Stacey Laberock from Hermitage, Pa., performs pull ups at the U.S. Air Force Special Warfare recruiting booth on Sunday during the Ogden Wellness Weekend’s annual Tough as Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan.

WHEELING — Participants in the Tough as Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan present a great pool of potential U.S. Air Force Special Warfare recruits. In fact, recruiters on hand Sunday during Ogden Wellness Weekend offered participants a challenge of their own.

Near the starting line, the U.S. Air Force had a special booth set up with an array of swag, recruiting information and a pull-up bar that tested visitors’ strength and preparedness for the Tough as Nails.

Those who could crank out enough pull ups scored extra giveaways, too.

“We try to engage with the crowd, have some fun and try to give away some special promotional items and hopefully look for some Special Warfare recruits,” said Technical Sgt. Ashton Mingee of Hampton, Virginia, a recruiter from the United States Air Force.

Mingee, along with Staff Sgt. Brian Parra, Special Warfare recruiter, challenged those gathered before the Tough as Nails Urban Challenge presented by The Health Plan on Sunday to test their strength on the pull-up bar, and that challenge drew a crowd when some participants truly put their upper body strength on display — prompting cheers from onlookers.

“If they do a certain amount, they can get a hat or a drawstring bag or also a T-shirt,” Mingee said, noting that the effort doesn’t always focus on road races and obstacle course challenges — although the events do offer a great pool of candidates for the cause.

“For Air Force recruiting, I recruit from Wheeling down about an hour south like in the New Martinsville area, and I also go into Ohio towards the Barnesville area and also into Monroe County,” Mingee said, noting that physical fitness and strength are key assets for military recruits.

“Absolutely — especially for our Special Warfare recruits,” she said. “They have an extra layer of fitness that is required of them.”

Stacey Laberock from Hermitage, Pennsylvania, was among the Tough as Nails participants who was up to the pull-up challenge before the race. Laberock had never participated in the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend presented by WVU Medicine before Sunday.

“This is my first time,” she said. “I looked it up — a couple of people from my gym were going to go, but then they had some medical things going on, so they couldn’t make it.”

As for the pull-up challenge, Laberock impressed the recruiters and came away with some special swag.

“I got a T-shirt!” she said. “I did eight chin ups and 10 pull ups for the T-shirt.”