COEUR d’ALENE — Losers they may be, but on Saturday morning at McEuen Field they all looked like athletes.

Pulling weights, jumping rope and passing batons, competitors of the Biggest Loser Challenge — divided into teams, clad in multi-colored T-shirts — fought through a grueling relay race. Then they double-timed to the summit of Tubbs Hill, panting up steep, slippery trails.

It was the first Team Challenge of the Biggest Loser fall season, an important step in the weight-loss program overseen by athletic trainers from Peak Health and Wellness (formerly Ironwood Athletic Club) on Ironwood Drive.

The workout was not easy — especially the voyage up Tubbs, which was over a mile.

“I’m not built for running,” laughed Jon Parson of the blue team, who was last season’s individual Biggest Loser. He dropped 57 pounds in eight weeks. “It’s a great thing for a lot of people. Some of us are in it for the contest, and there’s a lot of people that get helped out by this. It’s a life change for a lot of people.”

The Biggest Loser Challenge features tough workouts, nutritional guidance and team activities. An elaborate point system is used for the contest portion of the program; participants earn points by completing workouts and shedding weight.

Naturally, the team with the most points wins.

“It’s fun. Great time, great day,” said Amy Milacek, a green-teamer from Coeur d’Alene. Her trainer is Bryan Janzen, one of Peak’s busiest. Certified in 1995, he’s trained at various gyms throughout the West.

“He’s awesome,” Milacek said of Janzen. “Couldn’t have a better trainer. He cares about everybody’s health first, and winning second.”

That may be true, but Janzen knows how to mold a good team: His crews have won the past two Biggest Loser Challenges, and he’s in contention for a third crown when the contest concludes on Nov. 13.

He’ll have some stiff competition, though, because other squads are also vying for the top spot. On Saturday, the blue team — led by Dana Davis, an effervescent blonde who’s been training since 2006 — took first place, edging out the red team by a very narrow margin.

“(The challenge) is so successful because it has the team concept,” explained Peak fitness director Lindsay Herbert, coach of the red team. “You’re held accountable, and you’re more motivated because you’re working out with a team. People are inspired.”

Linda Tabor and her daughter, Shannon Harrison, both of Coeur d’Alene, wore black shirts during the Team Challenge. Harrison is already in pretty good shape — thin and athletic, she’s an Ironman Coeur d’Alene finisher, a hard-core triathlete. Even so, Tubbs posed a challenge.

“This is hard,” Harrison said. “I run this a lot, but that was hard, I have to say.”

She joined the contest mainly to support her mom. Both women enjoy working with the black team’s trainer, Megan Kane. By all accounts she’s pretty tough.

“I never thought I’d be doing this in my 60s,” Tabor said, smiling. “I train with (Megan) personally too. She won’t cut slack if you’re whining. You have to push yourself. I got up (Tubbs Hill) quicker this time than last year.”

This fall marks the fourth season of the Biggest Loser Challenge. According to Herbert, participants have lost a combined 5,000 pounds since the program was started.

“Showing up is the biggest thing to me, because it’s scary for a lot of these people,” said Janzen, standing on top of Tubbs Hill after the challenge had finished up. “Scary because they’ve never competed, and they know their weaknesses. This whole competition is about facing the uphill battle of weight, and to get on the top of this mountain shows they can get on the top of that mountain.”