DALTON GARDENS — Teamwork has been making the dream work at Wildland Fitness.

Owners of the Dalton Gardens gym have invited their members to participate in the 2020 Wildland Open competition, challenging teams of spouses and good buddies to perform surprise workout routines for four weeks.

“No one knows what the workouts are,” said Amy Wearne, who owns Wildland with husband Justin.

One of the challenges is tether running, where teams are bound by exercise bands as they run 400 meters. These runs are accompanied by synchronized workouts, such as burpees and barbell lifts.

“Essentially, it’s who can do all the work the fastest,” Amy said with a grin.

While getting in some good cardio and buffing up their biceps, these altruistic athletes aren’t doing it all for themselves. A total of $1,200 in entry fees was donated to Borah Elementary School as part of the Coeur d’Alene School District’s Adopt a Classroom program, which builds classroom libraries where students have immediate access to books.

Borah Principal Kristina Davenport said she and her school sincerely appreciate the thoughtfulness and generosity of Wildland CrossFit. The funds will be used to buy supplies such as bins and book bags for new classroom libraries and to help Borah continue its revitalization efforts.

"This local gym and its members have shown true selflessness and community support of our school," Davenport said. "Coeur d'Alene is such a generous community, which is right in line with what we are teaching our students in terms of the strength of a community working together."

Giving back to the community is a natural part of Wildland’s culture. Amy said that last year, her members rallied to raise money, collect coats and bring in food donations for different local causes.

“Each week we picked a new donation spot,” she said.

Wildland member Lindsay Conn, who is participating in the Wildland Open with husband Mike, said it’s a cool opportunity.

“The fact we were able to tie a competition in with a fundraising event, because we’re all very competitive, it was no surprise that everybody signed up immediately and all the spots are filled,” she said. “Especially right now, with the way the school systems are and all the pressure teachers are facing, it was really nice to be able to do something positive and give back a little.”

The Wildland Open is also filling the void created by the countless fitness competitions that have been COVID-canceled this year, leaving many without that competitive community they love.

“People love to just train for health, but it’s amazing how the morale shifts when there’s nothing, everything’s been canceled,” Amy said. “This has been so awesome because it’s in house, but people get that camaraderie that comes with it and the friendly competition.”

Amy, who was a teacher for 10 years, said they chose to raise funds for Borah “because we’ve been in this community forever and we know Borah could use as much support as any school.

“Our membership is phenomenal,” she continued. “Any time we can rally behind the community, they’re like, ‘Sure, I’ll pay a $40 and have it go to a great cause.’”