Photo By Ana Henderson | U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) employees Ryan Ingham and Harley Hogan took the...... read more read more
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U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) employees Ryan Ingham and Harley Hogan took the YPG Fitness Center’s 250 Army Birthday Challenge to another level.
The fitness challenge is one of the many ways YPG commemorated the Army’s 250th birthday on June 14, 2025. The YPG Fitness Center created the challenge which involved repetitions of 250 squats, lunges, step-ups, push-ups, 250-meter swim and medicine ball carry, and 2500-meter row and 25 miles running/biking/walking challenges.
While most of the 30 people who sign up for the challenge spent the time from June 1 –14 to complete the challenge, the ultra-motivated and competitive athletes completed the challenge in one visit to the YPG Fitness Center.
“If I was going to do it, I just wanted to do it in one shot. Just knock it all out instead of two weeks,” said Ingham who came up with the idea. It took zero convincing to get his buddy on board.
“I enjoy challenges like that, so I was like, ‘Yeah let’s do it,’” recalled Hogan.
The men who have both completed in ultra-marathons did nothing extra to physically prepare. However, they did take the day off work because while the Army’s Fitness Program allows them time to work out during the workday, one hour was not enough.
Ingham estimated it would take them six to eight hours to complete so the two met up at 7 a.m. on June 3 at the YPG Fitness Center and started the challenge with a plan.
“I thought the easiest would be to break it up in rounds. So, 25 rounds with 10 reps of each of the workouts. When we needed a break, we would jump on the rower or the ball carry,” explained Ingham.
Even when they were heading to the restroom, they were efficient with their time.
“When we went to the bathroom we carried the medicine ball, across the gym. Drop, go to the bathroom, grab it, take it back,” recounted Ingham.
As luck would have it, the AC was not functioning that day, but they did not let that slow them down.
Hogan shared, “The lunch workout crew came in there and then it got even hotter, and there was no AC, so we stopped and went to the pool.”
The two didn’t need to exchange motivational words or smack talk each other Hogan said, “I think motivation is just seeing someone else finish something and you’re like ‘alright I got to keep going.”
Co-workers swung by to provide support and check their progress and Fitness Facility Manager, Dani Compton, documented their challenge with photos.
When asked about the most challenging part of the marathon workout session Hogan said, “None of the workouts were any harder than the rest.” They both agreed that the stopping and going became a challenge.
Ingham explained, “Toward the end getting on and off the treadmill because you start to tighten up from the workout portion. It takes a little bit to start flowing again, and then once you start flowing, you don’t want to stop. So, towards the end I started running two miles at a time and then I would do my reps.”
They both finished the challenge in just over six hours and confirmed, their knees, feet and entire bodies did not hurt following the challenge. They headed right back to work the next day.
Hogan said these types of challenges hosted by The YPG Fitness Program and the YPG Fitness Center add to employee morale.
“We love it. It’s really made the workplace environment better and everyone is healthier and happier. So, it’s huge that we get to go and break the day up and go workout.”
Ingram and Hogan are gaining a reputation for setting the bar high. They recently both logged in over 1 million steps in the recent YPG step-challenge back in April and May.
Some might ask, what’s the next challenge? YPG Col. John Nelson, motivated and inspired with the men’s determination, approached Hogan about competing in a triathlon together in September.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2025 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 500370 |
| Location: | ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 193 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Ultra-competitive YPG employees complete 250 Challenge in marathon, by Ana Henderson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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