Boom Run competitors must combine speed, balance and nifty footwork across a chained obstacle of wet, floating logs.

If you've never seen it before, the Boom Run features a series of logs connected end to end by a short chain. The logs are floating and are generally soaking wet on top and bottom. The goal: Sprint from one dock to the other and back across this treacherous floating, spinning, platform in the shortest amount of time.

To say that nimble, nifty footwork is a prerequisite would be a gross understatement. Perhaps the most well-balanced and agile competitors in all the Great Outdoor Games, boom runners have to match their unique athleticism with great fearlessness, for there are only two things a boom runner can hit if they have a misstep — the water or a log. There were more than a few black and blue marks obtained last year on both the male and female side of the draw.