GOSHEN -- When Jennifer Stump finished pulling a 4,500 tractor across a stretch of sidewalk, she did a little dance.
By the time she finished the fourth event in the Strongman competition, she plopped onto the grass.
In between, she and 44 other competitors moved some serious weight as muscles flexed and bulged.
"It's fun, win or lose," said Stump, a Goshen resident who will be a senior on Purdue's rowing team this year. "You don't get to do this every day."
The third annual contest in the Farmstead attracted its biggest field and biggest crowd Saturday morning.
While others munched on Mini Donuts, competitors:
* Pulled a tractor weighing 4,500 to 5,800 pounds for about 50 yards
* Carried two, 125-pound kegs up a hill and put them on stands
* Pulled a sled weighing 60 to 210 pounds up the same hill while they were seated
* Completed an obstacle course carrying two cement-filled buckets, dragging a sled and flipping a 400-pound tractor tire as many as eight times.
"I had a blast," Stump said. "It's different than the weight room. I don't think the weight room can prepare you for this."
She finished third, but improved over last year when she was one of two females in the contest. Heidi Collins repeated as women's champion, making it look easy at times.
She's been lifting weights two or three times a weeksince April "more for health than anything," she said. But it didn't hurt her in the contest. She pulled the Farmall H tractor like it was a child's wagon.
She enjoyed having more girls compete -- four compared to two last year -- but said a dozen other girls watching could have completed many of the tasks.
"Why not? You're strong enough to do it and you can do it," she said.
Four Fairfield Falcon football players decided yesterday to compete. Isaac Burtsfield finished second in the middleweight division and Ryan Lewis third.
Which is tougher -- the Strongman competition or the two-a-day practices that start a week from Monday?
"Two-a-days," Burtsfield said quickly when the question was posed.
John Renaud said the contest was more mental than physical, but this is from a 19-year-old guy who works out at least five days a week in addition to a job with Hawkins WaterTech carrying softener salt for customers.
He won the middleweight division, winning three of the four events. Corbin Privett, who won two years ago and finished second last year with a pinched nerve in his back, competed in the heavyweight division and finished third.
Andrew Medford, a Central grad who is preparing for his senior year as starting center of the Butler University football team, said the competition continues to get tougher, but the spirit of the contest is what makes it fun.
People cheer for each other as run and fight the weight. When you find a technique that works, you help others with it, Medford said.
At 21, he's retiring from the competition, but organizers Clint Borntrager and Steffen Schrock aren't likely to. Borntrager tied Medford in the heavyweight class and Schrock tied Cody Skipper for the top spot in the lightweight class, but both yielded prizes.
Sponsors provided prizes the winners can use, including cash and certificates to Backyard BBQ. Elkhart County Chiropractic gave the top winners a certificate for a number of services, including an adjustment.
"They're going to need it," Borntrager said.