John Castle of Hollidaysburg gives a thumbs up as he competes in the Courtesy photo Spartan World Championships in North Lake Tahoe, Calif., in September.

The decision to join a gym is typically a decision to make a lifestyle change.

For one Hollidaysburg resident, however, stepping foot in a gym for the first time led to the discovery of a new passion that would take him to the national level.

John Castle was 49 years old when he decided to join Point of Fitness. Having never been a member of a gym before, he started taking classes and going to personal training sessions with Wendy Bouslough.

Fast forward three years, and just over a week ago on Sept. 29, Castle competed at the Spartan World Championships in North Lake Tahoe, Calif., alongside competitors from over 30 countries.

He finished 18th out of 80 competitors in the “50-plus” age group. Only 44 of the 80 reached the finish line due to the extreme conditions.

“Since he’s been at the gym, he’s really dedicated himself,” Nicole Estep, the owner of Point of Fitness, said. “He hadn’t even stepped foot in a gym prior to that, and to see what he’s done in three years is incredible.”

Castle competed in his first obstacle course race just over two years ago, when Estep encouraged him to try the Mud on the Mountain race at Seven Springs.

Shortly after that, he joined Jayme Elvey, another trainer at Point of Fitness, in a Spartan race.

Since his first Spartan race in October 2017, Castle has run in 10 events and plans to complete four more before the end this year.

The road to qualifying for the Spartan World Championships was not an easy one. Castle had to finish in the top five of a previous race to qualify for the North American Championship, where he competed in West Virginia against athletes from the United States, Mexico and Canada.

From there, only the top finishers qualified to compete at the World Championships.

“I felt very privileged to be there,” Castle said. “Just to be present among competitors from the opposite side of the globe is a great honor in itself, but it took qualifying in the two previous races to get there.”

There are four levels of Spartan races, ranging from the 5K, 20-obstacle sprint to the 50K, 60-obstacle ultra. The World Championships event was a 21K race with 35 obstacles. The obstacles include tasks such as sand bag and bucket carries, monkey bars, swinging from ropes and swinging from rings.

To make the course even more difficult, the elevation presented a challenge of its own. The course at Lake Tahoe ranges from 6,500 to 8,500 feet above sea level, a drastic increase from what Castle is used to at home.

Because of this, his already intense training process increased over the past few weeks.

“I didn’t know I was going to make it to the World Championships until the first weekend in September, so I only had about four weeks to train,” Castle said. “My runs now include wearing an elevation mask to restrict my breathing to try to adapt myself to the elevation there versus what we have here.”

On top of running with an elevation mask, Castle typically completes a 5-mile run every morning, with additional running in the evening. He can often be seen running the 6-mile distance from his home in Hollidaysburg to Point of Fitness in Duncansville, where he will then complete a full body workout.

The dedication Castle has shown throughout his training has not gone unnoticed.

“John is the proverbial rabbit everyone is chasing here at the gym,” Brent Altmanshofer said. “I know I’ve found myself on more than one occasion trying to keep up with him. He keeps me motivated.”

Those who train with Castle say that his calm demeanor and determination in the face of a challenge help him to excel.

“He’s so cool, calm and collected,” Lynn Gardner said. “He wants to keep bettering himself and challenging himself. If you tell him to do something, he’ll try it. He thrives on that, and he’s always up for a challenge.”

The challenge of the Spartan World Championships is the aspect that Castle was looking forward to the most.

“My whole life, I’ve always been about a challenge,” Castle said. “I was challenged against the top athletes around the world to see how I stand up against the other 50-plus-year-olds. It’s a really tough course, and it takes a lot to be at the top.”

Regardless of the outcome, Castle went into the race knowing he had a large support system in his corner.

“I’m very proud of him,” Estep said. “He has definitely put the work in. The sky’s the limit for him, and he’s already our champion.”

Though the World Championships just concluded, Castle has already set his next goal: He will be tackling his first ultra Spartan in North Carolina on Nov. 23.

The Castle file

Name: John Castle

Age: 52

Hometown: Altoona

Education: Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School, class of 1985; Pennsylvania College of Technology, class of 1987

Occupation: Self-employed custom home builder/general contractor since 1990, John J. Castle General Contractor Inc.

Family: Daughter, Sarah Castle, 16