Clarissa Seales demonstrates a tire flip for students in her Scenic City Adventure Boot Camp class.

Clarissa Seales leads a Scenic City Adventure Boot Camp class as she prepares for the Chattanooga Challenge, an extreme 10K obstacle race.

To many people, simply thinking about trudging up multiple flights of steps is enough to make them break out in a sweat and look for the nearest elevator.

But for participants in Chattanooga Challenge -- the city's first "urbanathlon," or obstacle-filled 10K -- reaching the top floor of a downtown building the hard way will be just one of a dozen challenges they will face before the finish line.

The race, set for March 23 at Ross's Landing, follows a course through downtown, Southside and along the Chattanooga Riverwalk. Along the way, participants will overcome obstacles ranging from the stair marathon and climbing over a See Rock City barn to wading through near-freezing water in the Penguin Plunge, a frigid contribution inspired by the Tennessee Aquarium.

"When you get to [each obstacle], you'll have to figure out how to do it," says Ken Radley, director of Scenic City Multisport, the event manager of the Challenge.

"Some of the obstacles are relatively easy, and some of them are ... not," he cryptically adds, laughing. "Some of these obstacles are just going to be fun -- so much fun."

The Challenge is being presented by Get Out Chattanooga, an outdoor enthusiast magazine published by the Chattanooga Publishing Co., the parent of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Proceeds from the event, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 participants, will be funneled to the Chattanooga Times Free Press Foundation, a recently founded organization focusing on charitable community outreach.

Radley says event organizers modeled the Chattanooga Challenge on the Men's Health Urbanathlon & Festival, a three-event series with obstacle-filled 10Ks in Chicago, New York City and San Francisco.

The variety in these races is a refreshing change of pace from traditional street races and trail runs, Radley says.

"Running is fine. It's great fitness and is fun, if you're fast, but if you can break it up and do something different, that's what makes any type of multi-sport event so popular," he says.

In its November 2012 issue, an article in Outside Magazine reported that participation in obstacle race series such as Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder, Urbanathlon and Spartan Race has exploded in the last two years. In 2010, these race series drew about 41,000 participants, according to the article, and by 2012, more than 1.5 million were tackling them.

Challenge Chattanooga is the Scenic City's latest obstacle race, but similar, smaller events were organized in 2012, including the Chattanooga Mud Run and Moonshine Mud Run, which benefited Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga and United Way of Greater Chattanooga, respectively.

Scenic City Boot Camp fitness instructor Clarissa Seales, 28, has participated in about half a dozen obstacles and adventure races in the last few years and also will be participating in the Challenge. She purposefully has avoided looking at the race map or reading descriptions of the obstacles. Part of the fun, she says, is not knowing what's in store.

"I think it takes away from the fact that it's supposed to be a challenge or an adventure when you totally know what's going to happen," Seales says. "Because I teach fitness, I need something that pushes me really hard."

During the race, participants will wear special badges and, if they choose to register with a compatible program, their progress automatically will be uploaded to their Facebook and Twitter profiles as they pass each challenge.

Runners' finish times will be recorded, but the event has no time limit. Completing the 11-challenge gauntlet should take an estimated 1 to 2 hours, organizers say. The stair climb, for instance, will take longer than clamboring over a train car at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.

The obstacles themselves were selected because of their iconic status in the city, both to residents and tourists.

"When you think of Chattanooga, what are some things you think about?" says Times Free Press wellness coordinator Sarah Bass. "If you brought your grandma in from out of state, where would you take her?"

Kari Krouse, 31, an academic coach at Chattanooga Valley Elementary School in Walker County, has been prepping for the Challenge through a regimen of prolonged runs, high-intensity aerobics and light weightlifting. She says she hopes to climb over the final obstacle, a See Rock City barn, and cross the finish line in just over an hour.

And the other 11 obstacles in the way?

"I'm excited," she says. "Bring on the challenge."