Hi, I'm Glenise Anderson & am part of a team with husband Ray Balks and at 66, I go by the motto of "Age is No Excuse".

I'm an OCR athlete (Obstacle Course Racing), train in Ninja (yes like Australian Ninja Warrior!) and also do indoor climbing, yoga, Jumpfit (trampolining) and trail running and have recently been announced as Spartan Brand Ambassadors.

Representing Australia in the 2025 OCR World Championships was something I had ever contemplated I'd ever get to do, let alone at this age!

As the oldest female member of the Aussie team at the 2025 World OCR Championships in Sweden in September, I was super excited to be involved. My team member Ray won a gold member for the Australian team, the first time this medal has ever been awarded and gaining him LEGEND status. Everyone was so excited!! I missed out of a Bronze by about 5 seconds – nothing like a challenge for this year… 

And now it's leading up to that time again, this time in Ireland in August 2026!

I learned so much from last year, so I'm off to Stockholm (with Ray of course) early to practice on the very specific and challenging world championship obstacles and to get me ready for what will be expected at the 2026 World Championships.

There's a big 4 days of events booked in at the Worlds - the 100mtr/10 obstacle OCR (a variation of what will now be an Olympic sport as part of the Modern Pentathlon event) in the upcoming Los Angeles and Brisbane Olympics: the 400mtr which sees its debut at these Championships; the short course 3kms/20 obstacles; and the 2km Team Relay where we each run 2kms consisting about 10 obstacles in a tag team style and then run 2kms together with team obstacles. An ambitious line-up and we're training hard so we can throw everything we have into each event.

This year I am at it again with the Spartan in Glenworth Valley in February, Ultimate Athlete in New Zealand in April, competing in the Community World Championships in Brisbane in the 80mtr, Short Course and Team Relay in May and the Tough Mudder here in Queensland in June. I'm sure there will be some Ninja events sprinkled in there as well.

July will see me off to Stockholm to train. 

I'm super excited to be representing Australia again this year and can't wait to join up with the team in Ireland to support each other and do our very best.

Like everyone, I've had my ups and downs with training injuries and health hiccups and are proving nothing can hold us down, I'm back stronger and more motivated than ever.

I am grateful for any money donated (fully tax deductible thanks to the ASF) as these funds will be used to cover event fees, event accommodation, transport, additional uniforms, training fees and equipment, and most importantly, body rehabilitation!

My motivation is to inspire anyone of any age towards a healthier and happier lifestyle. 

And demonstrate AGE IS NO EXCUSE