The tarmac at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport was busy Saturday, but instead of taking off for flights, the planes were being pulled across the ground by teams raising money for the Fairfield Center in Harrisonburg.

About 20 teams each pulled a plane 150 yards across the tarmac, competing for the fastest time, as well as other categories such as spirit and costumes.

Kathe Scripture and a team of her co-workers from Rockingham Memorial Hospital's Wellness Center joined in the pull. It was the fourth year she had participated, but she says it doesn't get any easier.

"It is intense. The very first thing is we coach everybody that you've got to get it started. It's 8,000 pounds of airplane, so you've got to get it started and then it just starts burning your legs and you whip around and you just think you are going to die," explains Scripture.

After pulling the plane, she was tired but still motivated.

"You are really out of breath. It's an anaerobic exercise for an aerobics instructor that's anaerobic, so it really does wear on you, but we are in pretty good shape, we recover pretty quickly," comments Scripture.

The funds raised from the plane pull are critical for the mediation services for the Fairfield Center.

The services help families come to agreements about difficult topics, including separation, divorce and parenting.

Fairfield Center Executive Director Tim Ruebke says, "This is a very important event. It's one of our two primary fundraising events each year that helps us to provide those services to families on a sliding scale so it's affordable."

Scripture says her participation in the plane pull was in recognition of the services the Fairfield Center provides for the community.

"It is the single finest way for families when they are dealing with conflict. The courts were never set up for the interaction, the exchange between two conflicting parties to work collaboratively together," adds Scripture.

The Fairfield Center says it's seen the demand for mediation services increase over the past several years and adds that the cost of mediation is much less than a lengthy court case.

© Copyright 2012 WHSV / Gray Television Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.