Didn't qualify for the national championships, but we had an awesome time running The Great Urban Race in DC last weekend! We finished in the top 100 out of 174 teams.
The race was fun and tougher than expected...there was only one mandatory clue on the list and none of the teams solved it. It was to take a picture at the address where XM Satellite Radio was established. We found out later that the correct answer was the NPR building.
We made a couple mistakes that cost us serious time. The biggest was not taking more time at the beginning to solve more clues and better map our route. Unlike The Amazing Race where teams get one task at a time, in the GUR you get a list of 12.
Several teams competed in costumes (there's a prize for best costume). Our favorite was the Yip-Yips. They were also the craziest for running around hot, humid DC in costumes made out of fleece blankets.
It was a great time and we got to see some cool parts of DC. We'll be back next year!
Showing posts with label the amazing race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the amazing race. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
A Mini Version of The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race is one of the best shows on TV. Similar to ABC's The Mole it takes players on an adventure around the world. My wife and I love the show and even applied once to get on...our video was horribly lame so no surprise that we didn't get selected.
Recently I discovered an event called The Great Urban Race. It's a race held in 19 US cities where two person teams compete against each other to complete a set of challenges throughout the city. It's a mini-Amazing Race that anyone can join. Brilliant!
Each team gets a list of 12 challenges to complete. The goal is to be the first team to complete 11 of the 12. Some tasks are mandatory and others are optional. Each challenge is different and could be a puzzle, physical task, scavenger hunt, etc. The rules are loose...basically you can bring anything you want (cell phone, laptop, GPS, etc) and can only walk/run or use public transportation.
The top finishing teams from each city qualify to compete for a $10,000 prize in the national championship race held in Las Vegas this November!
After securing a babysitter, we signed up for the Washington DC leg of the race on August 2! We're very excited about the race but have some preparation to do. Our knowledge of DC is mainly limited to getting around the Mall. We know the Metro system well but have no clue about the buses in DC. Odds are good we'll have to take at least one so we need to brush up on that.
I was tempted to forget the whole thing though after going through the online registration process and discovering there was a $4.19 per person "processing charge" that wasn't included in the already steep race registration fee. There was no warning about it before hand and the only way to register is online. That charge should have been included in the registration fee...not tacked on unexpectedly at the end. At least tell me about it earlier in the process. Bad form...very bad form.
Ok, I've got that off my chest...now I can focus on preparing for the race. It should be a lot of fun and I'll post about the experience here.
Recently I discovered an event called The Great Urban Race. It's a race held in 19 US cities where two person teams compete against each other to complete a set of challenges throughout the city. It's a mini-Amazing Race that anyone can join. Brilliant!
Each team gets a list of 12 challenges to complete. The goal is to be the first team to complete 11 of the 12. Some tasks are mandatory and others are optional. Each challenge is different and could be a puzzle, physical task, scavenger hunt, etc. The rules are loose...basically you can bring anything you want (cell phone, laptop, GPS, etc) and can only walk/run or use public transportation.
The top finishing teams from each city qualify to compete for a $10,000 prize in the national championship race held in Las Vegas this November!
After securing a babysitter, we signed up for the Washington DC leg of the race on August 2! We're very excited about the race but have some preparation to do. Our knowledge of DC is mainly limited to getting around the Mall. We know the Metro system well but have no clue about the buses in DC. Odds are good we'll have to take at least one so we need to brush up on that.
I was tempted to forget the whole thing though after going through the online registration process and discovering there was a $4.19 per person "processing charge" that wasn't included in the already steep race registration fee. There was no warning about it before hand and the only way to register is online. That charge should have been included in the registration fee...not tacked on unexpectedly at the end. At least tell me about it earlier in the process. Bad form...very bad form.
Ok, I've got that off my chest...now I can focus on preparing for the race. It should be a lot of fun and I'll post about the experience here.
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