This Saturday I participated in my first Great Urban Race
The race was Bethany's birthday celebration. Orginally, Tim was supposed to be my partner, but got sick. Luckily, we convinced Wilson to step in. Team "Smooth & Foxy" was still in the race. (If you're wondering where the name came from, it's because both Tim and I have Smooth Fox Terriers.)
The object of the game is to see which team (a team consists of two people), can solve the clues the fastest and return to the finish with proof (photos). You are allowed to use technology (laptops, cell phones, GPS, etc.) and you can call friends to help you (preferably friends that are good at looking things up). We received 12 hints, 2 were mandatory and we could skip one of the remaining 10 tasks. Each task that you answer incorrectly results in a 30 minute penalty. There is no set course and you can answer the hints in any order you wish. Your time stops when both team members step on the finish line. Afterwards your photos are checked for accuracy and time is added for incorrect answers.
The night before the race, we tried to think of what we needed. We even looked at a blog about the Dallas race, but reading and experiencing are two very different things.
We arrived at Sport Restaurant to check in. We've never done this before, but we were going to do well. We were determined.
Here we are before the race:
Me & Wilson...hopeful.
We emailed the clue sheet to Tim, so he could see what we're seeing. The plan was that Dan was going to number the clues, Bethany was going to email them to Tim, and then we'd solve some and map out our course. We also agreed to work with our strengths. Wilson & Bethany would make the route. Dan would do the math. I would talk to strangers. Well, the clue sheet was already numbered, so Dan was a little disappointed that he lost one of his tasks.
We decided to start with the tickets we received for the Seattle Center. We had to take a photo of each of us going down an inflatable slide. My camera is a little old, so first I took a photo of Bethany and timed how long it took between the moment I pushed the button to the moment the photo snapped. It was a little over a second. So, Wilson went first, then me. Luckily we only had to take one shoot each, but Dan had to slide twice and Bethany four times. Oops.
To my surprise, I actually helped figure out the anagram. See, I'm more of a numbers girl than a word girl. The three words were scrambled and the answer was Rainer Tower. I don't remember the puzzle since I don't have the sheet with me.
We tried to find a Seattle Metropolitan Magazine since the hint told us to go to the Japanese restaurant that was listed on page 138. No luck at a nearby shop. So, we stopped and filled out most of the answers on our sheet. We decided to hop on the Monorail and make it to the second stop on our newly created race route...Pioneer Square.
The hint sheet wanted us to take a photo next to the statue of a fireman with a saw.
Wilson thought it would be part of the memorial in Pioneer Square. This is where
knowing the bus routes would have helped. As soon as we got off the Monorail in
Westlake Center, Dan started running. I thought, oh, this is how we're going to
tackle this. I'm glad I didn't run that morning. So, we all started running. Yes, we ran from Westlake to
Pioneer Square.
On the way, we took a photo of one of the street corners that may have been one of the answers. We couldn't
figure it out and it was a choice of two answers, so we took the photo to be safe.
This hint was (I'm paraphrasing) "Kristi is odd. She likes balloons but not parties. Book
but not reading. Swimming but not Water. Weeds but not flowers. Which corner does she like?
Cherry & 1st or Madison & Boren. Take a photo at the corner she likes."
Our next stop was Capitol Hill. Again, knowing the bus system would have helped. Plus, we were so excited
that we probably did a lot more running than necessary. After running several blocks, we caught a bus that
went up the hill.
While Dan & Wilson were racing down the street earlier, Bethany & I bought a Seattle Metropolitan
Magazine and found our next stop, "Boom Noodle." It was the only Japanese restaurant listed on that page.
Next answer: take a photo next to Jimmy Hendrix.
We had a choice of pumping gas for a stranger or finding someone with a Mariner's shirt (and taking a photo of ten
people with them). Luckily, we spotted a gas station nearby. The stranger already helped another team, but was
kind enough to let us take a photo, too. Success, stranger was kind!
Short stop at Boren & Madison since we hadn't solved the riddle, yet. Now off to Mad Pizza on First Hill.
We first started running in the wrong direction. We knew the address, but I noticed that we were on
E. Madison. THe street numbers change when Madison turns into E. Madison. I know this from making
this mistake in the past. Here is where my directional challenges actually helped us.
I knew how to get "unlost."
At this point, I let Wilson eat a bite of pizza. With all the running, I don't think I would make it if I ate that slice.
We (Bethany & I) were already sweating and gasping for breath (running up a hill is hard even when you're
used to running). Plus, it's easy to feel like a slacker when your partner is training to run a 100 mile race
(oh yes, 100 miles all at once) in August.
Now, we're off to Pike Market. We need to find City Fish, hold a sign made for
the race and a big fish. Of course, this wasn't the fish monger on the corner.
I knew that there were a couple other fish place in the middle of the market,
so we started going that direction. It was so crowded!
It took forever to get this shot. Then we also needed to find cocktail umbrellas to finish one of the hints.
We stopped at several restaurants/bars and couldn't find them. We resorted to buying them at the second
kitchen store we found.
Now, it was a decision point for us. We still haven't solved the "Kristi is odd.." riddle. We can either guess
(we had photos of both corners) or we can get the last hint which was putting a tattoo on your forehead
from a bucket behind a bench in Denny Park. Bethany knew where the tattoos were since we saw so many
teams with tattoos. This would be a sure thing. Or we can guess at the riddle and skip the Denny hint.
We decided to take a chance and guess. If we were wrong, then we'd get a 30 minute penalty and it
would probably take us 30 minutes to get the Denny tattoo. Okay, it's time to run from the Market to Westlake
Center (again, buses would be handy, but it was faster to run than figure out the bus system). Of course, we
also decided to take the stairs because it would be faster than going inside and take the escalators and
dodging bewildered people. And yes, some people asked if this was the Amazing Race and if we were on
TV. I can't imagine what we all looked like...pairs of people (many in costume), running around the city
and taking funny photos.
Luck was on our side, we only had to wait a couple minutes to board the Monorail. We bumped into a team
that had to wait 10 minutes and missed the last train since it was too full. They were really friendly and they
said that their goal was "not to be last." As we approached our stop, the girls on the other team, stopped
their chatter with us and started inching toward the door. Fakers! They were feeling competitive. I could tell
they want to race us. Okay, this is where all those track workouts pay off. The girls were out the door first and
I couldn't get around one of them as we exited the ramp. Once we had more room, I picked it up. The one
girl looked back since she thought I was her partner. Bad move. I ran even faster. Plus, they mis-judged
their ability to run the remaining distance and had to slow down. I am not fast by any means, but I can
pace myself. As we approached the finish, Dan was first, Wilson and then me. Poor Dan couldn't cross the
line alone, so Wilson & I finished a few seconds before Dan & Bethany. You have to finish as a team.
Official results came in and we finished 76th place in 2:45:28 since we guess the correct answer
to the riddle, "Cherry." Dan & Bethany chose Boren, so they lost 30 minutes. They guessed that we were
around 88th place, but they wouldn't know until all the photos were checked. I have to say that it was
definately a blast. We debriefed and figured out where we could shave time, and we were all motivated
to do it again when they come into town. The winers finished in about 1:20. I heard them mentioning
300 teams were there, but I'm not sure. If it was a sunny day, we would have stayed to see the awards,
but it's been unseasonably cold here. It's snowing in the hills and it's June!
