Congratulations to Erik Carpenter and Tyrone Summers of the Jolly Rogers for winning the first ever Urban Dare National Championship. These guys were simply amazing, finishing a full 40 minutes ahead of the second place team. Wow!
The consensus favorite for the toughest dare really surprised me. Racers had to power their two-person swan boats around the fountain in Lake Eola by peddling. The boats handled poorly and the peddling was described as agony. And here I thought it would be a whimsical diversion in the middle of the race. Go figure.
Second through fifth place honors all went to California teams, led by second place finishers Paul Kim and Chris Campin of the San Diego Urban Dare Super Stars. Kim hobbled into the last checkpoint with a cramped leg, but hung in strong as they had to complete a jigsaw puzzle and throw a bulls-eye to finish the race.
Third and fourth place looked like an instant replay of the Urban Dare San Francisco finish. Valerie Herzog and Jenn Gammon of team Speedy arrived at the same time as Christine Simpson and Lisa Clarke. Speedy finished their puzzle quicker and walked away with the third place trophy. It’s too bad we couldn’t give the trophy to both teams. These four close friends seem to operate as one unit.
I’d like to thank all nine teams who participated in this year’s Champions Race. You were the best Urban Darers in the country this year. It was fun to provide you with another day of challenges. And unlike the BCS, we have an undisputed champion.
Unfortunately, the Urban Dare Boston Champions were unable to make it to the Champions Race. Professional success sometimes means we can’t get away for a fun-filled weekend. To Greydon Foil and Jordan Harrison – you were missed. See you next year in Boston.
Here is the order of finish for the 2006 Urban Dare Champions Race:
1 – 3:02:18 Erik Carpenter & Tyrone Summers - Jolly Rogers - DC
2 – 3:42:31 Paul Kim & Chris Campin – San Diego Urban Dare Superstars – San Diego
3 – 3:48:01 Valerie Herzog & Jenn Gammon – Speedy – San Francisco
4 – 3:51:05 Christine Simpson &Lisa Clarke – San Francisco
5 – 3:59:56 Cheryl Smith & Ty Buxman – Separated at Birth – Santa Monica
6 – 4:19:32 Drew Haridis & Ed Wagner – The Franklin Institute – Philadelphia
7 – 4:27:39 Michael Messinger & Hugh Mainard – Albany Park Refugees – Chicago
8 – 4:30:21 Katie Turner & Chris Murphy – New York
9 – Angela Sinclair & Brian Andrews - Tempe
Next year’s schedule will repeat all of the 2006 cities and we will expand into at least another five races. We have already added Austin and New Orleans to the schedule. Want to give someone a great adventure for Christmas? Sign them up for Urban Dare today.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this a very successful year for Urban Dare. I look forward to seeing you at the races next year. In the meantime, the Champions Cup resides in DC.
