Throwing Down the Gauntlet

Next March I will be participating in Urban Dare Austin, my first ever as a participant. I finally created the race I want to do, and I've been too busy being race director.

Cathy Setzer, who has helped run Urban Dares in DC, Boston, NY and Philly, is moving to Austin and will put together the Austin race.

I challenged all Urban Darers with clues and dares. Now I'm ready to talk trash and make a new challenge:

Can you beat me at my own game?

I think not.

We'll be posting the Austin race as soon as we have it scheduled.

Eligibility for the Champions Race

I’ve had several discussions with Urban Darers about eligibility for the Champions Race to be held on December 9 at a mystery location.

In order to be eligible, you must be a top 5 finisher in one of the local Urban Dare races.

One of the best things about the Champions Race is nobody will know their destination until December 8 when they depart. For the winners that receive free flight and hotel, I book their travel and they remain in the dark.

So how do I make it work for the 2nd through 5th place finishers who wish to participate? I’m really loath to do this, but I believe I will have to act as a travel agent for this.

I will notify all 2-5 finishers of their eligibility. If they are interested, I will search airfares and give them a ballpark cost for their race registration, which will include airfare and 2 nights hotel. I will have a third party verify travel purchase and cost.

Everyone will travel on December 8 and receive notification of their destination at the same time. The race will take place on Saturday, December 9. Return flights will be booked for Sunday afternoon.

I’m looking forward to seeing you somewhere on December 9 for the Champions Race.

We just might kick it up a notch on this one.
Best of luck.

Urban Dare Chicago Top 5 Finishers

Thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday’s Urban Dare Chicago.

It had been a whole 3 weeks with no Urban Dares. I was starting to suffer from adrenaline withdrawal.

Congratulations to Hugh Mainard and Michael Messinger, the Albany Park Refugees, who finished first with a time of 2:36:11. I will be booking their flights to the December 9 Champions Race.

Here are the top 5 finishers:

2:36:11 Hugh Mainard & Michael Messinger – Albany Park Refugees
2:38:32 Karen Crabtree & Jason Majerczak – Team Majer
2:39:20 Kendra Schram & Alexandra Cox – Feisty and Furious
2:43:38 Jeff Schneider & Holly Schneider
2:51:21 Derrick James & Daiv Whaley – Silver Surfers

5 Days until Urban Dare Chicago

Pictured are Drew and Ed, winners of Urban Dare Philly.

On Sunday we will be running Urban Dare Chicago. We will start at 11am near the fountain which has its on/off switch in Atlanta, we will do check-in at 10:30. You can register on race day.

This year participants must wear their Urban Dare t-shirt throughout the race. We'll get your shirts to you at the check-in. You should have a cell phone and a digital camera. Maps are also handy.

The Urban Dare start is unique. We will ask multiple choice questions and you will move into A, B, C or D areas depending on your answer. Get a few answers correct and you are on your way. This gives us a staggered start, but we'll be through it quickly. Questions will be based on Chicago trivia and you can't use your phones at this stage of the race.

Once you are out of the starting blocks, you will pick up your clue sheets and be on your way. You can call friends as much as you want for help on clues. For the checkpoints that mention a dare, you must check in with the Urban Dare official, accomplish your task, and get your passport stamped before moving on. On checkpoints that mention a photo, you must get a photo with both team members to show you were both there. This is a team race. You must be together throughout the race.

At checkpoints with dares, you must accomplish a task and get your passport stamped to move on to the next checkpoint. Dares range from throwing a bulls-eye, doing a climbing wall, completing a puzzle or eating something(things people like, not bugs)

We expect the winners will finish the race in less than 3 hours and most of you will finish under 4 hours. We are working to provide a fun-filled day for you, while providing some good challenges.

The winners will receive free round trip airfare and 2 nights hotel for the Champions Race on December 9. They will find out their destination, when they report to the airport on December 8

Check out Urban Dare at http://www.blogger.com/.

See you on Sunday,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/

PS Yes, you guessed it (or not), the start will be near Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.

Winning Course Map for Urban Dare Philadelphia