Urban Dare Miami Top 5 Finishers

I’m finally sitting on my own couch after finishing the last race of the 2007 regular season. It’s good to visit home again.

We had another fascinating finish as the first three teams to come into the finish all had to go back out to gain the last stamp on their passports. They ended up finishing 1, 2, and 4.

The Swedish Vikings finished the dare at the finish in 1:49:18, but they just got a picture at Flanigans, not noticing that they were supposed to do their eating dare. Off they went to eat their chicken strips.

While they were out, Tracy Towle & Jeff Humphrey came into the finish at 2:05:09, but one of their pictures was wrong. They took a picture in front of Plymouth Church, when they were supposed to take a picture of Plymouth Manse. They asked me what a manse was. I told them I couldn’t say, but they better hurry up and get their picture with it. Out they went.

5 minutes later, Christian Skoglund & Gustaf Arnoldsslon of the Swedish Vikings came back with the stamp for the eating dare, and they got a picture of a bull statue on the way back for a 5:00 bonus. Victory was theirs with Jefftray coming back 10 minutes later to finish second. PuN was the 6th team in at the finish, but they finished in third place. They were the first team come in with everything correct the first time. Their position is they were the real winners. Hopefully they will show their stuff again in South Beach.

Shelley Schenker and her son Jonathan came in at the finish along with her husband Harold and their other son Elliott were the 4th and fifth teams in at the finish, but they missed one of the checkpoints. Harold & Elliott went and got their required picture in time to finish 5th. Shelley & Jonathan were content to call it a day. It was an impressive showing as the two boys were by far the youngest contestants.

Thank you to everyone who made the first Urban Dare Miami a success. Next month we move all the way over to South Beach for our Champions race on January 12. The winners will win $1,000. We will kick up the dares a notch for this race. Take the dare!

Here are the top five finishers.

2:05:20 - Christian Skoglund & Gustaf Arnoldsson – Swedish Vikings
2:20:08 - Tracy Towle & Jeff Humphrey – Jefftray
3:04:37 - Peter Christenson & Nancy Rehm – PuN
3:12:50 - Allison Stephens & Allison Aileen – AA
3:15:22 - Harold Schenker & Elliott Schenker - AntiOxidants

Tampa Top 5 Finishers

Congratulations to Pat Trimpert & Jeff Roy of South Tampa Mafia for winning Urban Dare Tampa in a time of 1:41:22. Second place went to Ginger & Jason Couden of the A Holes. The father and son team of Tom & Max Levin came in 3rd.

Thank you to everyone who made Urban Dare Tampa a big success.

1:41:22 - Pat Trimpert & Jeff Roy - South Tampa Mafia
1:55:08 - Ginger & Jason Couden - A Holes
1:55:57 - Tom & Max Levin - Team Hadjo
1:56:10 - Scott Ramsey & Pablo Gallego - Spanglish
1:56:30 - Karen Lee & Janelle Weber - Dare-do-wells

Urban Dare Orlando Top 5 Finishers

Thank you to everyone who came out today and made Urban Dare Orlando a big success. We will definitely be back next year.

Lauren Walker & Tico Sejas of Infinite Possibilities were the first team to complete their final dare at the finish, but that was not quite enough to win. Rino Cacchione and Ashleigh David of Moop finished a couple minutes later. They also got a picture of 6 non-contestants forming a human pyramid. This gave them a five minute bonus making them the Urban Dare Orlando Champions. Congratulations on a well-run race.

There was no big stumper clue in today's race. Several people said their toughest one was finding Orlando's Statue of Liberty. Most of these racers that had problems with this also said that they drive by it almost every day. My brother Dirk, who lives about a quarter mile away, had to ask me where it was. Go figure.

Here are the top 5 finishers:

1:37:36 - Rino Cacchione & Ashleigh David - Moop
1:40:59 - Lauran Walker & Tico Sejas - Infinite Possibilities
2:00:23 - Michael Powell & David Ritland - Gridlock
2:07:44 - Allison Carcaise & Sherry Cioffi - Splitsville
2:12:44 - Jodi DeQuiros & Derrick DeQuiros - Team DQ

Urban Dare Top Three Finishers

Urban Dare Tempe Top 5 Finishers

Congratulations to Windy and David Marks of Racelab for winning Urban Dare Tempe in a time of 1:52:35. Ethan Myer and Debbie Goodwin came in second, finishing there final dare 45 seconds later.

The third through fifth place teams were tightly bunched with There's no I in Beer finishing ahead of Hometown Hotties and the Desert Wahinis.

All in all it was a great day, and I thank everyone who participated.

Here are the top 5 finishers:

1:52:35 - Windy & David Marks - Racelab
1:53:20 - Ethan Myer & Debbie Goodwin - Navigationally Challenged
2:05:52 - James Garman & Kirk Christiano - There's no I in Beer
2:06:40 - Kyle Wyloge & Evan Wyloge - Hometown Hotties
2:07:00 - Nicole Moest & Julie Peterson - Desert Wahinis

Champions Race - South Beach - Jan 12

This Urban Dare Champions race will be held on January 12 in Miami Beach's South Beach section.

I will try to get us a good rate on hotel rooms when I will be in the area setting up our race in the Coconut Grove area on Dec 8. In the meantime you can start looking for deals on flights.

Everyone is eligible to enter the race. The first place teams from 2007 races receive free entry. Second place teams pay $10. Third place teams pay $20. Fourth place teams pay $30 and fifth place teams pay $40. If you were a top 5 finisher, please email me at kkeefe@urbandare.com to register.

All other teams will pay the standard $90 dollar fee to participate and can register online.

It's been a great year so far, and I believe we are fastest growing race series in the US. I expect to continue this growth and to continue to make improvements for some time to come.

See you in South Beach, if you dare!

Urban Dare San Antonio

Here was the stumper clue of what turned out to be a fascinating race:

"This museum was once a Lone Star Brewery. Get your picture with the Shrouded Entry in front of it."

Pictured here is Joe Koizen with the Roxanne Flores & Connie Basel of the Get Out Girls. I chose this picture, because of the little girl in the background. The Get Out Girls are the Urban Dare San Antonio Champions and Joe is a strong champion for San Antonio.

Joe, along with Jen Miller and her husband Drew, did the March race in Austin. We were hanging out after the race and they talked me into doing a San Antonio race. Not only did they help put together and work the race, but Jen and Drew also put me up at their house. Many thanks:)

A week before the race, I received an email from Megan Rutledge asking if she and her husband could bring along their 10 year old son Garrett. She said they didn't care about winning, they'd just have more fun with Garrett along. Imagine my surprise when they were the first team to show up and completed their dare before any other team arrived. We all got very excited about them maybe taking first place and started reviewing their pics. Alas, the stumper got them and they had to ultimately settle for 10th place.

Suzanna & Pete Swanson of the Posers and Bradley & Brian Book of the Banned Books were the second and third teams in at the finish, but they, too, got stumped. The Banned Books decided they were going to back for the Shrouded Entry.

The Get Out Girls, our champions, were the tenth team to succesfully complete all checkpoints in a time of 2:57:53. Close on their heels were Kylie Clayborne & Kristen King of Red River Runners and next were Estelle Mack and Pia Puno of Macapuno.

The desire award goes to the Banned Books who returned one hour and twenty-one minutes after completing their final dare. They came back with the Shrouded Entry shot and were the 9th and last team to successfully complete all checkpoints.

I tell people that Urban Dare is the race where smarts can beat speed. That's exactly what happened in Urban Dare San Antonio.

Here are the top five:

2:57:53 - Connie Basel & Roxanne Flores - Get out Girls
2:58:44 - Kylie Clayborne & Kristen King - Red River Runners
2:59:01 - Estelle Mack & Pia Puno - Macapuno
3:02:56 - Sharon Burns & Ed Gonzalez - Rack Pack
3:07:18 - Shawn Hood & Harry Hood

Texas is starting to get to me. In a good way, of course. We will have a Texas series next year, and already have three races scheduled. I'll probably add a Houston area race. In the March 29 Urban Dare Austin, we are hoping to open the race by setting a World Record.

The schedule is Mar 29 Austin, May 3 Dallas, TBA San Antonio.

And the stumper?

The San Antonio Museum of Art's building is in the National Historic Register as a former Lone Star Brewery. There is but one statue smack dab in front of this building. It is titled "Shrouded Entry." Almost everyone passed by close enough to touch it.

Urban Dare San Antonio Top 3

Hooray to the top three teams in today's Urban Dare San Antonio pictured here. I love that they are all women - smart and fit women.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Urban Dare San Antonio. After a great first race, I'm ready to make this an annual event.

I'll do a more detailed report tomorrow. It was a fascinating race at the finish line.

Urban Dare Philadelphia Top 5 Finishers

Congratulations to Tara Connolly and Kelli Devine of the Incredibles for winning Urban Dare Philadelphia in just over 2 hours. .

The five minute bonus came into play in the 2nd through 4th place finishes. Cindy Newman and Aric Campling of the Scout’s Pals entered the Irish Pub second and finished their final dare before 2 other teams, but did not get their photo with the dog. Darcy Clark & Bryan Selm, and Christopher & Kim Goodwin got the 5 minute bonus pic to leapfrog over Scout’s Pals into 2nd and 3rd place.

Here are the top five finishers:

2:04:39 – Tara Connolly & Kelli Devine – The Incredibles
2:07:56 – Darcee Clark & Bryan Selm
2:08:59 – Christopher Goodwin & Kim Goodwin – Shannon’s Crew
2:09:52 – Cindy Newman & Aric Campling – Scout’s Pals
2:13:23 –David Sidoriak & Chrissy Trickel – Sid & Trix

Thank you to everyone who participated in Urban Dare Philadelphia. I really enjoyed the post-race feedback and look forward to coming back next year.

And the dog? You’ll find it in front of the North Third Bar.

Urban Dare NY Top Five Finishers

As we were getting ready to start Urban Dare New York, my brother Christopher looked over the entrants. He pointed to Harvey Fine & Wilson Wang of the Orient Express (pictured here), said that they looked the hungriest, and his money was on them. After the start, Orient Express spent some time looking over their clue sheets and started moving north. Knowing that there were no checkpoints in that direction, we figured he may have picked the wrong team.

David & Laura Brienza, the Idols of Youth, were the first team in at the finish and the first to complete the final challenge. The Orient Express came in shortly after them and finished their challenge a few minutes later. In checking their pictures, they got their picture with the plaque at City Hall Park that gave them a five minute bonus. With this bonus, the Orient Express moved into first place. Congratulations!

Two Blind Mice were also in at the finish beginning their final dare before a winner was determined. Close behind were the Dulce Daddies and Stratton Baby.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day a success.

Here are the top five finishers:

1:53:46 - Harvey Fine & Wilson Wang - The Orient Express
1:55:09 - David & Laura Brienza - Idols of Youth
1:59:49 - Stephen Anania & Dawn Schaal - Two Blind Mice
2:02:58 - Joseph Pinto & Tony Osborn - Dulce Daddies
2:04:05 - Marcus Huang & Renee Hui - Stratton Baby

The next Urban Dare NY will start in Central Park on May 10. I'm looking forward to exploring some new neighborhoods.

Urban Dare Seattle - Sat Oct 6

Urban Dare Seattle starts at Noon this Saturday Oct 6 at Victor Steinbrueck Park, next to Pike Place Market. We will begin check-in at 11:15 and will be taking registration up to the start of the race.

You must wear your Urban Dare shirts throughout the race, which we will give you at check-in. You should bring a cell phone and a digital camera to show your pictures at the end of the race. A cell phone camera will work. Maps are also handy and you should have someone to call to help look up clues. I also recommend a pen or pencil to take notes.

Urban Dare is the race where smarts can beat speed. Teams of 2 solve clues to find checkpoints where they must take photos or perform dares.

The Urban Dare start is unique. We will ask multiple choice trivia 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. You may not 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. You may walk, run or use public transportation to get to checkpoints.

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 about 2 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.

Urban Dare San Francisco Top 5

It was déjà vu all over again. Just like last year Valerie Herzog & Jennifer Gammon of team Speedy arrived at the finish at the same time as Chris Simpson & Lisa Clarke. Team Speedy lived up to their name and finished the final dare for first place. Congratulations on a well-run race.

Mark Davenport & Shannon Connolly of the Incredibles came in third place, a bug improvement upon their finish in the previous week’s Urban Dare San Diego.

Here is the clue that gave people the hardest time:

I’ve got the urge to send you to the Urge. Go there and get your picture with it. 3:00 minute time bonus – Get it both standing and sitting.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Urban Dare San Francisco.

Here are the top 5 teams in order:

2:16:51 - Valerie Herzog & Jennifer Gammon – Speedy
2:18:27 - Chris Simpson & Lisa Clarke
2:41:34 - Mark Davenport & Shannon Connolly - The Incredibles
3:09:38 – Gregory deBeer & David Alyea – Desert Taxi
3:28:41 – Edward & Tara Kramlich – Kramlich Enterprises

The Urge is a sculpture in Yerba Buena Gardens. Next to it is a bench that if you sit on it, then the sculpture sits as well.

Urban Dare San Diego Top 5

One thing about scheduling a race in San Diego is that you can always count on nice weather. At least, you usually can. It rained most of Saturday morning, but cleared up about an hour before the start. Sometimes, you just get lucky.

Congratulations to Geoffrey Sheppard & Monica Hoffman for winning Urban Dare San Diego in a time of 2:37:26. James Floyd and Dan Hamman finished their
final dare 2 minutes later to finish in second place.

Third place honors go to team Us. Last year’s winners, Chris Campin & Paul Kim, had to settle for fourth place this year.

Team Rocket Race puts on their own race called Rocket Race. You can find info on it at www.sdrocketrace.com. Their next race is November 10.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Urban Dare San Diego.

2:37:26 - Geoffrey Sheppard & Monica Hoffman - P.T. Pirates
2:39:36 - James Floyd & Dan Hamman – Rocket Race
2:46:15 - David Schmidt & Eric Nelson – Us
2:50:19 – Chris Campin & Paul Kim – SDUDDS II
3:05:17 – Mark Warble & Pete Argyrakis – Gregarious Athletes Yielding Style

Urban Dare Los Angeles Top 5 Finishers

Congratulations to Adam Umhoefer and Jay Bridges of Shake and Bake for their first place finish in Saturday’s Urban Dare Los Angeles.

The statue of Raoul Wallenberg and the frieze of Marilyn Monroe proved to be the two toughest checkpoints.

The Terrier-ists received a 5:00 minute bonus for getting a photo of a 6 person pyramid, enabling them to leapfrog Chris Papiernick and Rich Paisley to finish in 5th place.

1:29:55 - Adam Umhoefer & Jay Bridges – Shake and Bake
1:32:56 – Gabe Brakin & Dominic Ferullo
1:38:06 – Richard Ward & Peter Kyriacou – Real Men of Genius
1:43:49 – Rami Soudah & Paul Perales – Team Discotetris
1:47:01 – Myles Nye and John Russell – Terrier-ists

Urban Dare Los Angeles - Sat, Aug 15

Urban Dare Los Angeles begins Saturday, August 25 at Noon at Pan Pacific Park near the Rec Center at 7600 Beverly Blvd. We will begin check-in at 11:15 and will be taking registration up to the start of the race.

You should bring a cell phone and a digital camera to show your pictures at the end of the race. A cell phone camera will work. Maps are also handy and you should have someone to call to help look up clues.

Urban Dare is the race where smarts can beat speed. Teams of 2 solve clues to find checkpoints where they must take photos or perform dares.

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 about 2 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.

See you at the race.

Urban Dare Chicago Video

Check out this video from Urban Dare Chicago. Thank you to Julie Miyamasu who sent me this video put together by her roommate Laura Busse.

Urban Dare Boston Top Five Finishers

Congratulations to Mark Mixer and Alison Shawver of EGVB, pictured above, for winning Urban Dare Boston.

The first four teams to arrive at the finish had the wrong picture for where the Massachusetts delegation ratified the Constititution, coming back with a picture of the Old State House. They had to go back out and get the picture in the right spot. The first and second place teams were also the first and second to arrive with the wrong picture.

Jordan Harrison, half of last year’s winning team, finished second. Amy Kloempken & Julie Rising of Windy City Rejects were the third team to arrive at the final checkpoint, but the Constitution photo kept them out of the top 5.

Here are the top 5 finishers:

2:20:30 - Mark Mixer & Alison Shawver – EGVB
2:24:17 – Jordan Harrison & Mike Bucchino – All Male All Nude Bean Town Urban Dare Revue
3:02:43 – Kathleen McCarthy & Kristin Anderson – K Squared
3:05:57 – Brian Sherman & John Previtera – Hardy Boys
3:17:00 – Jean Coleman & Jim Coleman – Team Coleman

The constitution was ratified by the Massachusetts delegation at the church of Reverend Jeremy Belknap, now the site of Bank of America. To celebrate the work of the state ratifying convention, Boston changed the name of the street where Belknap's church stood from Long Lane to Federal Street. The delegation discussed the Constitution at the Old State House, but did not ratify it until they met at Belknap’s church.

Urban Dare Boston will begin at Noon this Saturday, July 14 at Boston Common near the Visitor Center.

To get a feel for what is in store for you, here are a couple of articles written before and after the last Boston race:

Wacky Race - The Patriot Ledger

Surviving Urban Dare - The Phoenix

We will be taking registrations up until the start of the race. Come join us on Saturday.

Champions Race - What's Up

We're still trying to figure out what's going on with a Champions Race for the 2007 series. The race will probably occur on Saturday, January 12, 2008, and be somewhere warm.

Last year, it was held in an undisclosed location. We paid the airfare and hotels of all the 2006 Urban Dare series winners, told them they would travel on December 8 and December 10. At midnight the night before they travelled, we called them with their itineraries and told them they were going to Orlando.

This year will be different. We simply can't afford to pay for everyone's travel. Hopefully, that will change in the future as we are currently in talks with several potential sponsors. That said, we will see what we can do for the 2008 winners and top finishers. Certainly, free entry is a given.

We expect that we will probably hold the Champions Race in a disclosed (not yet) location and that it will be open to anyone that wants to register. All 2007 winners and some top finishers will have free entry.

And, we'll kick it up a notch on the dares.

Urban Dare Chicago Top 11

Congratulations to Lily Berman & Isaak Lerner for winning Urban Dare Chicago in a time of 4:14:55. Pictured here, they were the 38th team to arrive at the finish, but were the first to successfully complete all checkpoints.

Rounding out the top three were Beth Geraci & Gretchen Hentenmann in second, followed by Jerusha Rodgers & Kathryn King.

Usually the stumper clue takes out a handful of teams, but in Saturday’s race only 6 teams successfully got the photo for checkpoint 2. Here is the stumper clue:

“Get your picture with the plaque commemorating the first session of the Board of Trade of Chicago.”

Patrick Doran & Jason Majorczak of the Jayhawks deserve recognition as the first team to finish with an impressive time of 2:21:41. They had the same photo as almost all teams of a plaque outside the Board of Trade, so they got an*BT by their time. For almost 2 hours no other team successfully completed all checkpoints, so it looked like they might win after all. I thank them for their good sportsmanship and congratulate them on a well-run race.

I was excited when Don & Rob Maldonado, the sixth team to show up at the finish, started showing me their pictures and they got the Board of Trade correctly. Don came up to me about 5 minutes before the race and told me his team didn’t have a camera, and I had lent him mine. Could the winning pictures actually be on my camera? Alas, they missed one other photo and ended up with an asterisk by their time.

I’ve decided to post the top 11 teams, instead of the top 5, because it gives a more accurate picture of the race. The top 5 teams are the teams that got everything correct. The next six are the first 6 teams to complete the last dare and show their pictures for validation.

I bill Urban Dare as the race where smarts can beat speed, and, on Saturday, speed was not the biggest factor. I credit shear doggedness, as most teams that successfully completed the course backtracked and spent considerable time getting the Board of Trade shot.

4:14:55 - Lily Berman & Isaak Lerner
4:22:58 - Beth Geraci & Gretchen Hentenmann
4:38:35 - Jerusha Rodgers & Kathryn King
4:40:29 - Savitre Tubrong & Kobfa Seniwongse
4:42:00 - Mary Megan Anderson & Tina Jancsura – I DA FN1
*BT 2:21:41 – Patrick Doran & Jason Majorczak – Jayhawks
*BT 2:22:45 – Rosalyn Popham & Aletha Head – TriMonster #1
*BT 2:27:43 – Comilla Sasson & Vivian Chou – Better than Drinking
*BT 2:38:53 – Maureen Mulvihill & Katie Cunniff
*BT 2:48:48 - Jeb Ory & Lea Crusey
*HM 2:55:01 - Don Maldonado & Ron Maldonado – Fighting Goats

Oh yes, let's not forget the plaque. One of the internet reseachers told me he saw an obscure reference to it as one of many commemmorative plaques along Wacker, but without saying where along Wacker. You'll find it near State in almost a straight line between checkpoint 1 and checkpoint 3.

This video is in the CBA 5-minute Film Fest

That would be the Chicago Bagel Authority Film Fest on Sunday, June 10. The day after Urban Dare Chicago.

New Expanded Schedule

We've had such a great year so far, that we've decided to add several new races.

We're returning to New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Urban Dare Seattle will be on October 6. And we've added December races in New Orleans, Miami and Tampa.

There will be a $15 rebate for anyone registering who has already participated in any Urban Dare this year. I appreciate your business, and I want you back.

Here is the new expanded schedule:

Jun 9 Chicago
Jul 14 Boston
Aug 18 Rehoboth Beach
Aug 25 Los Angeles
Sep 15 Energy Club Dare
Sep 22 San Diego
Sep 29 San Francisco
Oct 6 Seattle
Oct 13 New York
Oct 20 Philadelphia
Nov 3 San Antonio
Nov 10 Tempe
Nov 17 Orlando
Dec 1 New Orleans
Dec 8 Miami
Dec 15 Tampa

The September 15 Energy Club Fitness Dare (in Arlington, VA) will have a different format than a regular Urban Dare, but it will still be 2-person teams competing. The Energy Club Dare will have a defined course. You will not have to solve clues to find checkpoints, as they will be marked along the course. There will be 12 or so checkpoints where racers will have to perform fitness challenges or Urban Dare type dares. Think of it as a five mile obstacle course that will test you physically and mentally.

Take the dare!

I guess I won't be home very much this year.

Greetings from Chicago, where I am preparing for the next Urban Dare to be run on June 9. After doing races four weekends in a row, I have to admit to being a little fatigued. I might even take a few days off next week.

The great feedback I'm getting from racers and a recent spate of good press clips make all this hard work worthwhile. Here are a few articles which will give you some insights into Urban Dare:

Surviving Urban Dare - April 28, 2007 - The Phoenix

Wacky Race - Patriot Ledger

Urban Scavenger Hunt Calls for Speed, Skill and Gadget Know-how - Wired

Test Your Know-How - If You Dare! - Washington Post

Thing 27 - Urban Dare DC - DC365

Don't worry, I'll still have some surprises in store for you.

See you at the races.

The Cutest Pyramid

This shot, submitted by Steven Schulze and Jen Poweska, wins for cutest pyramid. The one below is still the coolest.

The Pyramid - NY Style

Wow! Is that a pyramid, or is that a pyramid?

That's what I call doing it up New York style.

Cathy Breniser & Tracy Reckner of the Purse Divas reached into their purses and forked over $10 to set up this shot. I consider it $10 well spent.

One other team had the same shot. I don't know if they split the cost, or just saw a good opportunity. Either way, it's all good.

I love this shot!

Urban Dare NY Top Five Finishers

Thank you to everyone who helped make Urban Dare NY a big success.

Pictured are William & Beau Benton, the winners of Urban Dare NY with a time of 2:36:22. They said they learned a few things from last year's race, where they finished in second place.

Lester Santos & Andrew Maldonado finished in second place, followed by Tar Devil, and I double dog dare you (I should have made them eat hot dogs instead of pretzels).

Los Fabulosos Gramaticos, winners of Urban Dare Philadelphia, appeared to have taken third place, but were missing their pyramid picture and they didn't eat their pretzels. They went back out and still managed to get back in time to finish fifth.

The toughest photo of the day proved to be getting a picture of a human pyramid - 3,2,1. 6 or 7 teams failed to get it. All in all, it was a good day all around.

Here are the top 5 finishers:

2:36:22 William Benton & Beau Benton - Kiss my Blarney Stone
3:06:01 Lester Santos & Andrew Maldonado - Corporal Captains
3:13:30 Robert Swennes & AK Clemmons - Tar Devil
3:35:14 Stephen Anania & Heather Muterspaw - I double dog dare you
3:36:43 Bryant Palmer & Ann Ritter - Los Gramaticos Fabulosos

Two big things are happening this year. Where we had races last year, the number of participants has doubled in each city. And more importantly, I'm having great fun. So much fun, in fact, that I'm planning on coming back this year to the East Coast Extravaganza cities. We'll be updating the schedule soon.

This Saturday - Urban Dare NY

Urban Dare NY starts this Saturday, May 12 at noon at Washington Square Park. Check-in begins at 11:15. Look for us in the light blue shirts.

Pictured are Bryant Palmer and Ann Ritter, winners of Urban Dare Philadelphia, who are racing in this week's New York race.

Check out Wacky Race from The Patriot Ledger. It will give you a sense of what Urban Dare has in store for you.

Come join the fun! You can register all the way up to the start of the race, or click here to register now.

See you at the races.

Urban Dare Philadelphia Top 5 Finishers

I had so much fun with all of you at today's Urban Dare.

Congratulations to Bryant Palmer & Ann Ritter of Los Gramaticos Fabulosos who finished first with a time of 1:38:45. Watch out New York. They're also racing in next week's Urban Dare NY.

Coming in second place was last year's Philadelphia champion Ed Wagner with a new partner - Jordan Pascucci. Also breaking the 2 hour barrier were Go Girls! and MXC-Phil. And Run Jenny Run edged out Joe & Danielle Skelly of the Broken toenails by a mere three seconds to finish in fifth.

Here is the clue for Checkpoint 6, which came with the above picture:

As a gentile, I always get nervous when I go by this sign. Get your picture with it. Today’s the Sabbath, you’ll be safe.

It turns out, that it wasn't totally safe after all. The guy went nuts every time a team came by and took their picture in front of the sign. We were joking about making it a mandatory photo every year.

By far the favorite dare, was the chocolate covered strawberries in the Italian markets.

For some other cool Philly races, check out Ed Wagner's site at www.clubedventures.com.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Here are the top five finishers:

1:38:45 Bryant Palmer & Ann Ritter - Los Gramaticos Fabulosos
1:45:49 Edward Wagner & Jordan Pascucci - clubedventures.com
1:49:08 Kirsty Halliday & Cheryl Martin - Go Girls!
1:55:19 Jenny Pierce & Kris Hall -MXC-Phil
2:03:54 Rob Wishnick & Ali Wishnick - Run Jenny Run

Change of venue for Urban Dare Philadelphia

Urban Dare Philadelphia will be starting at Schuylkill River Park.

Schuylkill River Park is located on the river just south of the Walnut Street Bridge. If you take Spruce to where it deadends at 26th Street it will put you at the park within sight of where we will be setting up.

See you at the race.

Urban Dare Boston Top Five Finishers

Wow! I really loved laying out this year's Urban Dare Boston.

After miserable weather forecasts, we had a mostly sunny day with no rains until about 4:30 when most racers were safely ensconced in the Sweetwater Cafe. Kudos and thank you to all who participated and congratulations to all finishers.

Pictured are Lydia Gregoret & Charles Wilson at the top of Bunker Hill Monument.

Race-day registrants Sean Jack & Chris Ancers signed up as Awesome, Inc. They lived up to their billing with a winning time of 1:55:12. They were the only team under 2 hours.

Donald Hess & Dave Young finished comfortably in second place in 2:12:26. The race for third place was where the real action was, as we had three teams all at the finish doing their puzzle dare at the same time. Ken DoRosario, a veteran UD Bostoner, and his sister Marguerite Reynolds finished ahead of Sig Fin Fen and the Brighton Bombers.

This clue was nicknamed the "I hate the race director" checkpoint:

"Go to Breed’s Hill for your upwardly mobile photo hunt. Oh yes, you must go all the way to the top of what sits atop this hill. Get your picture with the damaged cannon at the top."

For those of you not in the know, Bunker Hill Monument is what sits atop Breed's Hill. I climbed those 292 steps on Thursday and my calves were still sore from it on race day. You wanted a good challenge, right?

Speaking of not in the know, take a look at what's wrong with this clue:

"Honest Abe freed the slaves with his Gettysburg Address. Get your picture in front of the statue honoring this act."

Only one racer busted me on this clue. It was the Emancipation Proclamation that ended slavery. Luckily, everybody knew what I meant.

A special thanks to my nephews Joe & Tom, Ashley, Alejandra, and Chris for a superb job of running the checkpoints.

Here are the top 5 finishers:

1:55:12 Sean Jack & Chris Ancers - Awesome, Inc.
2:12:26 Donald Hess & Dave Young
2:20:33 Ken DoRosario & Marguerite Reynolds - DoRobourn
2:21:20 Leigh McKinley & Sean McKinley - Sig Fin Fen
2:23:33 Ted Tyson & Donna Tyson - Brighton Bombers

Urban Dare DC Top 6

Thank you to everyone who made Urban Dare DC 2007 a great success. It was our biggest race ever.

Congratulations to the Jolly Rogers, 2006 National Champions and 2006 DC Champions, for winning the 2007 Urban Dare DC in impressive fashion. Interestingly enough, they were the first team at only one checkpoint. Yes, you guessed it, the final one. Good navigation skills and figuring out what order to visit checkpoints makes a difference. Of course, Ty and Erik do a pretty good job running from point A to point B.

And major kudos to Jane Argentsinger and Emily Appleman for taking second place. I confess that one of the best parts of directing Urban Dare races is meeting beautiful, strong, fit, intelligent women. Sorry, Jolly Rogers, I'm going with the picture of myself with the top female team in the race. I know it's selfish and this shouldn't be about me, but I can't resist.

Francoise Galleto wrote a great report of her race experience on her blog at http://dc365.blogspot.com/2007/04/thing-27-urban-dare-dc.html. Thank you, Francoise.

One of the favorite dares of the whole race, was the Ode to Our Soldiers Dare. This was a suggested dare, that was sent to us. Keep the good ideas for dares coming. I'd tell you what the dare is, but you may face it in your next Urban Dare.

And we had one problematic dare - the American Meridian, where you had to stand with one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere and one foot in the Western Hemisphere. It turns out there is more than one historic meridian in town. I did not accept the photo given me by Trabue & Jennifer Bland, but it turns out they were right. I am reinstating their time, which makes them fourth place. I'm not bumping anyone, so the DC post will have a top 6.

Here are the top 6 finishers of Urban Dare DC:

2:10:00 Erik Carpenter & Ty Summers - Jolly Rogers
2:45:03 Jane Argentsinger & Emily Appleman
2:46:37 Erol Yayboke & Natalie Nelson - Erik Estrada Fan Club
2:48:52 Trabue Bland & Jennifer Bland
2:50:30 Jon Caley & Daniel White
2:51:00 Mary Allen & Tony Wallace - GW

And a big thank you to DailyCandy.com. I received 40 registrations and over 150 email sign ups in the last 24 hours before the race. Most of these were prompted from an email they sent out on Friday. I love DailyCandy.com.

Urban Dare DC this Saturday

Urban Dare DC will start on Saturday, April 21 at Noon at Pershing Square, just across from the Willard Hotel at 14th & E Sts NW. This is the same place we started last year. We will begin check in at 11:15 and there will be a short race briefing at 11:55. Come early if you have not yet registered.

Pictured are the Jolly Rogers, 2006 National Champions and 2006 Urban Dare DC Champions.

Urban Dare is the race where smarts can beat speed. Teams of 2 solve clues to find checkpoints where they must perform dares.

Check out Urban Dare at www.urbandare.com.

See you at the race.

Coming to the Alamo - Nov 3

Urban Dare Austin was so much fun that we're coming back to Texas this year.

Urban Dare San Antonio has been scheduled for Saturday, November 3. The race will begin downtown near where Peewee went to look for his bicycle.

Here I am pictured in front of the Alamo on my only trip ever to San Antonio. I was in the middle of riding my bicycle from San Diego to Key West a couple years ago.

I'm looking forward to seeing San Antonio again.

Urban Dare East Coast Extravaganza

On Saturday, April 21 we will be running Urban Dare DC. This is the first of four straight weekends of Urban Dare races.

Urban Dare Boston is April 28, Urban Dare Philadelphia is May 5, and Urban Dare NY is May 12.

I'll be zipping up and down the East Coast for the next 7 weeks getting ready for these races. I expect each of these races to be bigger than they were last year. We must be doing something right.

See you at the races.

Jocks in a Box

A few months back when a team signed up as Jocks in a Box, I wondered if they would come as advertised. Sure enough, they did.

Here they are pictured with a Habitat for Humanity House in a Box.

A special thanks to Andrew Bulloch and Brandon Langlinais for bringing costuming into play. It’s part of that special touch Austin puts on everything.

Urban Dare Austin Top Five

Thank you to everyone who made the first ever Urban Dare Austin a big success.

Pictured are Spencier Conklyn of Got Wheels and Kipley Fiebig & Jason Mittman of Vignette 2.

Check out Kip Fiebig's report on the race at http://www.kipley.com/uc/ud2007austinreport.html. It seems that Vignette 1, Vignette 2, and Got Wheels all compete together in adventure racing. 1st, 2nd and 4th place is not bad.

Way to go MasterBabes! You kept them from a sweep, but more importantly, you ran a great race.

I want to give a special thanks to Cathy Setzer for putting together and managing a terrific race.

Here are the top 5 finishers of Urban Dare Austin.

2:29:18 Kipley Fiebig & Jason Mittman – Vignette #2
2:33:18 Spencer Conklyn & Shawn Bostad – Got Wheels
2:34:58 Kristen Muennink & Cindy Present – MasterBabes
2:35:43 Marcy Beard & John Beard – Vignette #1
2:48:10 Jessica Dodge & Krystie Kirchmeyer - Chickens

We may be doing an Urban Dare San Antonio in the fall.

Urban Dare Austin

Urban Dare's 2007 season will finally begin this Saturday in Austin. Pictured is Cathy Setzer, the Race Director and mastermind of the Austin race.

Urban Dare Austin will start on Saturday, March 24 at Noon at Central Park. We’ll begin near the corner of 38th and Guadalupe. There is a parking lot on Guadalupe just north of 38th. We will do check in at 11:30. You may register on race day.

Urban Dare is the race where smarts can beat speed. Teams of 2 solve clues to find checkpoints where they must perform dares.

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 trivia 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. You may not 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. You may walk, run or use public transportation to get to checkpoints.

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.

Check out Urban Dare at www.urbandare.com.

See you at the race.

New Urban Dare Video

Trivia Start Video

For those of you wondering how the Urban Dare Trivia Start works, check out this video from the 2006 Champions Race. You can expect a version of this that is a little less wet.

Getting Ready for Austin

I just came back from Austin, where we will kickoff the 2007 race season on Saturday, March 24.

I'm looking forward to it, because for the first time I will be competing in an Urban Dare. Now, all I have to do is find a partner.

It feels weird having someone else plan the race, but I know Cathy will put together a great race. I have turned the race kit over to her.

Instead of running around town putting together a race (a very cool way to spend a few days), my job was reduced to flyering. I owe apologies to Austin drivers for the design of our flyer. It turns out parking tickets come in canary yellow envelopes about the same size as the canary yellow Urban Dare flyers.

I didn't know. Sorry.

Make the Dare - Win a T-shirt!

We need your help creating Dares.

Please send us your best suggestion for the ultimate dare.

We want to have the coolest, the stupidest, the cleverest, the weirdest, the hardest, and the wackiest people tricks.

Bring it on!

If we use your dare, we will award you the coveted "I made the Dare!" t-shirt. Only 1 t-shirt given for each dare.

I'd like to begin the 2007 season with a brand new dare that one of you send in. Send your dare suggestion to kkeefe@urbandare.com.

See you at the races.