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.