Continuing our last year’s urban scavenger hunt in San Francisco, we continue the tradition this year to Santa Monica!
Team Portal
A big shout out to Mike S. for being our lifesaver/help line once again! Couldn’t have done it without you on the line bro! =)
And for the first time, our friends came to compete with us!
Team Wildcats!!!
Team YAY!
Team LINSANITY!!!!
…doing the secret Linsanity handshake…lol!
We’re just bumming around the pier before the race
The other teams waiting at the Santa Monica pier start line:
At 12pm, we were given the clue sheets with 12 clues (only need 11 to finish). Click to enlarge:
Even though it started to rain, it didn’t stop us from dashing out to our first clue!!
This is a rough map of the stops and path we took. Blue = path we ran (5 miles), Red = bus path (3 miles).
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#1: Duck Testicles
Yeah, you read that right…we each had to ingest a duck testicle. we’re not afraid of Fear Factor…we got balls!!! Joseph biting into one, while I swallowed the other whole.
#2 Cha Cha Chicken
Just had to sample some spicy chicken.
#3 Animal Kingdom
You can’t tell from the picture, but there’s a pedometer strapped onto the red band. We each had to get 100-110 ‘flap counts’ on the pedometer. Now I know how chickens feel…..tiring!
#4 Barnard Way Linear Park: Segway
My first time on a Segway….super fun and easy to move around!
#5 Paint Lab
Had to do painting reproductions…Joseph got paint all over his head!
Bus
Took the bus up 2.5 miles to Wilshire & 14th street. While we were on the bus, we thought it would be cool to see the whereabouts of Team Wildcats (they had Joseph’s iPhone). And what do you know….there they are walking down the street! =)
#6 Second Spin
We had to use Shazam (an iPhone/Android app) to determine the artist of the CD playing at the store. Pretty cool, except Shazam’s server was not working, so I ended up using another app (SoundHound) to solve this clue. Shazam…novel idea, poor execution.
#7 Lincoln Middle School: Donated a book and pens we bought at Walgreens (no picture).
Some more running:
#8 Santa Monica Orthodontics
Had to balance a toothbrush on a dental floss bridge. Pretty straight forward….we got free toothbrushes for completing the challenge! No cavities!
#9 Santa Monica History Museum
Almost got lost here, but we eventually found the museum. Challenge was just to match some faces to their occupation.
#10 Yankee Doodles: Beer Pong (no photos)
We had to throw ping pong balls into 3×3 cups, basically playing tic tac toe.
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More running…I think I sprinted too far ahead =P That’s Joseph back there….somewhere….
#11 Assorted tasks
Part 1: Piggy back
The parents were confused, but the kid just jumped on me! =)
Part 2: Pose with a street performer
She didn’t sing for us, but we still gave her all our change!
Part 3 Buy a fruit
We bought a tiny refrigerated apple at the convenience store for $1. Probably the most expensive apple I’ve ever bought!
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After the 11th clue, we ran as fast as we could back to the pier, making it through the finish line! The sun is out to cheer us on!
Here’s Team Linsanity and Team Portal goofing off at the end of the race
Hungry Cactus’ Verdict: A
Great Urban Race Santa Monica was extremely fun, even with the setback of rain at the start. While this was a lot smaller in scale (in terms of distance travelled) compared to San Francisco 2011, I’d say it was still very fun and challenging. With friends joining us this time around, it was definitely worth it! I can’t wait for our next Great Urban Race! =)
Teams: Yay, Linsanity, Wildcats & Portal
Great Urban Race 2012: Santa Monica