The summer of 2010 has been full of “firsts” for the Welch Family. Ryan and I have really been stepping up our organized activities with several running races and our first Adventure Race!
On August 21, 2010 Ryan and I joined four of our friends to make up Team Sumo as we took part in an Urban Adventure Race called the Merrell Oyster Race. We entered the relay division with our team of six (we joined Jen and Mike, Brent, and Cody). Many may wonder “what is an adventure race”? We wondered the same thing! Think of it as a one-day, one-city version of CBS’ The Amazing Race that airs on TV each year.
We met in the parking lot of the Denver Aquarium in downtown Denver just before 7:00 am to stake our claim on a transition area and set up our gear, a canopy, and eagerly awaited the race start.
At 8:00am the race organizers took one member of each team to a bus where he was blindfolded and had a bag placed over his head. Soon after Mike’s “kidnapping” the rest of us got a puzzle to solve in order for him to be released. After a few failed attempts (a quick lesson in learning to do things right, and not fast was key) we solved the puzzle and Mike was set free in an undisclosed location. He was handed our first “Passport” (basically the instructions for each section of the race). We were to travel on foot to find three separate statues around town and take a picture in front of each one. We quickly found Mike and the first statue but the next two took a little bit more time. Eventually we ran through the city streets and found each one and headed back to the Transition Area (TA) to get our next passport (about 3 miles total).
With the first-clue jitters out of our system we fell into a grove and began to get the hang of the race. Our next challenge was to determine the original Chipotle location and travel there on bicycle. Jen and I opted to sit this leg out (as we only were required to have 3 team members on the course at all times). Mike, Ryan, Cody, and Brent cruised off to the restaurant and were required to make guacamole from scratch while their hands were tied together. They quickly mastered the task and hopped back on the bikes to the TA (total distance was about 6 miles).
Passport number three was another adventure on foot. This time Cody and Mike stayed back under the canopy and the rest of us ran off in search of the Hyatt downtown. Once we arrived we went up the stairs to the 5th floor while counting each step. With the correct number of steps counted we were taken to a balcony where other racers were trying to toss a water bottle in the air so that it had one full rotation and landed on its bottom. Brent volunteered to complete this task and after a few tries he got it and we were sent off to the next challenge. We proceeded back into the hotel and found the proper set of elevators which took us to the 27th floor where we were handed a picture of the Denver Skyline that was visible through the panoramic windows. We were asked to determine what was missing in the picture and to run to that location for our next challenge. So, it was off to the Clock Tower on the 16th Street Mall in a hurry! Once there we went to the underground Cabaret Lounge where many teams were hustling about and various songs were played over the speakers. We had to listen to the song snippets (about 10 seconds) and figure out which Show they represented. After looking through the calendar of scheduled shows we correctly matched the song to the show and were off and running yet again! A couple blocks later we found ourselves in the Fitness Center in the Tabor Center and we split up to complete the next task. Jen rode a spin bike for 3 minutes, Ryan ran on a treadmill for 3 minutes and I did a series of intervals (20 each of jumping jacks, push-ups, Burpees, crunches, and lunges) before we were handed our completion tickets and set out to run back to the TA. By this time the sun was very hot and we were getting quite the work out!! (Total of about 5 miles)
Once in the TA we quickly reviewed the next passport and while Jen and I caught our breaths and tried to re-hydrate the guys ran off to the Pepsi Center where they had to search a section of seats for a magnet that held their next task. After reading the clue the guys quickly ran to Elitch’s Amusement Park where they rode an adult ride and a big water slide (which was refreshing during the 95 degree temps that day). A quick crossing of the South Platte River gave the guys a fast time returning to the TA. (Approx 1.5 mi total this leg)
Our 5th leg of the race had us traveling south of Denver to the DU Campus. We were able to use bike and/or public transportation. We figured if we ran over to the light rail station we could hop on the train and get to DU more quickly. So, off we went again! This time Brent stayed back to hang with his wife and son as well as be our eyes and ears at the TA. We got to the station, bought our tickets and waited on the platform all by ourselves. We were thinking that we definitely made the right decision to ditch the bikes and use the lightrail! Then, what do we see? Several other teams riding their bikes to the train station…. D’oh!!! We didn’t even think of the option of putting the bike on the train! With knots in our stomachs we got on the train and crossed our fingers that what waited on the other end wouldn’t be terrible on foot!! After a relaxing ride (finally, some time off!) we arrived at DU and ran with all the bikers. We found our first challenge on the Lacrosse field. There were a few soccer goals set up with hoola-hoops hanging and team members trying to kick the ball through the hoop. Ryan, a former soccer captain, decided to take on the challenge and after a couple stray kicks he kicked the next two balls through the right hoop and we were off! He finished so fast!! Next up were the tennis courts where I was blindfolded and lead out to the court and spun around. My teammates were about 25 yards away and were to verbally guide me around the court to pick up four tennis balls. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the little catch is that there were probably 35 other people yelling commands to their teammates too! Trying to decipher which directions came from my team proved to be the real challenge! Ryan quickly realized that if he yelled, “Tiff” and the directions I could isolate his voice and in about one minute we had all four balls and were back off and running to catch the train. We finished the tasks so quickly we made the next train and didn’t have any wait time! Yay!! When we returned to the station near downtown we opted to cross the river (the second time for everyone but me and Jen) so that we could shave off a good amount of distance that the bikes would have to travel. The water was murky and cold and felt so, so good!!! The river went up just past our waists and the crossing was such fun! After getting back to the TA and changing our clothes it was time to tackle the final leg of the race. (Total mileage = 14 miles)
The last passport instructed us to ride our bikes to find “Where Scooters come from” and follow directions at the location. We were all a little in the dark on this one but Brent and a few others seemed to recall a scooter shop on the other side of I-25 from the TA so we rode off in search of the correct location. Once on site we set the bikes down and had to bite into a (yummy) cupcake using only our mouths to find a key baked inside. Once the key was found we ran it to Cody who quickly tried to find the scooter that matched the key. After 10 or more tries Cody was off to ride around the block. Upon his return he was asked for a passport, which he didn’t have so he sped off again! Finally after another trip around the block he arrived, passport in hand, and we hopped back on our bikes and headed to Blake Street Tavern near the Rockies stadium. Once inside we played Beer Pong and drank three small glasses of beer and were officially finished with the challenge portion of the race!!! We rode back to the TA to cross the finish line! 5 hours 41 minutes, and 35 seconds after we started we were finished! (this leg was 4.5 miles)
The whole event was an incredible journey and such a blast! We all enjoyed a couple beers and some food at the after party and made plans for next year’s race!!
If you ever have a chance to participate in this type of race, you definitely should! We are still grinning over our experience (and some of us are still sore!). Oh, and as if that wasn’t enough, our team raised nearly $1,000 for the Make A Wish Foundation and overall the race raised enough money to make 2 or 3 wishes come true!!!
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