Great Urban Race!

Yesterday (for Corinne's birthday), we participated in the 1st annual Great Urban Race held in Normal, IL. You can read more about the organization at http://www.greaturbanrace.com/ It is held in big cities all over the country such as Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington DC, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, New York City, etc. So for Normal to make the tour was great! I believe one of the founders of the GUR team is an Illinois State alumni.

Basically, the GUR is a one day Amazing Race. Teams of two are given 12 clues that they must complete and then get to the finish line as quickly as possible. Teams can only travel by foot or public transportation such as bus, subway, or train. Bikes, taxis, private cars, etc are off limits.

So at 11 a.m. yesterday, Corinne and I and our friends Kelly and Chelsie took off with our 12 clues, our cameras, and our hopes of keeping our self respect! After 2 hours and 40 minutes of walking and running around 7 miles through drizzle, sunshine, drizzle, hail, and cold wind, we finished the race 27th overall (unoffically). Full standings will be posted on Tuesday. If any top 25 teams were accessed a penalty for not completing a clue correctly, we could qualify for nationals in New Orleans (not that we can go).
**UPDATE** We did indeed finish 25th, officially. So we qualified for the National Championship in New Orleans! We aren't going, but we received medals! That's right, I am now the proud owner of a medal.

I will put more info on the clues, etc in the near future. Seriously, make sure you give this a try next year in the city closest to you. It was so much fun! Hopefully next years race will be held during a warmer time of year in Normal!