You’re wearing sneakers, a T-shirt and shorts and are equipped with only your BlackBerry and a buddy you hope can pull their weight. It’s 9:45am at City Hall and someone just handed you a clue sheet a transit pass. What happens next is going to get you dirty, slippery, and possibly nauseous and sun burnt. This is CityChase, and in 15 minutes you’ll start the clue-ridden foot race through Philadelphia with 500 other competitors.
This “part obstacle course, part scavenger hunt” is part Fear Factor, Amazing Race, Apprentice, Biggest Loser, Minute To Win It, American Gladiator… well, you get the idea. Our reality-show-packed DVR means only one thing (reminder: renew gym membership); with CityChase, we have the chance to experience the high-octane reality shows we watch all the time.
A typical CityChase race (each course is custom-build every year to encompass historical landmarks and hidden city gems) means the teams of two can experience anything from skydiving to eating dog food, knife throwing, carrying buckets of water on their heads like Nickelodeon’s What Would You Do?, grabbing random strangers for posed photos or eating massive amounts of candy then running it off. You may end up in a boxing ring, pole-dancing class, transporting fish with your mouth in a relay race, bowling in your underwear at Lucky Strike, eating bugs or laying with snakes.
You can run, walk or take public transportation. And using your smartphones, maps and love for the puzzle-solving in The DaVinci Code, cryptophles will unravel rhyming clues to try and make it to the final championships round. Carina Holtby is the CityChase USA director and is the designer of each course, working with vendors and contacts to find rock walls, karate studios and other places that will make the race, as Holtby says, “organic as possible for each city.” Having done constructed the past Philadelphia races, she knows how important it is to the CityChase experiences to make sure that during the race each contestant discovers things they didn’t know existed in their own backyard. Holtby looks forward to the Philly races because the national monuments and history that other cities don’t have gives her a lot of ground to work with, especially with all the water that borders us (hint: be prepared for some rowing this year). “This year is a little bit more physical. We are working the Philadelphia Sports Club and the Marines, so challenges that are a little bit tougher,” Holtby warns to those who are thinking of registering this year.
Those of us who think they can handle it (see you there, losers) will be racing against 800 other people to represent Philly in the final National Championship Rounds to compete for a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. Winners are determined by the team that competes 10 challenges and crosses the finish line first, and will then go on to compete in the extreme 48-hour all-paid (the trip is valued at $15,000) National Championship race (the past Championship round in New Orleans had finalists sleeping in cemeteries, midnight golf and extreme cooking classes). It’s okay if you aren’t the winner; CityChase awards for the top 5 female finalists, best costume, middle pack finishers and more. “And many contestants aren’t there to win,” mentions Holtby, “but are just there to enjoy doing the things they wouldn’t traditionally do on a Saturday. Some even stop for tequila shots or drinks throughout the day!”Proceeds from CityChase benefit Back On My Feet, and Aroundphilly.com readers get a special discount, so we want to see you all out there! We’re charging our TomTom right now. See you at the finish line!
Visit CityChaseUSA.com to sign up for the July 31 race in Philadelphia. Enter code “AROUND” to save $10 on your registration! Registration closes at midnight on July 30. Click here to register!
AroundPhilly Staff
