The event begins at City Hall and the weather is perfect—not too hot, no chance of rain. I’ve got my sunscreen on and my backpack is filled with maps, paper and water, plus extra clothes (bathing suit, T-shirts, etc.). I’m the designated Sherpa. I talk with a team that placed 5th in CityChase last year, and when I ask them about it and see some of the sample clues that lead to the various checkpoints, I panic—I can’t solve any of them! But I don’t have much time to panic. After a warm up regimen, it’s 10am and we’re off.
The organizers start by having us scavenge for 8 of 10 items (including a condom, something in a foreign language, and a live animal(!)) just to get the clue sheet that will start us on our journey. I put my clothes on backwards to fulfill one of the requirements and feel slightly ridiculous doing this, but I’m convinced this is not the worst of what’s in store for me today. We eventually get our clue sheet and we’re ready to officially begin searching Philly!
The puzzles are mostly easy to solve, which relaxes me. I plan our course, knowing we have to go to both Fairmount and South Philly for two “zoned” challenges we need to complete. We arrive at our first ChasePoint, the Eastern State Penitentary, and discover our challenge. We have to build a rope 10-feet long . . . using our clothes. Within a half hour of starting CityChase, I’ve now stripped in public twice, but I don’t mind — I’m feeling very competitive. After we meet the challenge requirements, however, Caitlin can’t get her shoelace back on her sneaker and literally ties it around her ankle as we race to the next checkpoint, the Philadelphia Sports Club at 20th and Hamilton. Here we must complete a total of 2 miles of exercise between us. I implore several gym members to help me get my water bottle while I’m on the elliptical machine and convince them to pass messages to Caitlin, who is on the rowing machine nearby and struggling because of aforementioned sneaker troubles. We’re somewhat hobbled and we still have 8 challenges remaining. Fortunately, we both finish and a kind gym manager gives Caitlin a new shoelace—his—and we’re off and running again.
We head down to the Mutter Museum, where I envision that we’ll be asked to do something icky. Instead, a trivia quiz awaits us and I text friends for the answers. Meanwhile, Caitlin has Googled most of the answer on her Blackberry already—years of fast-texting practice. We ask the kind volunteer to check our sheet and we’ve got a few wrong answers. She wants to help us, but can’t. We end up raching through the museum (ridden with confused tourists) to get the last answer we need. This event takes the most time, which is our biggest frustration.
Trying to make up for lost time, we rush over to Jolly’s Piano Bar on Chestnut to do some singing. We team up with the participants in front of us in line and perform “Blister in the Sun” to complete the challenge. I’m thinking it’s appropriate since I’m developing blisters on my feet (however, I was hoping to sing “I Will Survive,” because it’s more conducive to I’m feeling). The Violent Femmes’ song is fast and easy, and we’re terrible (nobody is whispering when they are supposed to, and Caitlin’s clapping was off) but we finish, and we’re out the door and on a bus toward Independence Hall.
Caitlin and I are starting to feel a sense of accomplishment now, but I keep changing the plan as to what and where we have to go/do next. After Independence Hall, should we head to the Ritz Theatres for a challenge mysteriously called “Tissue” or should we go to Franklin Square for “FORE,” which sounds like mini-golf? I know Caitlin is frustrated about our wasted time, but I have to slow down so I can think of how we can maximize our time, since we still have to get to and from South Philly. It’s 1 o’clock; we’re at the halfway mark and the finish line closes at 4pm.
Walking to the next checkpoint (by this point, we’re starting to get exhausted), I think we should be seeing other contestants, but oddly, none are around. I’m a little worried that I misunderstood the clue site, but we turn a corner and there it is. And it’s empty — no lines — and an easy challenge: we have to find a stranger and have him describe a yoga pose (using a picture he’s given) that Caitlin and I must execute while blindfolded. It’s easy to find the stranger — Caitlin asks a guy heading over the Constitution Center — and his descriptions are good, but the pose, is in fact, quite difficult. He keeps telling us to lift our feet higher off the ground, despite the fact that we’re already precariously balanced. I keep insisting I know downward dog, but apparently that’s not an option. We soon manage this task, and head off to the nearby Franklin Square.
I think we’re going to play mini golf, but instead, we enter a minefield. Once again, I find myself blindfolded. But this time, Caitlin has to describe where I should stand as I walk through a field of Frisbees, which represent landmines. If I touch a Frisbee/landmine, I have to start over. Our first time out, I listen carefully to her good directions—“step here, plant your foot there, etc.” but because I am moving and can’t see, I’m feeling disoriented and somehow don’t trust her. I step on a “mine” and have to start over. We talk between efforts, and she’s really good at describing what I should do. I’m stepping tentatively, but this time I completely trust her. As I get closer to her voice, I reach out to touch her, and I feel really good that we’re working so well together. We complete this task, which becomes Caitlin’s favorite part of our day. We feel unstoppable!
We choose to go to another event in the area at a nearby SWEAT gym, and this activity involves us jumping around for a minute. I ask for a jump rope, which may not have been such a great idea since the devices measuring my activity keep flying off of my wrists and ankles. While I don’t think we quite met the challenge, they punch us through and it’s off to the next event.
This time, we choose to go to South Philly, to meet the other required challenge. It’s a military training course, and it’s the worst event we have to do all day. First, we run a quarter mile. Then we have to lift a 30-pound weight over our heads for two minutes. I do this about 60 times, slowing down considerably after the first minute. The guy next to me does over 90, and is one lift shy of the day’s record. At this time Caitlin get’s a text from a friend: they’ve just won 6th place. We are losing hope, hydration and muscle resiliencey. Then we have to do an obstacle course, which involves crawling on the ground (the field is painfully uneven), carrying your partner, and then lugging the same 30 lb. weight though the serpentine course again. Caitlin and I suffer through this miserable activity—it’s truly hateful. I practically walk when I should run (hey, they’re not timing us!), but luckily Caitlin completes her portion faster than the other players (that’s my partner!). Meanwhile, I’m hot, tired, and dirty. My phone suddenly dies—must have been from crawling on the ground—which hinders me from getting trivia answers we need to complete another contest at this site. We eventually get the answers—from other participants at the course—and head off to our last event.
We’re deciding between a karaoke event or the naked bowling. I know Caitlin wants to bowl, and when I learn you only need to get two strikes and not play ten frames, I agree. It’s air conditioned inside, and there are clean bathrooms. We arrive at the Lucky Strike lanes and it’s empty, save for two guys stripped down to their shorts. I throw on my extra shirts and bathing suit. Caitlin throws a gutter ball. Off comes my suit. I step up to the lane in my socks and toss the ball down the alley. It’s centered and hits the 1 pin, which knocks over pins 2-8. The 9 and 10 pins teeter and then, as I hold my breath, they thankfully fall over. Caitlin is just as amazed as I am that I got a strike on the first ball. The volunteer says we’re done. So we’re off to the finish line at the Field House a few blocks away.
We enter the bar and Caitlin and I place 53rd out of the 250 teams—a decent rank for newbies. We completed the 10 tasks in 4 hrs and 39 minutes. We sit down to get some drinks, and start to figure out how we can do this faster next year.
AroundPhilly Staff
