Urban adventurers explored Boston in a healthy manner Saturday at the Go Urban Adventure Race, where both their physical and mental abilities brought them to the Faneuil Hall finish line.
The 54 participants competed in two teams and had five hours to reach eight checkpoints throughout Boston, traveling by foot or T, and using text message clues to guide them. The race was intended to encourage people to be both healthy and active in every day living, GO Urban directors said.
GO Urban began a little over a year ago, founded by race directors Matt Lewis, Amanda Vaus and Sean Ofeldt, with the goal of creating a different type of nonprofit organization.
‘Our goal was to create programs that promoted healthy lifestyles,’ Vaus said. ‘Regardless of what city you live in, everyone gets into a typical routine and you end up living to work instead of working to live.”
The Boston race was the third of 16 races held in cities nationwide. So far, the biggest turnout has been at the Washington, DC race, which took place a week ago.
The first place winner received $400, a month’s supply of Honest Ade and automatic entry in the championship, which is scheduled for April 2010.’ Honest Ade was one of several race sponsors, along with Terricycle.
After checking in, pairs selected team names and received goodie bags filled with ‘GO Urban’ organic t-shirts, glass ‘Love Water’ bottles and granola bars.
At each checkpoint, participants had to do a mental or physical challenge and document it on their digital cameras. Challenges ranged from climbing a rock wall to solving a riddle.
One text from Saturday’s race read: ‘Jack Kack Lack Mack Nack Ovack Pack Quack moved here to find bottle man by the water. Text and send a picture.’ The text revealed that the teams’ next clue would be located at the Boston Public Garden, where they had to recycle a water bottle and then take a team picture with ‘bottle man.’
Participants were permitted to call friends or family members, or use the Internet to help decipher clues, but could only walk, run or use public transportation to move.
‘The race is like the modern-day answer to the marathon because it’s for everybody,’ Lewis said.’
Havard University sophomores Pete Davis and Roger Hu, who raced as ‘Team Straus C,’ said they were looking to explore the city.
‘We want to see Boston and adventure,’ Davis said.
‘Team Running with Scissors,’ which included participants Kevin Monahan and his partner Dennis Chan, said they signed up on a whim and did not know what to expect from the race.
‘We’ve always wanted to do a scavenger hunt and never had the chance to,’ Monahan said.
The race drew visitors from outside Boston as well. Nick Bogaard came from Rhode Island to participate.
‘It sounded like a fun way to get exercise and see Boston,’ Bogaard said.
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