The Great Urban Race

Brian and I will be running the Great Urban Race this Saturday in Phoenix. It's sort of like a high tech Scavenger Hunt that you run in teams of two - answering clues, performing tasks and taking pictures along the way.

Having only lived in the valley for 4 years and spending most of that time in Scottsdale, it'll be a great way to learn about Phoenix. Unfortunately, not knowing much about Phoenix may be our downfall. I'm going to have to pick up a few maps to study before Saturday.

I have to make a good showing in this race! We learned about this race from Brian's ex-girlfriend, Yoko. Yoko and her team mate, Annelise placed first in 2008's Great Urban Race in San Francisco. That whole ex-girlfriend-thing can bring out the competitive edge in anyone. Don't get me wrong, I love Yoko!!! And I'm so glad she told us about it. This is the picture of them at the finish line last year.

Who knows, if BT & I place in the top 25 teams, we just might be meeting Yoko and Annelise in the Championships in New Orleans at the end of the year! Woohoo!

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The "Pre-Race Tid Bits" email says, "This race should challenge you mentally and physically. You may struggle to answer some of the questions, you'll cover lots of ground on foot, and you may even be nudged out of your comfort zone - expect some interaction with strangers.

It'll be beneficial to have a phone-a-friend available during the race - it wouldn't hurt if he/she is a superstar Googler."

I'll have to thank Allen Cook and Meliza Sumortin for being willing to sit around on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in front of a computer for offering to be my phone a friends in case we can't find any free wi-fi in Phoenix.

We will be racing in matching Blue Survivor Buffs. I don't even remember the Team name we settled on. It was a couple months ago and I don't remember getting very creative with the team name. But, oh well. At least we have the obligatory matching outfit. Being that the temperature in Phoenix will be in the mid-eighties on Saturday, I will most likely be wearing it as a tube top, while BT sports a skull cap/headband. The buff even came with this little instructional insert "How to Wear a Buff":



I'm not sure it I can fit it in, but I may live-tweet the race (http://twitter.com/jainz57). I'll see if I can get Meliza to live-tweet for me.

Wish us luck and stay tuned for a post-race report.