I Double Urban Dare You

So, as I mentioned in the prior post, Ryan signed the two of us up for Boston's Urban Dare as a surprise birthday gift. It was incredibly fun, even the debilitating leg pain I endured for 3 days afterward.

For those of you not lucky enough to have competed, I would like to answer the FAQs up front. (Courtesy of www.urbandare.com)

1) What is Urban Dare?
Urban Dare is the team race that’s part photo hunt, part trivia and part dares. Teams of 2 must solve clues to find checkpoints throughout the city. To move on they must take photos or perform dares to earn passport stamps. Each team must determine their own route to the checkpoints. Most teams will cover about 5 to 7 miles and finish in about 3 or 4 hours. The Urban Dare challenge is to be the first team to cross the finish line after successfully completing checkpoint dares and getting required photos.

2) What are dares?
Dares are challenges that may be physical or mental. You may have to climb a wall, shoot a few baskets, solve a riddle, or eat something (no slimy bugs like on Fear Factor). We expect most people will be capable of completing all of the dares. We want to challenge you, while keeping it fun.

3) Do I need a digital camera?
You betcha. At the end of the race you must be able to show you took the required photos. The perfect tool for this race is a phone with built in camera, internet and gps. Any digital camera where you can show your pictures will do. If you don’t have one, you certainly know someone who does.

Our mission began at 12:00 PM on Saturday April 28th in the Boston Common. We first spotted a large yellow tent and headed toward it, eager to get our Dare shirts and get ready to beat the competition. I mean, enjoy the healthy competition. The yellow tent didn't say "URBAN DARE" across the front but it was the only organized event we could see on the Common so we headed toward it.


Luckily I have excellent vision and realized that the print on the balloons said "Scientology" before we wandered inside. THAT would have been an adventure on its own.

We made a quick 180 and looked to the next likely target - a mass of people all wearing light blue shirts. We headed over and found that yes, we were in the right place. To get things started, we had to answer a question correctly and then search for our team number (49) on one of many many many tennis balls scattered on the ground.

We got the answer correct at the same time as about 15 other teams, so we were really in a tight spot trying to get the tennis ball. I didn't see anybody throwing elbows, but I suppose that's because I wasn't in the pack rolling on the ground.

After we got our tennis ball, we traded it in for our list of 12 clues. We quickly singled out the clues which were tough and called in for reinforcements. That's right, we had an agent back at "headquarters" to help us solve the tough ones. Dean Green is her name and she is fabulous. Not only is Dean Green a history teacher, but she was sitting at home grading papers by her internet-ready computer. A force to be reckoned with. A mega-brain in a jar if you will.


Here is a sampling of the clues we gave to Dean Green (aka mega-brain) :

1. This square is named for the French Revolution and holds a statue that commemorates a failed 1956 revolution. Have your picture taken with the statue.
(Answer: Liberty Square near State Street)

2. Satchmo is featured in a mural at this spot. Have your picture taken with the mural.
(Location: Near Berklee College of Music)

3. __________ Andronicus and Captain Jack __________, one of the pirates of the Caribbean. Using the names in the blanks, go to this park to take your baseball challenge.
(Answer: Titus Sparrow Park in the South End)

So, as you can see, some of the clues were not as easy as you'd like. Thanks to Dean Green, they weren't a problem. Well, except for Satchmo's mural but she got is headed in the right direction.

Here are some photos from the big day:

Posing with the gravestone of Mother Goose

We found Satchmo's mural over by the Berklee College of Music

Us with 4 strangers making the "Vulcan Salute"
Our 2nd to last stop (I'm on the phone with Dean Green)
All done, having finished in the top 15 teams (out of 60 total).
Ryan is so happy he can hardly open his eyes.

After finishing the race we hobbled over to the apartment of our friend Mary Frances. She was "tower 2" during the competition and one of our reinforcements but due to technical failures she was unable to assist. We call that "going dark."

Fortunately Mary Frances was available to provide reinforcements in the form of food and coca cola, and a ride to the T-station.

The thing that neither Ryan nor I expected was how sore we'd be. Neither of us are runners, and while we do hit the gym on a fairly regular basis, there was little that could have prepared us to run so hard for 2.5 hours. The next day I could barely move and on Monday I was only slightly better. We drove to a movie on Monday night and I had to hobble for about 2 blocks to get to the theater. On the way, I asked Ryan if I looked like I was in pain, because believe me baby, I WAS in PAIN.

At the end of it all, our thanks go out to Mary Frances and Dean Green. We couldn't have made it without your food or brains.