Not lost, just undiscovered.

There’s a period of time each year when I tune in every Sunday night to watch as teams of two race around the world, solving challenges and aiming to win the Amazing Race. After every episode, I debate with my friends over which tasks we would choose to do, what route we’d take to get to the next destination, who would do which task, and so on.

During every episode, I’d think about how much I would love to be a contestant. I would love to be racing around the world, visiting places I’ve never imagined I’d be, completing tasks that I could never imagine I’d do and, on top of all that fun, having the chance at winning a million dollars.

Well that dream was squashed when I realized you had to be a US citizen to participate and, even more so, I realized that I’m not weird (or should I say interesting?) enough to be chosen for a reality show.

So, when the chance arose to participate in a somewhat miniature version of the Amazing Race in my own city, there was no way I could pass. Well, I hesitated at the cost but a sweet Groupon sealed the deal.

Last Saturday, my friend and I raced around the city in the Great Urban Race. In just over three hours, we successfully traveled around the city and completed eleven tasks.

The rules were simple:

• No private transit. Cars, taxis, bikes, rollerblades, etc are not allowed
• We must complete 11 out of the 12 tasks provided
• We have a maximum of 5 hours to complete them all
• We may use a phone-a-friend and high-tech devices (laptops, smart phones, GPS, etc)
• We may do the clues in any order
• For each clue that is missing or incorrect, we would receive a 30 minute penalty

It was a fun day. We traveled to the St. Lawrence Market, Distillery District, Kensington Market, Queen St. West and more.

Here’s a sample of some of the clues:

“Flashback to a time when girls crimped their hair in hopes of winning the love of one of the “Coreys,” Haim and Feldman, that is. This toy was all the craze, but has now been transformed into unique pieces of art, which are featured at this Distillery District gallery.  Locate the gallery’s sign pictured to the right and count the number of individual white 1.9 x 1.9 cm tiles that appear on the face of the sign. Your answer must be within 10 of the correct number. In order to receive credit for this clue, you must return to the finish line with your answer written below AND the flyer provided at the gallery.”

• “Follow the rainbow to the cinema located in Market Square – across the courtyard a nautical challenge awaits you! Using the supplied available, recreate the “king of knots.” Once completed, you must receive a stamp on this clue sheet from the GUR staff to receive credit for this clue.”
• “Complete the word search puzzle by finding the following words. The remaining letters will spell out the name of a Toronto chef. Make your way to the location of the chef’s kitchen spelled out with the remaining letters in the puzzle and prepare for a sweet treat! Each team must decorate ONE treat with frosting and at least one additional topping. Once completed, you must take a picture of all teammates posing with the treat to receive credit for this clue.”
• “Locate “IT”, a 40-foot-tall structure constructed with 10,000 pounds of steel by artist, Michael Christian. Here you will find the animal handlers from Whimz on the outdoor patio. To receive credit for this clue, you must take a picture of ONE teammate holding ONE of the creatures waiting for you.”
• “Namaste! Make your way to the real life version of the mural partially pictured to the right. Take a picture of all teammates performing the pose titled in the mural. This photo will serve as your proof of completion.”
• “Preheat the oven to 175° C and make your way to the following coordinates: +43.656192°, -79.402669°.  Upon arrival to the nearby bakery, you will find a variety of ingredients. One of the ingredients displayed is NOT used in the master baker’s “Pick” recipe. Hint: The Baker’s website is a helpful tool in solving this clue. Which ingredient is not part of the recipe?  You must return to the finish line with the correct answer AND a photo of all teammates posting with the bakery’s name as shown on the building.”
• “Six men, named Rick Moranis, John Candy, Ed Mirvish, Norm MacDonald, and Eric McCormack were traveling together when all of a sudden the lights went out. When the lights came back on, Rick Moranis was found stabbed to death. The authorities need the world’s greatest detectives to help solve the crime… your Great Urban Race team. Make your way to Church St, between Adelaide St. E and King Street E, to locate the 14 clues needed to solve the murder mystery.  Each team will only be allowed TWO guesses! If correct, your team will receive a GUR stamp as proof of completion.”

None of the tasks were extremely difficult or complicated, but it was fun navigating ourselves around the city and trying to complete the tasks as quickly as possible. It’s important to note though that if we weren’t able to use our smartphones, the tasks would’ve been a lot harder to complete.

The results:

In the end, we finished in 3 hrs 9 mins – coming in as team 31 out of about 300 teams and only 2 minutes behind team 25! The top 25 teams received medals and get to register for the finals in Las Vegas. The top three won money and get to go to the finals for free. We were so close!

In the end, all I can think about was how much fun it would be to do the GUR in another city – perhaps NYC or San Francisco in August?

Did anyone else participate? If you did, what was your experience like?