Team Strangely Asian Does It Again

for the third year in a row, sb and i competed in chicago's citychase. not only did we complete all 10 chase points in less than six hours, we shaved a good 45 minutes off our best time. it turns out, being out of shape but having iphones is better than being in shape and relying on maps and guessing our way through the clues.

as for the official stats, we finished in 80th place out of a total of 689 teams, and we were one of only 297 teams that finished all 10 chase points. our final time was 5:10:05. not too shabby, eh? eh.

and now, for the run down...

will you marry me?

scared ya, didn't i? no, sb and i are not engaged so stop freaking out. before the race started, there was a really big and sweet surprise. one of the chasers asked his girlfriend to marry him! the race organizers were in on the plot, and it was a really nice moment.

getting the clue sheet

and finally, the race begins. they brought back the scavenger hunt this year as the start to the race. we had to find eight out of 10 items in order to get the clue sheet. after running to walgreens to buy a few items, digging through some of the things we brought with us, using our handy dandy iphones, and asking strangers on the street for help, we managed to get our eight items.

chase point #1: if you can dodge a wrench...

after figuring out a few of the clues, we realized that there were quite a few near our new place in the west loop so we hopped back on the blue line and headed to our first point - the ffc gym connected to union station. once we got there, we found out that we had to hit someone 10 times with a dodgeball. the only problem was logistically, it was a mess. the poor volunteers couldn't keep up with all of the people hurling balls at each other. it got to a point where the volunteer just said, if you say you hit someone 10 times, i'll trust you. and with that, we were off.

chase point #2: i fail my people yet again

we had planned on going to another chase point in the UIC area, but just like last year, the point had a huge line. we stood there for a couple of minutes and decided it wasn't worth it, so we moved on to a clue called "hoop there it is." when we got there, we saw people in bike-driven rickshaws riding around a basketball court. one of us had to ride the rickshaw in one full circle around with the other as the passenger. then, the passenger had to make a basket, and then take over the driver's seat and the partner who drove first had to make a basket, too. sounds easy enough, right? wrong. sb drove us around the court quickly and smoothly, i made a basket, and then i hopped onto the bike. and then that's where it all went downhill. i couldn't get the damned thing to go straight to save my life. it was horribly embarrassing, especially since at least 15 teams were in line watching and waiting for me to stop being such a spaz. eventually i got close enough to a hoop for sb to make a basket, and we were finally off running again.

chase point #3 and #4: fleet feet and special olympics

at this point, we realized that there are many more chase points in the west loop than we had originally thought, so we just kept trying to find more of them. the next one we found was in union park. it was a hurdle challenge hosted by fleet feet. we each had to jump 10 hurdles and then run back in a team time of less than two minutes. i managed it in 48 seconds while sb blazed through in 40. at that same chase point, we also handed in the donations we raised for the special olympics. thanks to ebq and kos for their support!

chase point #5: it's not beef, it's pork

as we were running to the next point, we saw another team and let them know that the fleet feet point was worth it because it was quick and easy. in return, they let us know that the chase point at the butcher was quick but not to do the gallery one because you had to get naked. we figured we would do both anyway because they were only two blocks away from each other. so we got to sam's meat company, cut up some pork and were on our way in less than two minutes.

chase point #6: ohhh...OHHH

and now, the dreaded naked point. sb knew immediately that i was not about to get naked, so he sacked up and took one for the team. the point was at this classy art gallery, and when we got into the room, we saw four guys and one girl completely naked and posing as their partners sketched them. while we were waiting, we heard the artist who was approving all the sketches scold everyone for not giving any forward-facing poses. she said the more you show, the easier it will be to get the picture approved. so when it was sb's turn to strip and pose, he let go of all inhibition, and let it all hang out...literally. when i presented my picture to the artist, her only remarks as she looked from top to bottom were..."ohhh...OHHH...that's nice." sb is a trooper.

chase point #7: is that a snake down your shirt?

once sb got dressed, we ran off to heritage green park, which is one of the dog parks where we take our girl barley. there, a volunteer was waiting with a very large snake. i had to put it down sb's shirt and he had to pull it out the bottom and vice versa. it was yet another quick and easy point.

chase point #8: best volunteer reception of the day

we now decided to head north to lincoln park. when we got to the chase point, we were greeting by a bunch of cheering and clapping volunteers. it was a nice pick-me-up because at that point, we were getting a little tired. the challenge we had to complete here was to get someone to buy a non-perishable item, larger than a fist, in exchange for either a sticker or a pen. the items would then be donated to a food bank. so we took off running and just at the end of the block was a starbucks. we went in, and i asked one of the customers if she would be willing to buy a bottle of water in exchange for the sticker. she quickly agreed, and we had our non-perishable item in just a few minutes.

chase point #9: stupid #11 bus

we knew the next point was about a mile north of where we were, so we decided to try and take the bus to give our legs a rest. big mistake. we used the handy dandy cta bus tracker, and after waiting about 12 minutes, the tracker suddenly said the bus was delayed. we finally gave up and started walking. when we got to the chase point, there was another team waiting for us to do a tug of war. the catch here was that whoever lost had to get dirty in the big mud pit in the middle. sadly, we ended up losing, and scott went face first into the mud. good thing we were smart enough to bring a towel.

chase point #10: stroke...stroke...

we were headed to the last chase point, and we couldn't believe we had about an hour and a half to finish. it's a good thing we had all that extra time because the line was terribly long for this point. we waited for about 30 minutes just to get to the front of the line, but once we were there, it all went pretty quickly. we had to jump in a canoe, paddle out to a sign, turn around and report back to the volunteer telling him what was printed on the sign. in less than 10 minutes, we were back on the road running to the finish line.

the finish

we were less than a half a mile away, so we just started running and before we knew it, the race was over! originally, we went into this year's chase figuring we'd just have some fun and do the points that sounded cool. we didn't think we'd actually finish because we're both out of shape, but thanks to our unwavering competitive spirit and our super smart phones, we had the best finish yet.

and another amazing race for team strangely asian is in the books. as always, we're looking for anyone who wants to join in on the fun next year - so friends, get over your fear of snakes, put on your running shoes, and don't be afraid to take your pants off. we'll see ya next year!