Long & McQuade!!!!!

Rain pouring down on us, we made it to Long & Mcquade!
Fortunately, we didn't have to wait outside, but man was it packed inside! There were a few actual customers, but most of the people were chasers.

As we entered, Steve and I got sent to one of 4 possible mini-challenges here. Apparently they based it upon what order you came into the store and if they were backed up. We totally lucked out and didn't have to do karaoke (very long drawn out process). Instead we got sent to the guitar room with a requirement to sketch 4 guitars on the list given to us.
This was by far the easiest challenge of the day! Since nobody was looking for works of art, the 4 guitars were drawn in about 45 seconds. In the words of many of the girls Steve and I know......woot woot!
We figured at this point we are way ahead of the game........and then we had to get our stamp.

I forgot to mention at the beginning, this wonderful idea that City Chase had, where the challenge volunteers had blackberries, and they would scan the barcode on your race placard at the completion of each challenge. It was a great idea until the blackberries started acting up. The 2 minutes it took to complete the challenge got added onto a 10 minute wait to get stamped. (Did I mention that it was in a cramped hallway as well?  Thought I should since I was in whining mode lol)

Out the back door! That would be how we exited Long & Mcquade after getting through the blackberry ordeal. Steve and I found a back alley shortcut back to the c-train station that saved us from having to cross the tracks again. We tried to run.....then jog......then I was wimpering too loudly about my shins, so we walked.

My shins did appreciate the nearly 20 minute wait for the next train.......

The First Challenge

As you found out last week, we made it to the C-train. We took the train to the Chinook Station, which took about 15 minutes. We kept working on the clues while traveling. My sister Mellisa Abrey (who is going to be competing against us this year), was our phone support and was working the computer hard at home to help us with the clues. (Yes this is allowed, one of the few things in City Chase that is lol)

As we got off the train, the rain started coming down hard again. From where we were, it was going to be about 3 blocks to Long and McQuade. We started into the downpour. We started across the street and noticed a bunch of chasers standing outside one of the small strip malls.

Snap decision time!!!!

We proceeded to get in line behind the 4 chasers in line outside the building, which housed the store "Fairs Fair". Talking to those in the line, we found out that we would need to find a book by title alone in this cramped and packed book store. We waited another 5 minutes in the rain and decided this was taking too much time. Off to Long and Mcquade we go!!!

We ran/jogged/ walked down Center Street on our way to the music store, surrounded by a multitude of other chasers. Halfway down the block, we discovered a parkour facility that was one of the challenges.

For those who don't know, parkour is the ultimate in urban gymnastics. So two big, out of shape guys were going to do gymnastics as our first challenge.......great.
This challenge involved completing a number of mini challenges, each counting for a certain number of points for which we needed 15 before they would punch our race card.

1) We had to 2 foot hop across 18" square platforms spaced about 3 feet apart. We had to go around 3 times without falling off. (Yes this was as awkward as it sounds, but gave us 3 points)
2) Crawling among a set of jungle gym pipes to touch a piece of colored tape, without touching the ground. (we rocked at this one. I surprised a few people with my agility, and Steve followed suit. 7 points here)
3) Rope Climb, sounds easy right. My feet barely left the ground as I struggled to haul my fat butt up the rope. I gave up after a few seconds and looked to Steve to see if he wanted to try. He chuckled, turned and walked away. (no points here)
4) Tumbling....this was easy. I got 3 points for falling gracefully.
5) Steve needed 2 points, so he decided to crawl along a narrow wall. 4 points for all the way across, 2 for halfway. Do you think Steve went all the way across......not even close! The moment he hit the halfway mark, we were getting our stamp and shoes and bailing out the back door.

Off to Long and McQuade!!!!

(I know, I know.....I keep saying that, but we really are going there next!)

(I promise)

Part 3 - Crap!!!

Now, Steve and I found a spot out of the rain on a bench underneath a building overhang. The clues were nothing that we expected. We were able to figure out that Long and McQuade was one of our destinations for the southeast quadrant. We should get moving right away towards there and figure out the rest while on the train.

By this point I had serious shin splints going on.......yes I know we had only gone about 6 blocks! Halfway to the C-train station, I went to check my blackberry to call my sister for help with the clues. The only problem I had with this was that I no longer had my blackberry. I apparently had left it on the bench!

Crap!!!!!

Steve made me go get it while he waited (he wasn't about to suffer for my forgetfulness lol) A block and a half back to the bench (which my company paid for phone was still on (interesting explanation to the boss if I lost it)). Then just over 2 blocks back to Steve who had decided to keep walking instead of wait where he was.

By the time we got to the C-train station, I felt like I was about to die. I remember the conversation we had at that point;
Aaron: "Holy S%&t!! Who's dumb a$$ idea was this to participate in an event like this when we are so out of shape???" (I was in enough pain that my trucker mouth seemed appropriate)
Steve: "Ummm.....yours"
Aaron: "Crap!!!"

Well, at least the ride to the Chinook Station would give us some time to recover...........

Next week I will share the first challenge with you.........

(Part 2) The event in 2011

I wanted to share our experiences from last year with everybody before we get into how the prep leading up to 2012 is going. First, I forgot to mention the official City Chase website.

www.citychase.ca
Take a look around their site. It's amazing once you start looking at how many countries participate once you achieve the global scale. What we are competing in is only the regional event for Canada, with the winners of each region competing at a National event.

So for our competition day it was raining. It started pretty hard before the event and turned into a drizzle for most of the day after that. There were 600 teams of 2 packed into the Eau Claire Market plaza for a presentation and some warm up to get things going.

You can see Steve in this.....I am too short, but still there beside him.

Those on the stage worked hard to get us all excited despite the weather

After the warm up, they divided the large mass of competitors into two smaller groups (sort of down the middle....ish). Each group was given instruction to where their clue sheets would be.

Then we were off!

We ran / walked / jogged / walked to the green space a few blocks away and discovered what looked to be a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert. In reality, it was just the poor volunteers with the clue sheets surrounded by close to 600 people. I worked my way to the front, only to discover that the volunteer I picked had run out.

This was bad! I couldn't remember where they said the other green space was (may have blocked it out once I heard where we were to go). Our day was almost done before it started. Then I heard a yell that there were more sheets with a different volunteer where we were. I pushed through the group and got our sheet......and discovered that any prep Steve and I had done in the two weeks prior (recon of downtown, etc.) really made no difference.

We needed to find a spot out of the rain to sit and figure out some clues!

About Team Go Big or Go Home (part 1)

Hey there! I'm Aaron, Chaser #1 for our team. My buddy Steve is Chaser #2. Last year we decided to participate in the most fun you can have with your clothes on. City Chase!!!! This blog is our adventures last year and our prep up to and including the Calgary 2012 chase. This is my first blog, so as I learn more of what I am doing on here, I will try to bring to life the challenges we have faced for this awesome event.

City Chase is essentially styled along the same lines as The Amazing Race with a bit of Fear Factor thrown in for good measure. It is sponsored by and benefits a charity called Right to Play. For more details on this charity, go to their website www.righttoplay.com.

Steve and I decided to do this challenge last year 2 weeks before the event. Our team name came from 2 different thoughts rolled into one.
The first being that, if we were going to do this, we were going to do it all the way. Whatever challenges we found in the competition would be completed no matter what.

The second came from our size. Steve is 5'11'' and was 285lbs at the time and I am 5'9' and was 245lbs. Neither one of us was in the greatest shape (unless you call round a shape) either.

                                     
Understanding our team name and how much time we had to prepare, Steve and I were stoked when we came in 248th out of 600 teams, and finished our challenges in 5 hours and 19 minutes (you only have 6 hours to complete your challenges).