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).