The City Scramble

This just in from The City Scramble:

Exercise enthusiasts, weekend warriors, and couch potatoes all have an opportunity to compete against one another in what promises to be a fun and challenging race coming to Jacksonville on January 22. The City Scramble offers competitors a chance to team up with a partner in a race around the city. Event organizer and founder Nicole Williams, promises this is not your average 5K. The City Scramble will challenge you physically and test you and your teammate with clues and challenges along the way. "It's like a one day Amazing Race, only right here in the city," Williams said. A $500 first place prize is up for grabs, along with medals for the top three teams. "Win or lose, people love the experience. The teams who seem to really get into the Scramble are those racing against friends or family members on another team. It's great to see wives battle against their husbands." Williams added.

Teams of two are given a clue sheet at the beginning of the race and Scramble to solve them before taking off. Once on their way, teams take a digital photo of themselves at each of the clue spots or take on a challenge that will test their teamwork abilities. "It definitely helps having an understanding of your location, but it is not crucial," Williams explained. Technology is strongly encouraged for The City Scramble. Smart phones, GPS devices, and/or laptops are important tools racers will need to compete in this race.

"I'm really excited about the challenges we have set up this year," Williams said. "They force teams to perform some kind of stunt or task, usually with a mental aspect to it, before they can continue on in their race. It allows teams that are clever enough to finish the challenges quickly a chance to close ground on the faster racers who may struggle in a challenge."

The City Scramble race can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to complete, depending on the route the team chooses to run. There is no set course as teams must use their guile to figure the fastest or most logical route to take. "The entire race, if run in the shortest possible route, is usually around 5 miles," says Williams. "Most teams usually end up backtracking more than they should," she laughed.

The race in Jacksonville is Saturday, January 22 with a start time of 11:00am from O’Brothers Irish Pub at 1521 Margaret Street in Riverside. Teams are encouraged to sign up early at The City Scramble Website.

Registration is currently $50 per person, online registration will close this Wednesday, January 19. Participants may still join by sending an email to Nicole@TheCityScramble.com after that date and by paying $100 cash on the day of the event. A portion of the proceeds will be going to Hope Haven. Plus for every team you refer that signs up, both teams will get $10 off their registration fees. Refer 9 other teams and your team entry is free!

How freaking fun does this sound. We're working on putting together a couple of teams and hope some of our readers will be able to participate as well. Look for the results sometime next week. Go teams!!!