Urban Adventure features physical and mental challenges
By Tami Lange
July 1, 2013
658
Lauren Vargo plays varsity lacrosse for The College of Wooster (COW), but even practice and match time on the field didnt prepare her for the Wooster Urban Adventure Challenge (WUAC) last summer.
Still, she and fellow COW student Will Cary managed to win. We figured itd be fun, Vargo said. It was.
It was the better part of a summer Saturday spent running, hiking, biking, paddling and figuring out clues to get them around Wooster. For their efforts, Vargo said, they earned a medal and got their team name on a plaque.
But theres a greater good being served in the Challenge, which this year will take place July 20. Now in its third year, the event benefits a charity that applies and is selected by the event directors. According to WUAC co-founder and organizer Patrice Smith, this years nonprofit is the Viola Startzman Free Clinic. The clinic was also chosen in the events inaugural year and received roughly $20,000 in proceeds. Last year, People to People Ministries received $30,000 and Smith said this years event is targeting roughly the same amount.
Teams of two or three persons can continue to register online through July 15. Paper registration is available up until the time of the event – or until all 80 slots are filled, according to Smith.
The idea for the Challenge kept coming up while Smith and co-founder Pam Tegtmeier were on runs together. It was a few years in the making, Smith said, but the Wooster Adventure Charities Organization now has its own board of directors and nonprofit, tax-exempt status.
Were defining the course right now, Smith said, in order to determine how many volunteers will be needed and how long each individual challenge will take. The organization has a nice core group of volunteers and about 40 will work on race day, according to Smith. There are two training sessions for the volunteers, so everyone understands what is going on.
The Challenge is not like a typical race, where roads are closed and the route is marked. On event day, teams will gather at The College of Wooster Scot Center – and that is as much as they will know until then, Smith said.
For some challenges, she said, they have to figure out where to go. Fifty percent of the time, theyll be told where to go but not how to get there.
While the physical challenges become obvious, Smith pointed out some challenges are more cerebral. Others, for example reading a Dr. Seuss book at Books in Stock or creating origami at The Wooster Book Co., are just fun.
This years event has more than 20 challenges, as well as checkpoints. In total, Smith said, participants should plan for six miles of run-walk, six to seven miles of hiking, 17 miles of biking – as well as some paddling. The only restriction on participation is that you must be at least 18 years of age. You should be able to do a five to 10 (kilometer race), Smith said. The big thing is you have to keep the stamina.
Most teams will finish in four to six hours, but Smith said as much as nine hours is allotted.
There is an after-party at The Olde Jaol featuring food and beverages, live music from local bands Reddy Freddy? and Jynxed, and both a silent and live auction. The public is invited and proceeds go to the clinic. In addition, 100 percent of the money donated by the Challenges nearly 30 sponsors and 98 percent of the registration also goes directly to that nonprofit.
For more information regarding the Wooster Urban Adventure Challenge, go to www.woosterurbanadventure.org.
