City Chase Tips

Mark and I didn't win the Chase last year but boy we were close!  Anyway, a few people have asked for tips...  Here they are.  Have fun out there - City Chase is an absolute blast.

11 CITY CHASE TIPS

1. Check the sponsor list. Often challenge points are located at the sponsor business locations. That way you can plan some routes and formulate a loose strategy for getting around town.

2. Think hard about where you *might* go first after the starting gun... it's guessing, but it is important, and you don't have a lot of time to decide. It's very hectic at the start. A good route through the chasepoints is REALLY key.

3. Have someone at home (on call) in front of a computer to check things for you, plan routes, google stuff, figure out clues etc. - communicate with them by phone. Having a blackberry is usually a good call as they are a key sponsor and it might come in super handy.

4. Learn as much about transit as possible.... schedules (have one), routes (know them), closest stops to key areas (start, finish etc.) Apparently you can text a bus stop number to some # and it will tell you when the next bus is coming. This is handy when deciding whether to run 3 or 6 km or wait for the bus.

5. LISTEN at the start - there are always key clues and really important details in the welcome speech. Take notes on EVERYTHING the guy says from "Hello" to "Go!"

6. There will be certain key things: like a free ride in a car from one place to another, or a challenge that involves bicycles etc. To win you will probably have to take advantage of these types of things. They are easy to forget though... seems unbelievable that you'd forget something like that but once everything starts it's easy for a key element to slip your mind.

7. Have a good map and spend some time getting to know it....  (and for god's sake, learn how to fold it so you don't look like an idiot!)  Mark the sponsor business locations on it and note key transit stops nearby.

8. There are sometimes 'collecting' clues like "gather 20 bottles and take them to the recycling depot" - make sure to start those ones right away - don't wait and say "OK now we need 20 bottles." Start gathering them right off the bat... there's one, there's another etc....

9. You can save a TON of time by just asking other people for help.... offer them some help on another clue they are going to, flirt, whatever. There was one challenge where you had to find three cars in 4 city blocks, unscramble a bunch of letters on each one and get three words.... We just asked two girls and they told us the answer - total time: 15 seconds. Some teams spent over an hour there.

10. Use a camelbak or better yet a light backpack with a camelbak in case you need to collect a bunch of stuff.

11. You might need to get naked - plan your personal hygiene accordingly.

These are the clue sheets from 2007....  obviously they are different every year but this gives a good idea of what to expect.  CLICK TO ENLARGE.

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