Two Urban Challenge participants plot their route to the first of 12 checkpoints in Phoenix. They followed clues and used nothing but public transit and their feet for transportation.
Laurie Beth Ellis/The Arizona Republic

The Arizona Republic
(Original article online)

Quick of mind, fleet of feet win Urban Challenge

by Stephanie Paterik

More than 150 people tore through the streets of downtown Phoenix on Saturday morning, hailing buses and snapping photos for what may be the city's largest scavenger hunt.

Phoenix was the first stop for Urban Challenge, a competition that will tour 20 American cities this summer and is being considered for a reality television show. Kevin McCarthy of Mesa invented the game for his daughter's 12th birthday last year and masterminded a grownup version to take on the road.

"I've always wanted to put together a race like this," said McCarthy, who owns the local remodeling company Taho Builders. "It's been my passion."

The premise is simple: Teams of two are given 12 clues that will lead them to checkpoints around town. They must take a photo of themselves at each destination and be the first to make it back to Urban Challenge headquarters. The Top 10 finishers in each city will compete for $50,000 in Las Vegas this fall.

Phoenix participants paid $75 to enter the race. At Jackson's on Third Street, they were given staggered start times based on how many trivia questions they answered correctly. The teams could use public transportation, cellphones, the Internet and other people as resources, but not a car.

"The more intelligent and well-read you are, the better you'll do," McCarthy said. "And if you want to win, you better run."

A father-and-son team from Phoenix finished first with that very combination of brains and brawn. Paul Bonnett, 40, is a history teacher at Central High School, and James Bonnett, 15, is a cross-country runner at Horizon High School.

"My dad told me about (the race), and I thought it'd be cool," James said. "Now I get a free trip to Las Vegas. I'm going to absorb it all."

Many of the top finishers were runners. The Phoenix Hash House Harriers, a local running club, entered three teams, and all of them placed in the Top 10.

They got a little overseas help from fellow runner Maurice McWhirter, a Naval Reserve captain who's stationed on Diego Garcia, a 17-square-mile island in the Indian Ocean.

"He's a history nut, so we kept him on the cellphone for an hour," said Vicki Rumford, a club member. "It was a fun way for him to keep up with his good friends and to help out."

Having fun is McCarthy's biggest goal.

"I'm lucky to be able to put on a race all summer," he said. "My family and I will get to see the country and meet thousands of people. It's like a middle-aged rock tour."