Urban Treasure Hunters, Clued In to the City

Stephen A. Crockett Jr. — Washington Post Staff Writer

Denise Stascavage and Steve Newman rose early Saturday morning and filled a backpack with these items: trail mix, cell phone, two maps, plenty of water, disposable camera, a printout of Party Animal (elephant and donkey) statue locations throughout the District, and a City Paper. "In case we want to answer some personals," says Newman.

This was the big day. The D.C. couple had paid $150 to run across the metro area as a team in Urban Challenge, an adventure race. And they were psyched. Late Friday night they "heard one of the clues on the news, so we got up early and went to find it," said Stascavage. They thought they had a leg up on everyone else. One problem: Just about all of the 200 teams that competed in the Urban Challenge had gotten the same clue and thought the same thing.

Part high-tech treasure hunt and part marathon, the Urban Challenge hit Washington this past weekend. Two-member teams were sent racing through the city deciphering clues to find 12 unmarked checkpoints. In-line skates, taxis, skateboards, pogo sticks or any form of travel other than feet or public transportation were not allowed.

Cell phones, maps, bus guides or random people could be called upon to help figure out the answers to clues.

"The teams that are most successful are the ones that set up a support system at home," says Kevin McCarthy, 40, who invented the game as a creative way to celebrate his daughter Kate's 12th birthday last October. The first challenge was held in his hometown of Phoenix. Washington was the 15th stop on a 19-city tour.

Team members must break down clues, find checkpoints and photograph themselves in front of the landmark using a digital camera. Start time is determined by a 30-question trivia test. The teams with the best scores are lumped into groups of roughly 20, told the rules, given the clues and sent on their way. The group with the next-best scores leaves two minutes later.

The first team back with all the correct landmarks photographed wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas and a chance to compete in the national tournament. If a team takes a picture of the wrong checkpoint, it is disqualified.

On Saturday at 7:30 a.m., close to 400 people gathered at the Front Page Bar and Grille near Dupont Circle to compete for a chance to go to Vegas.

Stascavage, 34, a legal secretary and Newman, 33, a marketing research director, are Team 11788 in Group 7. Group 1 left 15 minutes ago. The woman standing at the restaurant's front door telling people where to line up calls this group "the need-a-little-more-coffee group."

McCarthy gives Group 7 the rules. He does this with each group as the contestants come out.

"Each one of you has a passport and that tells you where to start," he says.

"You can use whatever you want to figure out the answers. These clues are tough: it isn't called Urban Easy, it's Urban Challenge. If you have trouble finding a clue . . . move on. And always race like you are winning: The last team that left in San Diego came out of the last group and won the race. It can be done." (A "skip person" is somewhere along the course; if a team finds her and takes a snapshot with her, the contestants can skip a question.)

The group grabs the clues from McCarthy and hurries off.

Stascavage and Newman move across the street and quickly scan all the questions and answer the ones they think they know. Newman offers a plan.

"Here is what we are going to do," he says calmly. "We are going to get a cold beer and . . ."

Stascavage takes the clues before he can finish his joke. They start with Clue No. 3: "Located near lambs ears, peony and crested leopard, checkpoint 3 is a gift from Barbara, according to its little brass name plate, albeit an ironic gift considering its reptilian motif."

Stascavage looks through the Party Animal printout to see if one was done by a woman named Barbara.

There is one but the printout doesn't describe it; it says only that it is near George Washington University, about a mile away. They start walking, reading the clues aloud; they are a team.

They get to the elephant; it isn't reptilian. They think it might be the one near McPherson Square. They hop on the subway and change their minds. Stascavage can remember a snake painted on an elephant statue at the National Zoo. They head to the zoo only to find that the elephant was moved to the other end, a 15-minute walk. They find it, it isn't right. They are stumped.

A little after 1 p.m. almost four hours since the race began, they have found the answer to clue No. 3. It is a bench donated by Barbara W. Freeman in the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden bordering the Mall.

They snap a picture with the digital camera, then with the disposable, a keepsake; they're the first pictures they have taken all day. They move on.

"We should stop and get a hot dog if we pass a cart," says Stascavage.

Back at the Front Page at 1:30 p.m., about 20 teams have successfully finished the game and are relaxing with Red Bull energy drinks.

The first-place team of Scott Smallwood and Will Healy have already gone home. They finished the race in 3 hours 4 minutes.

Team 11788, where are you?