Friday, July 27, 2012

In Which Two Guys Chase Down a Gorilla

When Larry sent me a Groupon link to the Gorilla Challenge, I thought, Why not? without really considering what I was getting myself into. I only began to realize a couple weeks later, when we registered and he informed me we were entering the costume contest.

The Gorilla Challenge is a scavenger hunt race. This particular one, being in DC, would take us running through the city, following clues, to take ridiculous pictures in classic DC places. Larry recruited another of our cousins and a girl from a running club, while I recruited a boy.

We settled on ’80s costumes, which made me freak out immediately. 1980s, according to every source on Google, meant bright colors and outrageous accessories… pretty much the opposite of my normal, understated fashion choices. However, I raided my little sister’s wardrobe to come up with something I found decently acceptable, although embarrassing for the Metro ride. I felt better when a random stranger turned to his friend and said, “See what she’s wearing? That’s what you should have done!”

We started in the middle of the city and followed clues that made us hug trees outside of the EPA and build a human pyramid on brick. (I got to be on top, so this was less painful for me than other members of our team.) We sang to random strangers and danced the YMCA in a city park.

In addition to the scavenger hunt, a man in a gorilla mask roamed the city and if we caught him, we got a prize. So of course the male-folk on the team wanted nothing more than to catch this gorilla-man. They spotted him at the same time another team did. As we watched, the gorilla ran from the other team and our guys sprinted at a diagonal toward him – intercepting him midflight. We got a gift card toward lunch.

That was our sole prize of the day; we didn’t place in the race. However, we acquired some excellent photos and had an excellent time. And I learned that with enough hairspray and three strong hair ties, my hair will stay in a high ponytail for several hours of running.

No comments:

Post a Comment