Forty-four University students and members of the Baton Rouge community stepped up to the starting line and waited for the signal.
With the drop of a flag, the University Student Recreational Complex’s Adventure Race began, and 44 two-person teams sprinted off into a challenge course that tested their physical fitness, mental abilities and strategic skills.
The competition, which was similar to “The Amazing Race,” included three miles of running, 15 miles of biking, 1 1/2 miles of canoeing and numerous challenges to be completed at the 17 checkpoints along the way.
University landmarks Alex Box Stadium and the Memorial Tower served as the checkpoints.
Leigh Bonfanti, UREC director of adventure education, said the checkpoints enhanced the “LSU experience” for everyone involved.
The course outline was a secret, and participants did not know the location of their first checkpoint until five minutes before the race started.
Participants chose their own paths to each checkpoint, making strategy an important part of the race.
Returning Adventure Race competitor Chris Swanson, communication studies junior, said strategy can make or break a team.
“Strategy is huge, especially if you’re inexperienced,” Swanson said. “If you don’t make wrong turns, you can beat a faster team that makes those mistakes.”
The teams, with self-created names such as “Sons of Biscuit Eaters” and “White Gangstas of Romance,” had to complete tasks at each checkpoint to receive the location of their next destination.
Tasks included climbing the UREC rock wall, diving from the five meter board in the Natatorium and eating a banana without the use of hands.
While some of the challenges were humorous, some of the competitors took the race very seriously.
University alumni Walker Higgins and Denver Benton were the first to cross the finish line. They attributed their win to their highly competitive attitudes.
“Everyone probably thought we weren’t enjoying the race while we were doing it, but it was awesome,” Higgins said. “We’re very competitive.”
Benton said his team struggled with some of the math challenges but made up for lost time with their running abilities.
In an ironic twist, team “Are We Done Yet?” was the last to finish the race. Team members Dusty LaPlante, University alumnus, and Dustin Gouner, agricultural business senior, attributed their slow finish to some problems encountered during the race.
“We flipped over in our canoe and ruined our map,” said LaPlante. “We were trying to figure out everything with a wet map. We read it wrong and got lost.”
Gouner said the team had a great time despite the setback.
“We stopped at the frat house and had a beer,” Gouner said.
The participants’ ages ranged from 10 to 59 and included first-time racers and some who have completed over 25 races.
Safety was an obvious concern for UREC officials, who were forced to disqualify one team for not wearing their helmets when riding their bikes.
While there were no physical requirements for entering the race, Bonfanti said competitors needed to be somewhat physically fit in order to complete the race.
The competition proved to be too intense for one team, who dropped out for health reasons within the first 10 minutes.
The top three finishers from each category, Men’s, Women’s and Co-Rec, received a UREC prize pack, Whole Foods gift certificate and medals.
—-Contact Katie Kennedy at [email protected]