The 100 Mile House Lions Club’s Amazing Race united the young and the slightly less young on Saturday, June 9, to race all over the 100 Mile area competing in wacky challenges.
The Free Press’ winning team, the Bird Cage Liners, maintained a hair’s breadth lead throughout the race with Remax’s team, the LB’s, hot on their heels. The Survivor team kept the LB’s within their sights all day.
In a nail-biting finish, the Survivor team passed the LB’s in the final challenge, finishing a mere one minute behind the champions and claiming second place.
Danita McLaren of the LB’s said they thought second place was in-the-bag when they pulled into the finish, but the Survivors were already there.
“The Survivors scooped us in the end,” she said.
The hardest part of the race, according to McLaren, was when the team had to walk together on one large set of skis in Centennial Park.
She said the highlight was throwing a left-handed strike for her team in the bowling challenge.
It was the final challenge, when teams had to dress up a dog not familiar to them in an outfit purchased from the thrift store, that she believes the Survivors passed them.
She said she and her teammates, Tish Hitchcock, Danielle Stewart and Paulina Brusova, ran into the Parkside Art Gallery to drag out someone who had a dog in their truck.
“It was fabulous; we had so much fun,” she said, adding that the whole team was impressed with the race.
Shannon Sund said she and Survivor teammates, Sue Palasty, Lori Barrick and Lesa Hamilton, were headed to Ace Hardware to find a dog when Hamilton yelled to the people across the street: “Does anyone have a dog in their truck?”
Someone did.
“It was awesome,” said Sund. “I wish we could have gone longer because we were having such a good time.”
The teammates have known each other for four or five years, said Sund. They met at Focused Fitness, where they work out most mornings, and get together throughout the week.
Sund said she thought the race was “really well done” and that “they did a great job with all the little details.
“You could see the time they put into it. You could see how much it meant to them to do it.”
Teams met at 8 a.m. on Saturday, at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church, where Lions members greeted them and kindly asked participants to remove their shoes before joining in breakfast.
Tamara Van Loon took team photos while Diane Collens dolled out instructions and handed out team mascots, a small garden gnome to accompany teams to every challenge.
Upon completing four individual puzzles, teams dug out their shoes out of the mismatched mountain of rubber and leather then received the first clue.
Clues lead teams to the Husky to pump exactly $2.37 (a five minute hold was given for every extra penny pumped), down Horse Lake Road North to throw sandbags, to the bowling alley to knock down pins using only their non-dominant hand, to the snowmobile club to make a flower out of crafts then into town to sell said flower.
After a hearty lunch break, teams rushed back out for a whole new set of challenges.
Val Clemont, the president of the 100 Mile Lions Club, said teams were much faster than they expected.
Attending Lions members arrived at challenges along with or shortly after the first teams in some cases.
“We were flying by the seat of our pants, so to speak.”
Clemont said she is happy with how the race turned out and is proud of everyone who participated.
“It was so well received and we loved doing it,” she said.
The race took a few months to plan, said Clemont, and took support from Lions and community members alike.
“They all just swing into gear … the coordination was just incredible.”
Clemont said Bill Baerg made the giant skis for the challenge in Centennial Park and Chris and Vern Hadden made a wooden taxi for the one in 103 Mile.
Safeway donated food for breakfast and lunch and Lions members made salads and desserts.
“Our service is our greatest asset,” said Clemont. “That’s who we are.”
Diane Collens, whom Clemont dubbed the driving force behind the race, is still tallying up the total amount raised and gathering feedback to make next year’s race even better. All funds raised will be put back into the community.
Special awards were given to the Twisted Sisters’ team for achieving the highest score in Yahtzee and to the Just Us Two team for having to do twice as much work as everyone else.
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