GEORGETOWN - Georgetown is a sleepy neighborhood on the weekends. The din of the weekday industrial elements is replaced by the sound of birds, and of course the occasional train or plane. But, on March 31, a new energy filled the streets of Georgetown - Seattle's Second Annual Idiotarod.
That's right - the Idiotarod.
Teams of five to eight, decked out in outlandish costume, mushed decorated shopping carts through the streets of the neighborhood in search of checkpoints. Surgeons, Santas, Tony the Tiger, leprechauns, mimes and even syphilis (from the team, Enemies of Man) filed out of their cars and prepared their shopping carts. Checkpoints of the free-for-all race, which attracted a group of 20-and 30-somethings from the Puget Sound area, are kept under the radar until the day of the race.
The Idiotarod was founded in Brooklyn four years ago. The underground operation made its way west last year when a group of friends decided to host their own version of the event. The inaugural Seattle Idiotarod started in Fremont and ended at the Ballard Locks. Initially, only two teams had signed up, however, by the start of the race, there were 10 teams and over 100 spectators gathered for the race. This year, the event doubled in size.
RACE DAY
At 11 a.m. teams jostled together behind the starting line - a piece of crepe paper - and received the list of rules: no fighting, respect the sponsors (the neighborhood and the checkpoint bars), return your "borrowed" carts to their rightful owners, and be sure to clean up any mess you make during the race.
And then, they were off!
Teams towed their carts and sprinted down streets to find their own routes to the four checkpoints.
Since there was no designated route, per se, teams relied on their own strategies to navigate the neighborhood. Some headed toward the Design Center while others went straight into the residential area. It was rather ironic to see Georgetown's streets filled with shopping carts since the neighborhood does not have a major grocery store to call its own.
At certain checkpoints, teams had to wait for 20 minutes before they could head off to their next destination. If they wanted to reduce their wait, the team members had the option to perform a challenge. These included drinking beer out of their own shoe, wearing someone else's underwear on your head, singing the Pledge of Allegiance opera-style and other idiotic, yet benign, acts.
Unlike other racing events, cheating is permitted, and encouraged. One such trick included Team Sabotage setting up a fake checkpoint to entrap an unsuspecting team. Then there was the tactic of Team Ghostbusters, who shot green slime and marshmallows at their opponents. Team Pho Q sprayed rice at opponents from their cart.
At the start of the race, Team Mimefield placed a 2x4 under the wheels of Team UW giving them a slight edge over the Huskies.
After the grueling race, which clicked in around 2 miles, the teams gathered at the Georgetown Liquor Company to celebrate the idiocy of their morning's accomplishments. Most participants had their fair share of battle scars: egg yolks covered their backs, shirts were saturated from water balloon attacks, and some sported smears of Bavarian cream from flung doughnuts. The participants wore these badges of honor with pride as they compared wounds and swapped race stories.
THE WINNERS
The Idiotarod is indeed a bona fide race with official winners. Team Enemies of Man won Best Time. They started planning for the race over a year ago, and came equipped with a cart copped from a large Swedish furniture maker outlet. Team Mimefield won Best in Show for their numerous mime performances along the route, including a futile tug-of-war with a Union Pacific train.
The race fees registered at $5 per person with the money raised going to the Best in Show and Best Time teams as well as the local arts organization, ArtCorps. Both winners were encouraged to give their prizes to the charity, and Team Mimefield donated their $50 purse immediately to ArtCorps.
When asked why Georgetown was chosen for this year's race location, the organizers said they felt the neighborhood is a more accepting community. According to some of the Idiotarod participants and organizers who took part in the inaugural race, they feared the police in Fremont more than the truck traffic in Georgetown.
Judging from the reaction of several drivers, the racers were right. Many teams were welcomed with waves and friendly honks of car horns. A few neighborhood kids jumped on their bikes to follow the racers throughout the course.
One racer said she felt like the race had found a home in Georgetown, for most spectators didn't bat an eye at a team of Ghostbusters and a Marshmallow man jogging through the community.
Are you interested in racing next year? Get your team - and theme - together and start planning now. For more information, visit www.seattleidiotarod.com.
Georgetown writers Holly Krejci and Kathy Nyland may be reached via editor@sdistrictjournal.com.
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