The Amazing Shopping Center Race

There are a multitude of events on any given weekend in California.   You have your heavily advertised events and then you have your localized and non-mainstream events.   We want to bring you some of these obscure events and even participate in them ourselves to give you a firsthand report.

Such was the case this weekend for the Amazing Shopping Center Race at the Mission Market Place in Oceanside.   The next event is at the Terra Nova Plaza in Chula Vista on Saturday, Aug.9^th.   Info: 760-630-6687. Even though the Oceanside event has passed, there is still time to check out or enter the Terra Nova Race. Keep in mind that first place is $2,000.

It is an ‘Amazing Race’ type activity that takes place in a shopping center.   Quite a few stores in the center participate and the challenges revolve around what they sell or have in their store. As an example the alteration shop had entrants sew on a button, the auto tire shop had contestants change a tire on a car, the theater had them running around reading their movie posters, McDonalds made both sing the McDonalds theme song, and in food places they had to eat a food item from that restaurant. A few of the funnier challenges were when they had to gargle mouth wash for 2 minutes at the dentist office or at So Cal Tanning they had to use all of the sun tan lotion from a fairly large bottle and rub it all over themselves.   The sun tan lotion was harder than you think because it had to be completely rubbed in, no lotion showing.

There were 50 teams of two with most participants under 40 years old. Our staycations team were the oldest with both members over 50. However, they held their own against this younger crowd with only two and a half challenges left to finish when the winners were announced.     Basically once the 1^st through 3^rd place winners cross the finish line, you can stop where you are or choose to go on for the heck of it.   At that point our crew was at the Mexican food restaurant half way into a sizable Jalapeno when they heard the news. So I am giving them half a point for that one. They choose to stop since the $2,000 first place prize had been claimed as well as the $1,500 second place and $1,000 third place. I don’t blame them, I would only eat a Jalapeno if there is money on the line. Otherwise, no way.

You don’t have to be an athlete or physically fit but be prepared for some running around and some physical tests along the way.

They never made it to the gym to run/walk a mile or Game Stop to complete an X Box game but they did finish the inflatable obstacle course which was at the end of the race. Plus the half point for the discarded Jalapeño.

Our crew spent quite a long time putting a tire together at the bicycle shop which tripped them up. Maybe being 50 years old, it was too long ago that they forgot how to fix the tire of their Sting Ray when they were a kid.

The movie theater challenge proved to be time consuming with the racers running around checking out all of their posters inside and out looking for small details that were on the trivia test.

Even though the top prize had been claimed, it was still a fun adventure with many fun challenges along the way.

Be sure to check out Terra Nova on the August 8^th.