The Austin Parks Foundation was the beneficiary for a second year of the Austin Oyster Adventure Race. Team Sage/Team Player Productions of Denver, CO is running a series of six Oyster races in Denver, San Francisco, Nashville, Seattle, Austin and Portland, OR this year and the foundation helped lay out the course, recruit the 50 plus volunteers needed to run the race and help out with set-up, running the race and clean-up.
Nearly 40 teams of 3-6 people each started and finished at RunTex at S. Riverside and S. South. Eight stages or Passports awaited them and the next passport was only revealed when they completed the previous passport. Teams were told to bring bikes, running shoes, rollerblades or scooters and expect to get wet and that’s it. The eight passports were:
1) Bike to Walsh Boat Landing on Lake Austin. Teams had to throw a cowbell across 25 feet of water with two successful catches, otherwise, one member had to swim out 25 feet to a kayak to get the next passport, which was…
2) Bike to Lion’s Golf Course. One team member had to hit a ball at the driving range between two banners about 30 feet out. They had up to 20 chances. They then returned to RunTex.
3) Teams ran from RunTex to Seaholm Power Plant where they had to locate the next passport which was…
4) AMLI on 1st. They had to climb 19 stories of stairs, get their passport punched and head back down (that’s 325 stairs up, 325 stairs down.) They returned to RunTex after this.
5) Teams headed out on bikes to Gus Fruh Access Trail on Barton Creek Greenbelt. They left their bikes at the top and ran down to the Gus Fruh Wall, where one member had to climb up ropes and ring a cowbell. Then back to their bikes and back to RunTex.
6) From RunTex, teams rolled (rollerblades or scooters) to Pease Park near MLK where two members had to play two of the disc golf course holes and roll back to RunTex.
7) Teams left on bikes from RunTex and rode to the Rowing Dock on the south side of Lake Lady Bird, just beyond Mopac. Two members jumped into a kayak and paddled to Lou Neff Point in Zilker Park, while the other one ran over to Lou Neff. When they met at Lou Neff, the runner jumped into the kayak and one of the kayakers jumped out and they all met back at the Rowing Dock. They then rode back to RunTex.
8) Teams ran over to PureAustin Fitness to complete a short obstacle course, then over to Whole Foods where a team member did an oyster shot, a BBQ sauce shot and a gross “natural” smoothie shot. With that, they headed back to RunTex for post race Beer, BBQ and Prizes.
Thanks to Chris L. for the great photos posted here and our on Flickr account as well our 50 plus volunteers who manned all of our passport checkpoints and start/finish line. And thanks to Team Sage/Team Player Productions for working with us again this year. Please join us next year sometime in October. Further info on the Oyster Racing Series.
