It’s all fun and games in the second annual Taylorsville Urban Iditarod
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Fins Up, the highest scoring team in the 2011 Taylorsville Iditarod, stands ready to take on the competition. This year’s event is set for Saturday, March 3. Photo courtesy of Rhetta McIff.
It’s time to join with friends, gather up costumes, and prepare to tackle some friendly competition, because the second annual Taylorsville Urban Iditarod is on its way.
In a take-off of the famed Alaskan Iditarod, teams of five members, age 18 and above, can register to compete in this event by logging on to the organization’s website, taylorsvilleurbaniditarod.blogspot.com. Anyone is invited to register, and the event is not limited to just Taylorsville residents. In addition, anyone of any fitness level is invited to participate. In this race, it’s not necessarily about speed.
“This race is not just for runners,” said Rhetta McIff, chair of the Leisure Activities, Recreation and Parks committee for Taylorsville. “You can walk it, run it, whatever. It’s for people who are willing to have a fun time, maybe be a little silly, and be excited about whatever the challenge might be. Enthusiasm will help you more than how fast you can compete.”
As in the more famous race, team members decide who will be the “musher” (the holder of the cart), and who will be the four “sled dogs” (runners by the cart). Teams must also be attached to their shopping cart at all times, in some fashion.
McIff and her husband, Brett McIff, chairperson of the Healthy Taylorsville Committee, combined their groups in the effort to bring the event to Taylorsville. Urban Iditarods are held in several cities nation-wide, each customized to the city in which it’s held, and usually all on the same day. Taylorsville’s offers costumes, wild team names, and challenges for the teams at various stopping points along the race route.
It’s a fun, family friendly atmosphere that is definitely not your run of the mill racing event.
“Anybody can run a marathon,” Brett McIff said. “It takes a certain type of person to dress up in a costume and run around with a shopping cart.”
This year’s Iditarod will be held on Saturday March 3, and registration is $40 for each team. In addition to contestants, organizers are also looking for volunteers to assist with various parts of the event as well as business sponsors. Further information can be found on the race website.
