Challenge Nation: St. Louis Challenge

Challenge Nation has had St. Louis as part of its annual series for the past few years and, if you’re wondering whether or not to enter the ultimate urban scavenger race: Do, if for no other reason but to say that you’ve done it.
The basic premise is a timed race covering 3 – 5 miles, but without a set course. Teams are given a packet of clues to solve and have to run/​walk or take the bus/​Metrolink in order to find checkpoints. Think of it as an Amazing Race… that’s a lot shorter. and run in St. Louis.
The website and Facebook page have tons of pictures, results (for a limited time) and information on how the race/​game works.
Best parts:
1) There were over 600 registered participants and more than 150 teams finished the 2013 race. A number of the teams wore costumes, lending the whole affair a somewhat silly vibe.
2) The clues are easy enough to figure out fairly quickly, especially if you’re familiar with Downtown (or another neighborhood should the race move in the future). It’s a cheap but wonderful thrill to run around and find yourself headed in the right direction.
3) The price was right ($ 20/​person) if you bought the Living Social deal that was released a few weeks prior to the race.
4) The promises were delivered on. Challenge Nation said that there’d be water at the race’s end and there was. They said that the race would be family-​friendly and it was. Even the distance traveled was in the ballpark. Plenty of information came out ahead of time; organization wasn’t an issue.
The could-​be-​better parts:
1) It’s fast. The winning team was done in under 45 minutes. Not that sweating it out in the midday sun for much more than an hour would be more fun, but the experience seemed over almost before it’d really begun.
2) This year’s race only covered two neighborhoods: Downtown and Downtown West. It was a great way to check out many oft overlooked places, but the event might’ve been even more challenging had it expanded into the Old North, Soulard, Midtown or other nearby neighborhoods, though I can understand why they didn’t (it would’ve no longer been a 5k-​ish distance…)
3) The t-shirt’s not particularly memorable and probably won’t hold up too well (what white t-​shirt ever does?).
The 2014 race has been scheduled for September 6^th.