‘Amazing’ father races with three ‘Amazing’ daughters
In David Fenske’s eyes, no father-daughter activity is better than the Twin Cities Salvation Army’s MOST Amazing Race.
He first learned that in 2014, when he raced with his daughter, Lizzie (pictured together at right). He learned it again in 2015, when he raced with his other daughter, Claire (pictured at top).
“There aren’t words to describe the bond we developed,” said David, 54, an attorney and chief corporate officer at a national metal manufacturing company.
He’ll learn it a third time on Sept. 24 in St. Paul, when he competes with his 18-year-old daughter, Grace, in this year’s 11th annual race.
“She has been the most excited to participate,” said David, adding that Grace has grown up watching the popular reality TV show with the rest of the family. “I can’t wait.”
In addition to competing with his daughters, David enjoys another aspect of the race almost as much: raising money to help people in need.
During the past two years, David and the Fenske girls – team name: Flying Turtles – have raised a total of nearly $11,000 for Salvation Army food and housing programs. Flying Turtles was the second-place fundraising team in 2014 and 2015, missing first place by less than $200 in both years.
During the first year, David’s motivation to raise a lot of money was simple: Avoid the qualifying race, whose top 20 finishers went on to compete in the main race; the top 10 fundraising teams skipped the qualifier. “I’m old,” David joked. “I was sure we wouldn’t qualify.” (Note: the 2016 race does not include a qualifier.)
However, after raising a surprisingly large amount of money early on, David said, “My competitive juices started to flow.”
Those juices spilled over to 2015, when he and Claire raised more than $6,000, up from nearly $4,600 the year before.
“We are fortunate to have friends and business colleagues who not only want to support us, but also The Salvation Army,” David said. “As a family, we believe in helping people who are not as fortunate financially, and that is the mission of The Salvation Army. I truly believe that when you are given a lot, it is your obligation to give a lot back.”
After giving so much to The Salvation Army, David and his girls have received precious lifelong memories in return.
David’s two favorite race moments include:
- The fifth challenge of the 2014 race, at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. David had to run one mile to catch a fish off a dock and then run the same distance back to Lizzie, who had to ride a paddleboard halfway across the lake. “I arrived at the fishing pier thinking it would take a while and I could rest,” David recalled. “However, I caught my fish in about five seconds. On my way back, Lizzie saw me from a distance and started jumping and screaming with excitement. What a moment.”
- The sixth challenge of the 2015 race, in which David and Claire played charades at ComedySportz in Minneapolis. “I had to get her to say a wacky sentence in five minutes,” David said. “When I saw the phrase, I was dumbfounded – ‘Skiing on boards wearing a wedding dress.’ To her credit, Claire nailed it in about three minutes. It was awesome.”
Some of David’s other favorite moments and race challenges include: rolling in a human hamster ball; making and eating salsa; learning and performing a Bollywood dance; eating grasshoppers and a pound of gummy worms; and more.
In 2014, David and Lizzie placed 28th out of 30 teams. Last year, he and Claire tied for last place out of 23 teams.
Despite finishing at or near the bottom, David believes he won both races, and looks forward to having the time of his life with Grace at this year’s event.
“I can’t think of a better way to spend time with my children than this struggle,” he said. “It truly is priceless.”
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Learn more about the 2016 MOST Amazing Race and sign up at AmazingRaceMN.org. You can also get race insider updates and notifications straight to your phone. Text “RACE” to 51555 to sign up for text updates. Normal message and data rates may apply.