‘Mojo Monkey’ wins MOST Amazing Race
And the winners of The Salvation Army’s 2013 MOST Amazing Race are…
Eric Kelly (pictured, left) and Tom Puzak (right), team “Mojo Monkey.” The duo crossed the Polaris Finish Line after four hours and 34 minutes of completing race challenges all over Minneapolis. This is Puzak’s second year winning; he won last year’s race with a different partner.
Puzak plans to use his share of this year’s $5,000 grand prize, courtesy of presenting race sponsor Mattress Firm, to participate in the upcoming World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships in Rakvere, Estonia. Kelly isn’t yet sure how he’ll use his share.
“This race is one the funnest events in the state – regardless of sport,” Puzak said. “It’s an absolute blast.”
The race kicked off with WCCO-TV anchor Jamie Yuccas plunging off a 25-foot-high platform onto a cushy landing pad. The race’s 30 teams followed suit, then began an amazing adventure through these 11 challenges:
- “Planking” at 501Fit
- Guessing soda flavors at Potbelly Sandwich
- Memorizing Minnesota Lynx players’ names at the Central Ave. Salvation Army
- Remembering facts from a movie trailer of “Smurfs 2” at Heights Theater
- Delivering new pillows, donated by Mattress Firm, to 96 residents of The Salvation Army H.O.P.E. Harbor housing facility
- “Shopping” at a Salvation Army Store in downtown Minneapolis
- Bollywood dancing at Tapestry Folkdance Center
- Riding waterslides at The Depot Waterpark
- Using a blueprint to assemble a pipeline at CenterPoint Energy
- Driving a Polaris GEM® e4 electric motorcar
Qualifier
Some racers said the qualifying event alone was worth the price of admission.
It was held at TCF Bank Stadium, where several local celebrities – Vikings rookie defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, KDWD host Falen and KFAN host Chris Hawkey – staffed challenges and cheered teams on.
“I love this opportunity that gives people a chance to come out and compete and have a good time, and do it all for The Salvation Army,” Hawkey said. “Whether these teams know it or not, they’re supporting a great cause.”
About 80 teams participated in the qualifier, with the top 20 finishers advancing to the main race. The qualifier challenges included:
- Kicking a 15-yard field goal
- Bowling in Goldy’s Gameroom on the U of M campus
- Solving a map quiz aboard a Metro Transit bus
- “Soup, Soap and Salvation”: Sucking tomato soup through a straw, filling bags with laundry detergent and memorizing a Bible verse
New fundraising record
The MOST Amazing Race crushed its fundraising goal. Teams raised $72,921, shattering last year’s record-setting total of $64,000.
For the second time since 2011, the top fundraising team was David Hilden and Angela Lutz of team “Adventure Guy and Gal” (pictured, team No. 117). They raised an amazing $6,937 and won two roundtrip Delta Air Lines tickets.
Teams “Life on a Rock” (Alex Melody, Lindsey Pearson) and “Insanity” (Jason and Renee Neumann) also raised crazy amounts of money, gathering $5,732 and $4,186, respectively. Another nine teams raised at least $2,000.
In addition to the money the racers raised, corporate sponsors added $10,000 and an anonymous donor kicked in $50,000 worth of matching funds, for a total of nearly $133,000 for Salvation Army food and shelter programs. Since 2006, the MOST Amazing Race has raised nearly $450,000.
“This year’s race was the best one yet on so many levels,” said Major Strickler, Twin Cities Salvation Army Commander. “Our racers gathered more donations than ever before, our sponsors and partners found new and creative ways to make the race even more awesome, and dozens of volunteers gave the support we needed to pull it all off.
“A heartfelt thank you to every last person who helped out with this year’s race. You are amazing.”
Read more stories, blog posts and testimonials on our News page.