by Steffi Carrera ’14

On Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21, the exciting and unpredictable “Incredible Race” returned for its second year. The annual race, founded by Incredible Race Club presidents Connor Martin and Madeline Van Cott, stayed true to its original format while adding some new unforeseen twists.

Starting with eight teams in its first year, the race expanded to include 11 pairs of contestants that spent two days competing to be the first to reach the finish line. Teams raced around Rockville, Bethesda and DC to complete various tasks, a big change from last year’s race that took place within the limits of Olney. The contestants even had to sleep over in Potomac as part of the competition. Ultimately, aqua team members Cindy Loveland and Emily Morales, who teach at Blake, won the race, followed closely by purple team members senior Emma Kennedy and Glen Elg senior Conor Burke and blue team members juniors Chris Katz and Spencer Staub.

“It was really fun; I wouldn’t trade it for anything although it was tough. I’m happy we even made it to the last leg of the race,” said Kennedy enthusiastically.

The Incredible Race raises money to support the American Cancer Society through Relay for Life, which was a component the two club presidents wanted to focus on more heavily. Martin and Van Cott decided to dedicate two tasks to cancer awareness to remind contestants what they were ultimately playing for as well as spread information about the cause. The tasks were split into two legs, one where the teams did research on cancer and the other where they answered questions about the facts and figures of cancer in 2013. It also included the many colors that represent various types of cancer. Nearly $2000 was raised last year, and the presidents hope to surpass that number by holding a bigger race.

“We decided to branch out because it’s our senior year, so we wanted to go big or go home. We also wanted to create a legacy to return to as juniors Michael Natelli and possibly Ashley Yen take over next year. [We want to] come to our 10-year reunion and see that the Incredible Race club still exists, and has gotten even bigger,” explained Martin.

With 13 cameramen, over 20 task judges and 22 contestants, the race has definitely increased in size. Even the DVD will have more content, including 11 episodes accompanied by commercials from sponsors. The cost for each DVD is $15, and they will be available for sale at Relay for Life on June 8. Buyers will receive their DVDs in July once all of the footage has been edited.