MOST Amazing Race ends after 12 years

The race was the brainchild of Julie Orlando, special events manager for The Salvation Army Northern Division. In 2005, she began thinking about ideas for a fundraising event that would appeal to young men and women in their 20s and 30s.

 

“There are so many golf tournaments, galas, and 5Ks out there – I wanted to do something outside the box,” said Orlando (pictured).

The idea for the race popped into her head while she was watching The Amazing Race reality show on CBS.

“Back then, reality TV was in the prime of its start,” Orlando recalled. “I knew a show like Survivor couldn’t be replicated. But the Amazing Race is something that could be duplicated in any city across the country.”

She pitched her idea to Salvation Army leadership and Metro Transit. Everyone loved it. The MOST Amazing was born.

Not only did Orlando succeed in creating an event that drew young supporters (the average age of racers was 31 years old), the event went on to become a favorite for duos of all ages and abilities, including fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, siblings, husbands and wives, and many others.

 

The MOST Amazing Race featured a multitude of thrilling challenges that did not disappoint.

 

Some challenges were adrenaline-pumping, like jumping off a 25-foot high dive at the U of M Aquatic Center, or leaping from a 30-foot-high platform onto an inflatable landing pad (pictured).

Other challenges tested racers with weak stomachs, such as drinking a can of cold tomato soup through a straw, or shucking and eating a dozen oysters. One time, teams had to drink several kinds of hot sauce at a challenge hosted by Buffalo Wild Wings.

“I wasn’t able to keep it down,” joked racer Darik Steinbach, who competed alongside his wife, Tara, during the past six races.

Still other challenges gave racers access to premier sporting and art venues, resulting in once-in-a-lifetime memories. For example:

• Kicking field goals at TCF Bank Stadium
• Throwing baseballs inside the bullpen at Target Field
• Reciting lines from a play onstage at Guthrie Theater
• Singing The Star-Spangled Banner through the loudspeakers at Target Center

These and other challenges weren’t always easy, and sometimes they tripped-up teams that were leading the pack.

“You can never get too comfortable,” affirmed racer Kelly Boler, who might have won the 2015 race had she and her partner Justin Bakken (both pictured) not taken a wrong turn during a bike-riding challenge just before the finish line. The pair on to win the 2016 and 2017 races.

Added Boler: “You’re one missed bus or sticky challenge away from going from first place to last.”

The race featured many dancing challenges as well, including Bollywood dancing at Tapestry Folkdance Center and hip-hop dancing at Zenon Dance Studio (watch video).

“I love how everyone looks completely ridiculous … but still fully commits to the performance,” said Emily Caouette, who raced with her sister, Christina, for five straight years.

Most of the ideas for the challenges came from Orlando.

“Dreaming up challenges was the best part of planning the race,” she said. “I got to explore new and exciting places around Minneapolis and St. Paul – and meet the people who managed them. Every year was always fresh, new and different.”

 

In the late 2000s, word of the race began to spread both locally and nationally. With every year that went by, more teams signed up to race and more volunteers signed up to help. Before long, Salvation Army locations in Pittsburgh, Penn. and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. heard about The MOST Amazing Race and began to host events of their own.

 

The race officially exploded in 2013, when participation ballooned to 90 teams and 150 volunteers. That’s nearly double the teams and nine times the volunteers as the first race in 2006.

Big-name sponsors caught on, too. Corporate heavyweights like CenterPoint Energy, Polaris and Mattress Firm began backing the event, allowing the race to offer more prizes and better challenges.

iHeartRadio signed on as well. In addition to providing media sponsorship, the company deployed its on-air talent to emcee the race, including Falen from 101.3 KDWB, who appeared at the race for many years.

Today, MOST Amazing Races are hosted by Salvation Army locations across the country. In 2018, nine races are scheduled to take place in cities such as Memphis, Tenn.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Arlington, Texas.

“It makes me so happy to see the race expand,” Orlando said. “It is growing the Army, raising dollars, and helping so many people.”

 

The race would not have been possible without its volunteers. Through the years, hundreds of them gave their time to staff challenges, pass out water bottles, and cheer teams on.

 

“Looking back, I never would have anticipated that the volunteer element of the race would be just as critical and important as the teams themselves,” Orlando said. “Our volunteers gave so much to make the race what it was.”

Each race of the present decade included the service of about 125 volunteers, and around 70 percent of them helped out for 12 hours straight.

The racers loved the volunteers.

“We do other (non-Salvation Army) races, and this one is so much better because of the volunteers,” Puzak said. “It’s in a different league.”

Some volunteers planned their entire summers around the race. Others would even travel to Minnesota from out of state.

What made volunteering so alluring is that the people never knew where they’d end up – be it a waterpark or a paintball warzone.

“They didn’t even know what they’d be volunteering for, yet they did it anyway – that’s how fun volunteering for the race was,” Orlando said. “The volunteers built comradery together. They wanted to be with the same crew they were with the year before.”

 

Throughout its 12 years, the race accomplished amazingly massive amounts of good.

 

For starters, its racers and sponsors raised $750,000 – enough money for The Salvation Army to provide a night of shelter, a warm shower, and a hot meal for 25,000 people experiencing homelessness.

Of those dollars, racer David Hilden (pictured) and his various race partners alone raised more than $50,000.

“I am so thankful that I can take part and help be a blessing to others in need,” said Hilden, 51, a seven-time top fundraiser whose efforts won him airline tickets to Alaska, Hawaii and Newfoundland, along with thousands of dollars worth of products from Mattress Firm and a $1,000 gift card to Mall of America.

Another huge positive of the race: the relationships it built.

“That is the lasting legacy of this,” Orlando said. “The relationships that were built with racers, volunteers, donors, and community partners – and all the great memories attached to them – is what the race was all about.”

The race was also about introducing new people to The Salvation Army and showing them that doing good and having fun can go hand in hand – a truth that racer Eric Nybakken (pictured) always took to heart.

“We forget about the amazing things (The Salvation Army) does in our neighborhoods, state, country, and around the world,” Nybakken said. “At the end of the day, everyone is racing to help an unbelievable cause – The Salvation Army.”

The Twin Cities Salvation Army is sad that The MOST Amazing Race has ended, but happy that it was able to touch so many people.

“All events have lifespans, and 12 years was a great run,” Orlando said. “Thank you to everybody who helped make The MOST Amazing Race so amazing. You are loved and appreciated.”

When asked which three words will come to mind when she looks back on the race, Orlando smiled and responded, “Read your clue.”

 

Take an amazing trip through memory lane with these MOST Amazing Race results, photos and videos of years past.

 

2006

• 1^st place team: Adventure Guys (David Hilden, Beau Ellis)
• Top fundraising team: Adventure Guys, $2,750
• View photos of 2006 race

2007

• 1^st place team: Team Waler (Mark Kalar, Amy Walz)
• Top fundraising team: Team Mullen (Gary and Deby Mullen), $4,155
• View photos of 2007 race
• Watch video of 2007 race

2008

• 1^st place team: Adventure Guys (David Hilden, Beau Ellis)
• Top fundraising team: Adventure Guys, $5,013
• View photos of 2008 race

2009

• 1^st place team: Blazing Saddles (Brad Dieringer, Leah Berard)
• Top fundraising team: Team Mullen (Gary and Deby Mullen), $3,949
• View photos of 2009 race

2010

• 1^st place team: Oozing Monkeys (Catherine Lee, Terrance Lee)
• Top fundraising team: Oozing Monkeys, $4,125
• View photos of 2010 race

2011

• 1^st place team: Two Guys (Grant Dietrich, Jesse Struve)
• Top fundraising team: Adventure Guy & Gal (David Hilden, Melanie Jansen), $4,512
• View photos of 2011 race
• Watch video of 2011 race

2012

• 1^st place team: The Postfontaines (Kelly Brinkman, Tom Puzak)
• Top fundraising team: Keiser Sisters (Amanda Brinkman, Rebecca Field), $4,750
• View photos of 2012 race
• Watch video of 2012 race

2013

• 1^st place team: Mojo Monkey (Tom Puzak, Eric Kelly)
• Top fundraising team: Adventure Guy & Gal (David Hilden, Angela Lutz), $4,830
• View photos of 2013 race
• Watch video of 2013 race

2014

• 1^st place team: Sophisticuffs (Tom Puzak, Eric Kelly)
• Top fundraising team: Adventure Guys (David Hilden, Beau Ellis), $4,730
• View photos of 2014 race
• Watch video of 2014 race

2015

• 1^st place team: The Lucky Halves (Tom Puzak, Eric Kelly)
• Top fundraising team: Adventure Guys (David Hilden, Beau Ellis), $6,320
• View photos of 2015 race
• Watch video of 2015 race

2016

• Gold Division 1^st place team: Third Time’s a Charm (Kelly Boler, Justin Bakken)
• Silver Division 1^st place team: The Cobras (Sean Greenlee, Aaron Mehsikomer)
• Top fundraising team: Flying Turtles (David Fenske, Grace Fenske), $4,910
• View photos of 2016 race
• Watch video of 2016 race

2017

• Gold Division 1^st place team: Third Time’s a Charm (Kelly Boler, Justin Bakken)
• Silver Division 1^st place team: Hungry Hungry Hippos (Casi Short, Joe McDonald)
• Top fundraising team: Adventure Guy & Gal (David Hilden, Delaney Berrini), $5,506
• View photos of 2017 race
• Watch video of 2017 race