Jennifer Cullison’s recent racing win included some strange accomplishments, like swallowing a goldfish, tying a knot while blindfolded and walking across eight dozen eggs without breaking them.
The 36-year-old high school science teacher and Vancouver resident is an eager participant in many urban adventure races, competitions in the vein of CBS’ “The Amazing Race.”
She and her partner, William Gardner, 38, a Vancouver middle school math teacher, do about 15 of them every year. And in early December, the couple had their best finish yet, coming in fifth place in the national final of Red Frog Events LLC’s “The Great Urban Race” in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We initially started doing these in 2008 as an alternative to regular running races,” Cullison said. “They’re a lot of fun.”
In the race, the pair got 12 clues, which led them to 12 locations. At each spot, the two-person team performed a task — such as blindfolded knot-tying and taking a picture of the city from a helicopter.
And the live goldfish-eating part? Cullison let Gardner handle that one.
“He ate it,” Cullison said. “He said it wasn’t that bad. He does a lot of the eating stuff. I’m kind of a brainiac, so I do most of the puzzles.”
Cullison got the job of walking over the eggs, though — and managed to do it with Gardner’s help balancing her weight.
“That wasn’t easy,” she said.
Beyond the challenges, the races also involve a lot of running. Going through the progression in Puerto Rico, the couple racked up about 15 miles jogging from site to site, Cullison said.
The couple has gone to “The Great Urban Race” final all but one year since they started in 2008. Their best prior finish was seventh place.
They finished second in a qualifying race in Portland last month before heading to Puerto Rico. Qualifying races cost between $35 and $60 per person.
They won $200 for the fifth-place finish, and also won a race photo contest from Bacardi Rum for $3,000, which paid for most of the trip and entry into the final.
“I like the fact that the races give us a purpose to run, and I like the puzzle-solving and challenges,” Cullison said. “It gives you both a mental and physical aspect. I’d encourage people to check them out if they haven’t yet.”
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