The 2nd annual University City Photo Race was held on July 4, 2009 as part of UC Celebration!

The 2009 UC Photo Race had a great turnout as 22 teams looked up and down Governor Drive for the locations to take a team photo that fit the descriptions in the race clues. Hannah and Jay of Team Sexy repeated last year's first place victory with their new teammate Elizabeth, with a total time of 41 minutes, 21 seconds, as they ran around the neighborhood, getting all ten clues right. Joseph of Team Nepotism came in second place, just under 50 minutes, and there was a tie for third place: American Spirit (Kyle, Justin, Daniel & Cody) and the Wandering Wordsworths (Heidi, Mark & Amanda) finished at 52 minutes.

The most challenging clue was the two parter - The clue sheet said "Read the back of one of the Cushman & Wakefield signs at the Marketplace in University City to learn how to find Checkpoint 8", and when teams found the right sign, there was a note that had a word scramble for the name of a vendor in the shopping center - that turned out to be the Glacier Water machines next to Henry's Market!

Check out the clues for the 2009 UC Photo Race here! (PDF)

See the answers and more photos from the 2009 UC Photo Race!!

Here are the final standings:
17 teams finished within the two hour timeframe out of 22 teams total. The top seven teams all finished in an hour or less! The first incorrect answer earned a team a 20 minute penalty, while any additional incorrect answers earned a team an extra 10 minute penalty each.

Finishing Teams:
1. Team Sexy - Hannah, Jay, Elizabeth
2. Team Nepotism - Joseph
3. (tie) American Spirit - Kyle, Justin, Daniel, Cody
3. (tie) Wandering Wordsworths - Heidi, Mark, Amanda
5. IO - Beverly, Sally, Erica
6. Tabby Cats - Emily, Pat
7. NY+Red - Kay, Samantha
8. Real Housewives of UC - Annie, Kim
9. The Super Stone Gnomes - Hayden, Bailey, Bruce
10. Pink Lightning - Cindy, Cameron
11. The George Family - Jeff, Maria, Micayla, Ethan
12. Da Boyz - Low, Justice, Gabriel
13. T-squared - Katrina, Tish
14. The Best Team - Trey, Brookie, Noah, AJ
15. Pluto Piper Penguins - Marlena, Karina
16. Team Italy - Pat, Eva
17. Van Daelin Crew - Ton, Kees, Nick, Mieke

Did not finish in the two hour race timeframe:
WHAM - Rick, Wendy
The Griffins - Kristian, Dalia
Pangers - Monia, Justin, Kohanaleilani, David
Lovebugs - Madison, Inese
Nakwi Tribe - Diana, Bekal, Bri, Tim

Thanks again to the UC Celebration Committee for providing participation prizes to all teams, and special prizes to the top four teams! The UC Photo Race was put together by James and Dan of San Diego Rocket Race. 

Race Description

Round up your family or friends, and bring your own digital camera or camera phone for a clue-solving adventure. Teams of two or more will be traveling on foot around University City as they compete for fun and prizes.

How a photo scavenger hunt race works:

At the start of the race, each team will receive a sheet containing several clues. Each clue, when solved, will reveal a place in University City. Team members will travel to that place and clearly photograph their entire team at that location, then move onto the next location. Traveling may only be done on foot or on the UC Celebration trolley - no bicycles, scooters, motor vehicles, etc. Clue locations can be photographed in any order.

At the finish line, race staff will review the photos on the team's camera for correctness. The team that returns to the finish line with photos of themselves at each correct location in the shortest amount of time will be the winner!

Race admission is free, but there may be a limit to the number of teams allowed. Teams must have two or more members. Children can participate so long as they have parental permission.

View photos and the results from the 2008 UC Photo Race!