AU – The Amazing Race

On the 25th of September 2015, the Novotel North Beach hosted Wollongong’s annual Amazing Race, now in its 5th year running at this location. Wollongong, an hour south of Sydney, NSW, is a thriving coastal city. The Amazing Race is very well supported by many local businesses and individuals and has raised over $100,000 for charity organisations over the past few years. This year the event was to raise funds for Mission Australia, Mental Health and Light & Hope Health Clubhouse.

The Race consists of 30 teams of 4 runners dressed in costumes completing a range of challenging tasks, including, in the past, eating fish eyeballs, bed making, soccer ball skills, treasure hunts, beach volley-ball, first-aid, fitness activities etc. Their goal this year was to raise $30,000. The Race is set up over a 10 km course around Wollongong CBD.

Soccer Ball Skills Tested!

The day started off with the teams arriving at Novotel Resort for the overview of the rules and a pre-race briefing; the first challenge was to recognise Pink Lipstick Day and get some pink make-up on face and fingers, to raise awareness of women’s health issues. The teams were then given their first clues and headed out to face the challenges!

The RRT assisted by manning a water station at an activity checkpoint, where water bottles were handed out to the enthusiastic participants

After completing the many challenges along their course, the hungry and exhausted runners headed back to the Novotel for a well-deserved meal and relax. The Wollongong RRT provided a hearty hamburger meal for all the participants, with the Novotel providing a range of gourmet salads and an exquisite fruit tray.

Fruit Platter A hamburger meal was provided at the finish of the race

The RRT felt privileged to be able to contribute to this event which saw more than 160 people selflessly giving their time and energy to raise awareness and funds for organisations striving to help those in need.