Clorets, the mint candy brand, was holding a race in the streets of Metro Manila that they named Clorets Urban Hunt, just like the reality TV show, The Amazing Race. While The Amazing Race was filmed across different countries over several weeks and had big budget and audience, the Clorets Urban Hunt was probably held so that Clorets consumers would have fun; the Hunt simply consisted of one elimination day and one finals day.
There would be 90 teams during the elimination round that would be held over three Saturdays. From the 30 teams that would compete for each Saturday, only the top ten finishers would move on to the finals. There must have been at least a hundred teams who applied, and we were lucky to have been one of the 90 that were selected.
Before the interview, we were asked to come up with a name. We decided to call ourselves 'Deux-Plex', meaning two-folds, a simple derivative of translating into French the word 'two' and suffixing it with 'plex'.
The lady who interviewed us must have found us unique because we told her we were classmates at Alliance Francaise and could speak French, not that it was a required skill, but I think she found us, well, different from other teams. Or maybe she was a francophone and loved anything French like croissant or french fries. Or, we just charmed her. Ha-ha-ha!
(This first clue made us run to Makati Avenue
and look for a bar next to Wendy's)
We were assigned to compete on the first day, April 27, 2002, a Saturday, and we all assembled at the tennis courts of the Rockwell in Makati City before the 9AM start of the race.
We were given the Clorets shirt as uniform and were assigned as Team No. 19. During the briefing, we were told that each team would be trailed a videographer who would document the tasks required of us to execute. In short, the videographer would be there to make sure we wouldn't cheat like taking a cab instead of a jeepney, or asking for help from outsiders. Our videographer was a man who looked 50-ish. He told us that he was hired because he had a videotape recorder; phone cameras weren't available then.
The race would test the team's skills in solving clues and executing the tasks required.
The first clue above, if you read it, would require you to run to Makati Avenue and look for a bar next to Wendy's. For this, we didn't really have to look for it because everyone ran towards that direction, and Remy and I simply had to follow them!
This was the first 'hurdle', or a task we need to accomplish. Only one of us had to go inside a dark room, must have been bar, to look for an item. I told Remy that I would be the one to go in, and voila! It took me less than a minute to find an item that was hidden behind a picture frame.
Inside the dark room, everyone was bending down and looking under the tables and chairs, while I immediately thought that if there was anything hidden, it would be at a place no one thought it would be: behind a picture frame hanging on the wall! And I was right!
After I found the item, which must have been a Clorets, I immediately surrendered it to the marshall and he gave me the next clue. Remy was surprised to see me out immediately!
This clue gave us a choice: whether to rush to Cash and Carry near the South Superhighway, or to the Santa Ana Race Tracks. We chose the Cash and Carry because it was familiar to us.
At this point, I felt we were ahead of most of the teams because we completed the first hurdle in seconds.
We then ran back to Buendia Avenue and took a jeepney that would bring us to Manila.
And this was where I made a mistake. Overthinking made us lose about half an hour.
The clues above made me first think it was Malate but then, the words "blood history" and "independence's victory" made me think it was the monument of Jose Rizal at Luneta Park.
So, instead of getting off at Malate, we went to Luneta Park, where we saw no one. I thought this was the end of our race.
We decided to go back to Malate from Luneta Park, and voila! Everyone was there at Malate Church!
We decided to go back to Malate from Luneta Park, and voila! Everyone was there at Malate Church!
After reading the clue above, I thought Reverend Cuadrado was the current parish priest. But when we realized it was about history, we went looking for the marker installed by the National Historical Institute and found our answer!
We moved on to the next hurdle!
So, it was a jeepney ride back to the Pasay area. And at the junction of Vito Cruz and the Bangko Sentral, we alighted and took the red-yellow shuttle to the CCP grounds. This was where I thought this was getting really fun!
But I was wrong!
I remember we found the marshall in the parking lot of the CCP grounds, just across PICC, where there was a Clorets marker. The task we were required to do was to rent a pedicab and use it to travel to another part of the CCP grounds, the Film Center of the Philippines.
This was where things got scary!
Since I was the one who pedalled the cab, Remy and our videographer were my passengers. The pedicab had no roof and they both seated right in front with an open front!
Although I knew how to ride a bike, maneuvering a pedicab was altogether a different kind of driving for me!
As we were rushing to get to the Film Center fast, I pedalled fast and our pedicab careened through the streets of the CCP grounds. But as we were almost at a junction, the weight of the passenger car somehow messed up with my sense of balance and I lost control of the pedicab!
Luckily, the streets in the grounds had island where bushes were planted, and I remember not being able to put a stop to the pedicab because there was no brake (!) and both my passengers probably realized that, too! How? Because I heard Remy scream the name I used at our French classes, "ALPHONSE!" Ha-ha-ha!
Our pedicab headed straight into the bushes of the island and bumped into the concrete encasing, and since Remy and our videographer had nothing to cling on to, they both flew out of the pedicab and embraced the bushes! Sadly, I did not know the scientific names of the plants! Ha-ha-ha!
I thought it was over for us! I thought I broke the pedicab or killed our videographer! The poor man immediately checked his videotape recorder as he dropped it during the mishap. It was still working!
I think I scraped my knees or something, but it was nothing, I thought because I could still stand, walk, and pedal! Remy and our videographer also picked themselves up, and we continued on with the race!
When we got to the Film Center area, we were told we missed the cut-off time, so there was no 'carrot' or a free pass for us. Instead, we got the next clue below.
I can't remember what the answer was about this 'Kartilya ng Katipunan'. But I think Remy was able to answer it and so, we got our next clue.
And upon reading it, we realized we were heading to...Binondo!
At the Binondo plaza, we looked for a Clorets guy wearing ordinary clothes, and not the Clorets uniform. We found him and he gave us the next clue below.
This clue was perfect for Remy! She could read Chinese!
I can't remember where we headed after seeing that we needed to eat something weird. But we did anyway. Maybe we were both starving that, even if it was some frog or lizard we had to eat, we ate it anyway. Ha-ha-ha!
If it were ma-chang, it would have been a delight for because it's my favorite and in those days, I even ventured into Binondo from Paranaque just to get my ma-chang fix!
We had to go back to Rockwell in Makati City and be counted as a finisher. From Binondo, I remember we rushed to the LRT - Carriedo Station, then switched to MRT at Edsa Station, then got off at Guadalupe Station. From there, we ran down from the station and took a JP Rizal jeep and alighted at the Rockwell entrance.
We then hurried to the tennis courts of Rockwell and were announced as the 15th team to finish. We didn't make the cut. Only the first ten would qualify for the finals.
But as we were walking into the court, there was an announcement of our arrival! And it was nice of the other teams to clap for us! Remy and moi felt like we achieved something that day! All those running, stressful tasks, and of course, their flying off the pedicab seemed worth all the trouble after all!
Had I not overthought that Malate Church clue, we could have easily landed in the top ten, but then, Remy said that she would not want to compete even if we made it to the final round because, that night, she was sore all over like I was! I could not get out of bed once I got home at about 5PM after eating an early dinner and hit the bed even if there was still some daylight! My legs, my whole body actually, gave in! It was like we trained for the Olympics all day long!
So, thanks to Clorets and the organizers of the 2002 Urban Hunt. This experience inspired me to create my own 'amazing race' in Baguio City in 2003 for my groupmates at ABAS-C at Isla Lipana & Co.
It was a race and a competition that was actually a teambuilding exercise. Using my creativity and my knowledge of Baguio City (we all stayed at the villas of the Baguio Country Club), I made eight group run around Baguio City doing tasks and answering questions in getting their clues.
I included a bowling game, shopping at the Baguio public market, a run up the Baguio Cathedral, a purchase at the shop of Good Shepherd, a visit to the Burnham Park, and a quiz about the office's ethical standards. All those tasks would win points for the team and the team that had the highest score won! It was IPV's team with a purple flag, I think. Yes, the teams carried flags of different colors around Baguio as they raced!
It was a lot of fun for everyone!😎
Our final photo at the tennis courts of Rockwell after our 15th place finish.We started racing at 9AM and finished at 3PM, forgetting to eat merienda or lunch because of adrenalin. We were just so tired! Thanks to our videographer for this photo which I asked him to take.
Of course, thanks to Clorets!😊
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