San Francisco Night & Day Challenge

Press Release / 18.05.2006

San Francisco, May 11, 2006--San Francisco Night & Day Challenge, an urban foot and bike race, returns next month for its second year on the streets of San Francisco. Participants receive a map of the city with sixty point-valued checkpoint locations circled. Within a time limit of 3, 7, or 16 hours, they try to visit as many as they can, in any order.

Foot, bike, and duathlon divisions are offered. Seven-hour participants will not finish until 11:00 p.m., while those in the 16 hour option will persevere until well past dawn.

The all night odyssey begins at 4:00 p.m. Saturday, June 3, at Noe Valley's Douglass Playground.

Checkpoint locations include famous landmarks, obscure historical sites, parks, beaches, and view points. Participants answer a simple question about each location to prove they were there.

Eighty-nine teams comprising 210 individuals entered the inaugural 2005 event. Competitors included well-known locals such as Wendell Doman, producer of the popular Pacific Coast Trail Runs series, and adventure race teams Dirty Avocados and High Sierra Haystacks.

Winner in the quintessential 16-hour duathlon race was team MandatoryGear.com -- Jennifer Klafin, Mark Manning, and Oliver Pohl -- earning 3050 points out of a possible 3500 by traveling about 35 miles on foot, then another 65 miles on bike.

"I'd never seen some of these places at these times of day," said Manning, a resident of San Francisco. "It was a great way to see all of the City. My most memorable checkpoint was one in the Marin Headlands as the sun was coming up at 4:30 a.m., sharing a turkey sandwich with Jen and Oliver while pushing my bike up a steep ravine."

Night & Day Challenge is the brain-child of Eric Bone, a top athlete in the sport of orienteering. Bone first produced the event in Seattle in July 2003, where it continues annually. "I love running in the city and exploring parks, streets, and industrial places," said Bone, a Seattle native. "This is a way to share that with people."

Although Night & Day Challenge is technically an orienteering race, it requires no special skill other than the ability to read a street map.

Registration is now open via the event's website, www.nightanddaychallenge.com. For the 16 hour option, participants must enter in teams of two to five. Both team and solo participation is allowed for the three and seven hour options. Event fees range from $15 to $65 per person.

San Francisco Night & Day Challenge is co-produced by the Bay Area Orienteering Club and Seattle business Meridian Geographics.