How often do you see five guys streaming through wintery streets dressed in homemade…Q-tip costumes? Well, in New York, it’s about once every winter. The following is a photo essay about the Idiotarod, New York’s  answer to the call of absurd and frigid sports challenges.

The Iditarod is the famous long-distance race in which yelping dogs tow a sled across Alaska. The Idiotarod is pretty much the same thing, except that instead of dogs, it’s people, instead of sleds, it’s shopping carts, and instead of Alaska, in my case it’s New York City. To enjoy the madness you need only a shopping cart, five friends and a creative flair to trick out your cart based on a theme.

However, participants had to go through much more to finish the race.

This year on January 26th, caution and sobriety were thrown to the wind as brave New Yorkers and world travelers demonstrated their athletic prowess in the pursuit of life-long glory.

This 6-hour battle of man vs shopping card vs. pavement vs. each other, culminated in music and a panda-mediated love fest in Red Hook.

To win the race, each team must navigate through various boroughs to secret checkpoints, avoid sabotage by other teams and make it through feats of strength demanded by the race organizers along the way. This year’s race was a success — over 125 teams, many using their craft skills to make themed carts that were built with materials such as found objects, particleboard, and the occasional sound system. Some teams started working on their carts months in advance, pouring heart, soul, and sometimes an entire savings account into elaborate designs. Katie Jones of team Mobile Mommas stated, "Your cart is an extension of yourself, in our case, we all dug deep down into our inner trailer-trash selves."

Not only must each team complete the race, but they must do so with their carts intact, thus requiring some inventive solutions to fortify potentially flimsy designs.

Careening across the Brooklyn Bridge at 10 MPH definitely separates the wheat from the chaff as far as made-to-last carts are concerned. The racers had to find and then complete 3 checkpoints while pushing their carts through the streets of the city.

Another Mobile Momma, Brooke Pennypacker stated, "It’s a chance for grown adults to define victory not by getting a degree, but in finding the perfect sabotage and making irresistible bribes that will put you one step ahead of the rest. It really is a thing of true genius."

The original Idiotarod started in San Francisco, and other cities, including Washington DC and Chicago, have also held races. Post in the comments below and tell us about your town’s crazy winter athletic antics! Have you ever participated in a race like this? A polar bear swim, perchance?

Further Resources:
See the NYC’s Carts of Brooklyn Idiotarod website for more info and great pictures.
Videos too!

More photos on flickr.
More info on Wikipedia.